THE LIPTON CHAMPIONSHIPS

March 23, 1996

Andre Agassi

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, I won the close one, so that's a good sign. I think tonight's a little bit of both. I mean, it's nice on one hand. You know, I feel good competitive wise, competing hard, trying to pull through. I'm definitely a little off my game right now. I don't quite feel like I'm moving well. That's the closest thing to point to. When that's the case, sometimes I take needless chances. I just got to get back to where I feel like I'm on top of every ball. Lots of times I back up, tentative. When I back up to get more time, that's not my game, not my style.

ANDRE AGASSI: Gee, I feel like I'm playing in New York here, it's nice. It's like a New York crowd. They get really excited about their tennis. That's really great to see. There's a lot of tennis to be excited about. We're going to see some great tennis this week.

ANDRE AGASSI: I just think when it comes crunch-time like that, I mean, the last thing I want to do is put the match in the other guy's hands. I'd rather have the ball. I just took my shot. I mean, he missed two first serves. I mean, my games, I'm hitting the ball pretty clean, feel confident on my shots. It was there and I took it.

ANDRE AGASSI: Was I guessing?

ANDRE AGASSI: It was a second serve. If he's serving 4-5 in the third set tiebreaker, if he's going to hit a second serve, slice up the middle, his best serve was his kick, I would give it to him. I wasn't guessing; it was an educated guess.

ANDRE AGASSI: Things have been happening so quickly with me that I might not be that far. It's difficult to assess. I don't feel like I'm playing as strong as last year.

ANDRE AGASSI: Physically. I think I'm not -- I think that after the end of the fall and I came back, didn't have the same confidence when you miss out on a few months. I think it's just kind of gotten away from me a little bit. I haven't quite gotten myself back to where I expect myself to be. You know, it can turn around at any moment. That's the way it always goes. Hopefully it will happen here.

ANDRE AGASSI: No. I don't think so. Every bit in love today as I was a year ago.

ANDRE AGASSI: It's pretty given with me. It's been that way, you know, for a while. I can only be honest in saying I don't feel distracted by any of it.

ANDRE AGASSI: No. You'll be the first to know.

ANDRE AGASSI: What do I feel about it?

ANDRE AGASSI: There's a lot of good players out there. Just because you're No. 1, doesn't mean anything. You know, it's never been a mystery that this isn't his best surface. I don't think it's a big surprise to see him lose.

ANDRE AGASSI: Tell me the quote that I said.

ANDRE AGASSI: I never said that, not one time. I've never said that he doesn't deserve it. He's worked his ass off to get there. I've only criticized the ranking system. I feel like that's something I've always criticized, not just since Thomas Muster is No. 1. It's shit like that when you go back to Thomas, he thinks I'm dissin' him.

ANDRE AGASSI: He's worked to get there. He definitely deserves it. I don't think the ranking system should be best of 14. I think that every player should play all the big events. For him to win the French Open and not play Wimbledon, I did not agree with. I don't think it takes a brain surgeon to figure out why that's not good for the game.

ANDRE AGASSI: That's right. Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP, by definition it should be what it is that we decide. You know, you stand up for them and you get them in a position where now they're running the tour and they use that to secure their jobs by accommodating to what 80 of the top 100 want versus the top in the game. The bottom line is, not everybody in the top 100 wants to see the ranking system changed. It's nice to have the luxury to lose and play again. It's a short career, and guys like that luxury. I can understand that. I just don't think it's very reflective of the best player in the world all the time. I don't think it's reflective of the best players in the world all the time.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah. Well, you know, the good thing is Thomas now has to play other events. At the end of the year, if he's No. 1, then he'll deserve it again. It's different now. Now he has to commit to playing a lot of these other events. It's going to be a lot tougher to maintain it, which is no big surprise to anybody either. I understand your frustration and identify with it.

ANDRE AGASSI: Bless you guys.

ANDRE AGASSI: It's a compound called Fusion that I use to keep my hands dry. Two guys, Aaron and Shawn out of Baltimore, two college kids, invented this compound that they sent to me that I've used to address sweating, water on the hands, sweat on the hand. It's phenomenal. I'm using it maybe every changeover maximum, sometimes every other changeover. It maintains the dryness of your hand. It's something that has surprised me and I've completely associated myself with it. I've decided to help them out because I believe in the product and took it to my managers, Perry and Phil, and we're now involved in with the company because, quite honestly, it surprised the hell out of us.

ANDRE AGASSI: No, it's a compound. It's a lot closer to a sawdust than anything, but quite different in the sense that you don't have to keep it in your pocket and use it every single point.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, sure. Do you like them?

ANDRE AGASSI: No?

ANDRE AGASSI: As a tennis player, absolutely, especially on clay. You know, I was -- what he said about Jacco Eltingh at the end of the Australian Open, that he plays like a clown, that was disrespectful to a guy who busts his ass to try to win tennis matches. It's hard to respect somebody popping off like that.

ANDRE AGASSI: I haven't --

ANDRE AGASSI: No. I don't see Boris.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, sure. I mean, I feel like, you know, it was just quite a shock to me what transpired at Wimbledon after he won the match. To this day I don't understand it. If he doesn't feel the need to come explain it to me or talk to me about it, it makes my decision really easy.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, it is, excluding Wimbledon.

ANDRE AGASSI: No, no. Wimbledon is always a little different.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah. I don't really complain about shoes or shirts. I'm more concerned with the way they look because I'm not worried about how they feel. It doesn't bother me if it's flying around. I don't need to tuck my shirt in, I don't need to get special shoes made. To me, it's nice to have a tennis shirt that I can tuck into my jeans and go out; not that I tuck it in.

ANDRE AGASSI: I've never read it.

ANDRE AGASSI: I don't need to road it having Brad is like having the cliff notes.