GREAT AMERICAN INSURANCE ATP CHAMPIONSHIP

August 12, 1998

Vincent Spadea

Q. Feels pretty good, doesn't it?

VINCE SPADEA: Yeah, feels good. It was two one-sided sets, then just one battle. It's nice to win those close matches, 7-6 in the third. Those get you over the edge, get you into the next part of the tournament. Big win for me. I don't think I've beaten one of those top Americans yet, so that was another obstacle I was trying to overcome. He's playing some of his best tennis. I knew I had a lot of good tennis in me, so I just wanted to prove what I could do.

VINCE SPADEA: I kind of (inaudible) my racquet and I got a warning. I mean, all that combined, it took a lot of effort to get back. But that's one of the things I've been doing better throughout this whole year, just trying hard, not worrying about the situation. You know, he had to go out and hit either four aces or four winners to put away the match. That's not always easy to do all the time. Just kept moving my feet.

VINCE SPADEA: I guess. I mean, his name is more known around the world. He's won major titles. I guess that was a big win for me. But, I mean, he's ranked No. 9 right now. At the present time, it was just another match that I needed to go and play some of my best tennis, if you're going to try to beat a guy in the Top 10. You know, it's a big thrill to beat a player like that. You know, I've worked very hard to try to do that. This is my third time now.

VINCE SPADEA: I thought he said that like awhile ago.

VINCE SPADEA: You know, that's the way it goes. I don't know how to respond to that. I mean, I don't try to analyze other individuals. If there's something that's obvious or if there's something that's factual, then I don't try to enforce it. You know, especially if something is arguable, you know what I mean?

VINCE SPADEA: You know, I'm not -- you know what I mean? I'm not a confrontational kind of person. I'm not interested in putting other people in, you know, a position. You know what I mean? I don't even know how --

VINCE SPADEA: Yeah, whatever. I mean, I don't think too much about it. I mean, you guys are like lifting it up and tempting me. Like I said yesterday in press, sometimes he talks, it's like talking to everyday people, talking to you all. For me, it's really not that case. I mean, you get to know more of a true sense of what that person may be, you know, how they like to talk and so on. With me, you know, if I was at a more advanced stage in my career, I might have a better response to those kind of comments. They tell me to keep the answers short. You guys keep waiting (laughter).

VINCE SPADEA: Well, I've been in that situation quite a bit. I haven't really -- I mean, I've beat three Top-10 players. Usually you're (inaudible) in that situation with that kind of player, just because there's so many people. You play on stadium court against other players, but not as high profile. But when you practice that hard and everything, you just go into your own zone; you're not even worried about who you're playing. Any little conscious thought you have just detracts from your performance. That stuff I've dealt with. It was tougher just because it was a tough match. It was a close three-set match. That can be tough. That can be difficult on a side court, you know, at smaller events just because you've got to stay in there and focus on the game, your mentality. I was able to do that well. I mean, those are tight matches when the third set goes to a tiebreaker.