NASDAQ-100 OPEN

March 29, 2004

Andre Agassi

ANDRE AGASSI: Oh, today, yeah. Today, these are the tough days, you know, for all the players. So you sort of have to keep your mind relaxed but not let yourself get too relaxed because you might have to sort of get out there at any given moment. Yeah, I dealt with it well today.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, it was a good match for me, certainly. I mean, Max has a big game, comes forward. He makes you hit targets. You have to hit your shots early. If you hit your shots, you can sometimes sneak an early break and maybe the match isn't -- you're not going to have long points. But if you don't hit those targets, he could just run all over you. So I was pretty fortunate the way it went today.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, it feels good. You know, days like this are few and far between. So I definitely feel great about the performance. But with that being said, I'm too experienced when I'm out there to not realize how quickly the match can turn around. I mean, at 30-all, I was serving on my serve in the second set. I had to come up with a real difficult shot. He just missed the baseline by an inch. Next point I had to hit two good passing shots. That's two points in a row that could have gone either way. All of a sudden he gets the break back, he relaxes a little bit, serves a little bit better, and next thing you know, it's a dogfight. That's how I look at it. It's one point at a time. And if I happen to get that second break off a first serve that finds a line, then I just consider myself fortunate.

ANDRE AGASSI: This is a great place to play. I think the fans are really knowledgeable, and I think they love their sport. The support I've felt here over the years has been tremendous. So I couldn't ask to play in any better place.

ANDRE AGASSI: Best second serve... I mean, you know, you got guys like Wayne Arthurs and even this - I've never played him, I've practiced with him once - Joachim Johansson. I mean, his serve was big in practice. If it's that way in a match, it's a big serve.

ANDRE AGASSI: Hmm.

ANDRE AGASSI: Wayne is the kind of guy that can hit four corners with the same toss with a variation of 35 miles an hour in speed differences. He could ace you with 139, then he could ace you with an 86 kick. So you're not only not touching the ball, you're looking pretty foolish as you attempt to.

ANDRE AGASSI: I don't think much about it. I got asked that for a decade with Pete. You're thinking more about Sunday than I am. That's just the way it works. I have to take everybody at a time. That's my toughest opponent, is my next one. I never look so far ahead.

ANDRE AGASSI: Things I've learned being a parent that I've applied to my tennis... Pick your battles (laughter). Pick your battles.

ANDRE AGASSI: I didn't actually. How was she looking?

ANDRE AGASSI: Oooh (laughter). Good girl (laughter).

ANDRE AGASSI: He's a great ballstriker, hits the ball big off both sides. We're both going to be trying to control the point from the back of the court. We played once before, and it was definitely a hard match. I'm going out there looking to step up my game now and against a whole different type of player than I played tonight. And just try to execute, keep control of the points and, you know, make him play a great match.

ANDRE AGASSI: That's a tough one - Olympics.

ANDRE AGASSI: You only get a chance at it every four years. Just by ratio of how often you get a chance to play it makes it more special, and it's still for your country. You still feel like it's quite a powerful feeling there with the National Anthem, so...

ANDRE AGASSI: They sort of brought it to me, asked if I would mind doing the baseball. I said, "Yeah, no problem."

ANDRE AGASSI: Oh, really? Yeah, so, no, I was looking forward to the baseball. I just got asked if I would do that. I certainly probably would have picked it if I could have, but I didn't pick it.

ANDRE AGASSI: I've always thought there should be a way to include a team in the Olympics when it comes to your country, because also it's another tournament, sort of, with more on the line. I'd like to see it be a bit more of a team format somehow.