WIMBLEDON

July 1, 2000

Sjeng Schalken

MODERATOR: Good evening. Sjeng Schalken.

SJENG SCHALKEN: Yes, of course. It's unbelievable it didn't fall my way. It could have fallen both ways, but actually I had last year the same match against Courier, 14-12. I also did nothing wrong, I played my game. Yeah, it's unbelievable that both games went wrong. I think Wimbledon doesn't want to have me in the fourth round so far.

SJENG SCHALKEN: Yes, I was very close. Actually, at one stage I was lucky - I don't know where - I think at 6-5 or 6-All with the slice, short, when he came in. At one stage I had Love-30. I hit an unbelievable return. He had the luckiest volley ever. Unbelievable. Then he hit the second serve, questionable if it was line or out. But, you know, he made them. It was 30-All. That could have been the match, so close was it. Last year I was really, really devastated from that match against Courier. I didn't do anything wrong. This time, I will step over it quicker. You learn from those matches. I give the credit to him because he started serving unbelievable from 10 to 20 in the games. I didn't have too many chances. I had to fight harder and harder for my games. At the end, he was the better player.

SJENG SCHALKEN: No. You get more and more confidence in your game because you have the feeling, "He can't break me." He has the feeling, "He can't beat me," as well. You both have the confidence growing, growing, growing. I mean, we went 18 times the serve. Then you have a feeling all of a sudden, "He can't break me anymore." Unfortunately, he did. But you don't feel tension building up. It's more in the tiebreak, one or two points. In the game, he has to make four points on the serve.

SJENG SCHALKEN: I had the little pain in my right hamstring, but it was all right. It was a long match, I don't know, four hours maybe.

SJENG SCHALKEN: Five. So I broke the record again, like last year (laughter).

SJENG SCHALKEN: Maybe 10-9. Could be 10-9. He had also 15-40 on my serve a couple times.

SJENG SCHALKEN: I really don't know what the score is. I only know I'm on serve and I have to do this, this, and this to win the game. If he's on serve, I try to read where it's going and put your racquet in front of you. It's all reaction work. He's serving unbelievable bombs. I wish I had that serve. I have to work harder for every point.

SJENG SCHALKEN: That's a tough call. I think for me a tiebreak would be better maybe. But, no, you can't say that. Like the US Open, they have the tiebreak in the fifth set. Well, you can discuss about it, one is for it, one is against it. On grass court, it's tougher to break, so matches can continue like this.

SJENG SCHALKEN: Not in this match, no. I think we were both very quiet, concentrated on our game. Of course, we enjoyed the excitement of the crowd. It was, of course, very nice to play. It makes you better and better.

But last year, Courier was a little imitating -- not imitating - intimidating.

SJENG SCHALKEN: Watching at you. He's a good competitor. I love that. I had some good battles with him.

SJENG SCHALKEN: Actually, I was devastated from that match because I had two match points. I came in on two shots, and he made them. But today I didn't really have match points. I was close a couple of times. Yeah, he served -- he stayed on serve unbelievable the whole match. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe, except for the double-fault in the third set. I couldn't believe that he was hitting his second serve so hard and so precise, on the lines. Sometimes he misses them, if he feels pressure. But he kept on making them. That's why he won, because I would have made some returns, for sure.

SJENG SCHALKEN: Prior I took a shower, I was very pissed.

SJENG SCHALKEN: I'm better now, yeah. I talked with Alex. He said, "It was a marvelous match. You couldn't play better. You did everything you had to do. Keep on going. You will climb on the ranking, for sure." That was a good thing. He said the same last year, but I was still so devastated after a couple of days. I won't have that now. I feel okay. I've done everything what I could. I couldn't do more.

SJENG SCHALKEN: It's going to be a great match. I'm sure I'm going to watch Henman-Philippoussis. Actually, I did the same for Henman last year.

SJENG SCHALKEN: With Courier. It didn't help, because that was also a very long match. I hope for Tim and Mark, they don't have such a long match.

SJENG SCHALKEN: No, I'm fine. On this was clay, it would have been a different story. But grass, the points are quick, many points from the serve. I would feel all right.