U.S. OPEN

September 1, 1993

Mats Wilander

MR. FINN: We are going to start in English first, please.

MATS WILANDER: No, I was little surprised today, I had actually-- didn't feel that tired, and it wasn't really worrying me to lose the third set either because I didn't think I have a problem. But the matches that I have played before in New Haven and Schenectady, I got a little bit tired quite early in matches, but today, it felt pretty good.

MATS WILANDER: I don't know. I just -- just like to play these local tournaments. As long as you can drive there it is fine with me. I don't know, I thought I was playing pretty good in team tennis and it is-- actually playing local tournaments is a joke, but not really as well. I don't know if I would if the French Open was now, I don't think I would have gone there to play, you know, I think here it is so convenient, you can stay at home and practice. I have a court at home, practice as much as you want on the same surface and I don't know, just fun to hang around this tournament and if you get a chance to play as well, then, yeah, I will take it.

MATS WILANDER: I won a match in my last Grand Slam actually at the French, whenever it was, '91, I think.

MATS WILANDER: Do I consider myself a pro?

MATS WILANDER: I don't know. I have a green card so they don't have to ask me that question anymore to fill it out. Yeah, I mean, I play team tennis and I feel like, obviously, like a pro player, yeah.

MATS WILANDER: I enjoy it. It is a little bit different from playing before. You know, and unfortunately in tennis there is not a second division, like it is in-- like there is in soccer or our soccer in Sweden where you play at the highest level then you can step down and still play a pretty good level but you just don't play with the best but you can still play, play matches every week. In tennis, it is either or. You got to commit yourself to the tour or you have to have one Grand Slam so you can get wildcards otherwise there is no in between really. It is either 14, 15 tournaments a year or none. So that is a bit of a problem for me because I like to play some tournaments a year, but I don't want to travel for 30 weeks a year yet.

MATS WILANDER: What do you mean?

MATS WILANDER: I guess it was. I am not sure, makes no difference to me.

MATS WILANDER: I think my attitude today was that I was going to try to stay pretty relaxed and not tense up too much because when I do, I get pretty tired, and I am not able to focus for however long the match was anymore. I used to be able to do that. When physically you are 100% fit and you don't have to worry about anything but to get the ball over the net. I have to worry about that, and also I don't want to get into the same kind of rallies that I used to because I know I am not going to outlast these guys anymore. I think that is -- it is a bit of intention that I am trying just to stay relaxed.

MATS WILANDER: Because I couldn't think of anything more boring than playing tennis at that time and I didn't enjoy travelling and-- I don't know, I had-- I didn't feel like I was playing for the right reasons anymore. I was just playing because I was ranked one and I just kept playing and I just kept travelling because you are making money and because you are a professional tennis player, but I didn't start playing tennis like that and I don't want to end up playing tennis like that. So that is why.

MATS WILANDER: We asked for a wildcard, three, four weeks ago, maybe. I decided to play New Haven and Schenectady and here and asked for wildcards in all three.

MATS WILANDER: What is a comeback like Borg; what does that comeback mean?

MATS WILANDER: That is not on my mind at all, no. I have no idea if it will be in a year's time, but now it is last thing I'm thinking about is to get back on the tour and play 35 or 30 weeks a year. But I am not saying that it is impossible that it will happen, but this is not -- I don't know. I hate the word comeback. I mean, just taking a few years off doesn't mean that you are going to come back to No. 1. I am just playing because I enjoy it. If I can win matches, good, then, yeah, I think I feel the same way Connors felt, just that I am 15 years younger than him.

MATS WILANDER: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I love to compete. There is no -- I love to compete and I love to win and I hate to lose. It doesn't make such a big difference anymore now compared to before, so yeah, I was enjoying every moment. It is a bit frustrating when you can't win the match because obviously it is more fun to win it. But, no, I have a different attitude.

MATS WILANDER: It is pock, yeah. Yeah, it is possible.

MATS WILANDER: Yeah, well that -- yeah. I mean, that is the way you are going to have to do it if you want to play but still not play completely on the tour.

MATS WILANDER: I don't know, I can't really think of anything. I just been playing a little golf and producing a baby and that is all, really. Just stay home.

MATS WILANDER: I haven't really been working on it that hard, but I changed rackets about five days before the tournament started and it made a big difference. I get a lot more power suddenly, and I can even hit winners, and even off my serve, I used to have a decent serve and with a racket that is powerful as the one I am using now, then I also get aces and that is what I need.

MATS WILANDER: I used to play with Rossignol. Now I changed to a Wilson.

MATS WILANDER: I don't know. It is -- it is impossible to compare. It is like comparing winning the French Open at 17 or winning the U.S. Open and becoming number one. It is two different feelings. I don't know; before, I think it is -- it is more of a satisfaction when you play really well because you work so hard to achieve something and to play 100%. Today, I don't know, I have -- I don't have much of a clue at what really happens when I play compared to before. So it is just -- it is a thrill every time that I hit a good shot, I think, compared to before.

MATS WILANDER: I don't know. I think it is impossible to say because to get-- if I would start to play again, I would play a little more aggressive like I did today, I think, and I have never played like that before, so I don't know where that will take me. But I have realized that if I play as good as I did in '88, I would have trouble beating all these guys, because there are so many good guys these days that do play or that can just blow you off the court and you don't even have a chance to play anymore. So -- yeah, I don't know.

MATS WILANDER: Yeah, I think I would have had a different perspective. I think it is harder to get good if you are-- if you start professionally when you are 19, 20 than if you start at 16 because by the time you have learned everything; by the time you have reached the peak of your game, you are already 25, 26; then you are running out of time. So I think that I am happy that I started early; I would have changed everything if I started later for sure.

MATS WILANDER: No. I am happy as happy as can be.

MATS WILANDER: Yeah, I think my -- I didn't feel like playing much after 88, I must say.

MATS WILANDER: Yeah. It was just working for so many years and working so hard to achieve something and I wasn't ready to stay there, you know, I wasn't ready to keep working that hard to stay there and with the only possibility to move down rather than up, it is not -- it is much more fun to try and get there than when you actually get there and I just wasn't ready to -- I think it took me too long to get there. I think if it happens to you when you are really young and you become No. 1 you are used to be in the position I think like it happened to Courier, he went to No. 1 pretty much straight-a-way. Now I think he is used to be there. One week he is 1, then 2. It is a different thing for me. It was a very long road eventually I got there and the balloon exploded.

MATS WILANDER: I don't know. I hopefully going to play my countryman Pernfors in the next round and that is satisfaction for me.