THE LIPTON CHAMPIONSHIPS

March 12, 1994

Mark Petchey

Q. Good effort.

MARK PETCHEY: Thanks.

Q. I hope you thought that as well.

MARK PETCHEY: Oh, yeah, it was a good effort. It was a good match; it was a good effort, but I really felt I could have won today, and I'm a little disappointed, actually, to tell you the truth. I really felt I could have won if that one point went my way, and I probably would have won, but it was a good effort, good match. I'm pleased to come that close, but I'm still disappointed. I still feel today, it could have been my day.

Q. Do you think that return he made at 30-All --

MARK PETCHEY: Forehand put down the line? I should have hit the volley harder. It was a good volley, but not good enough against someone like him, and against another guy I probably would have won the point, but that's why he's as good as he is, you know, I still feel that probably was the key point in the whole match, and I thought I should have won that point.

Q. There was another one possibly, Mark, where you could have taken over, that was 1-All, Love-30, backhand just at the tape?

MARK PETCHEY: Yeah, you can look through the match, there's always going to be points like that and obviously, hopefully in the future, one of those points will go my way. I've got to keep trying the same way I've been going the last five months and hopefully one or two of those points will go my way, and if I keep working, they will. So I've got to keep on believing and keep on trying and eventually one of the matches will go my way.

Q. Very impressive after losing the first set quickly, having had a breakpoint in the opening game, and you came back in the second set, and then in the third set, it was absolutely touch and go, wasn't it?

MARK PETCHEY: Yes, it was. He just played too well, if he carried on playing like that he would have got me off the court two and two. He would -- he was hitting great lobs and passes and the one game he broke me in the first set, he was hitting winners and nothing I can do about that. That's just too good. I know I can do better. And if he kept on doing that, I would have said, well, I have to stick with it and I took a few more risks in the second and third set, and that's why I got closer to him, because I took a few risks and he had to start making them all the time rather than just when he wanted to.

Q. At no time were you ever awed by him with the crowd going?

MARK PETCHEY: I think it helped me playing on center court, I've been playing this tournament-- I've played on center courts now the last four, five weeks. That definitely helped me to adjust to that sort of situation, and you know, if you can't enjoy playing matches like that, you'll never enjoy playing tennis, because playing somebody like Agassi on the big court, it's just a great experience. So I'm not going to get over-awed by that and I'll just try and play my best and hope I beat him and have a good time.

Q. The crowd enjoyed it; did you sense that?

MARK PETCHEY: I think so. Agassi, they're always going to enjoy him. I enjoy playing him as well. He's fun to watch. The way he plays, he's entertaining for the crowd. They're always going to get in with someone like that. It was a good atmosphere.

Q. They were very good, they applauded your shots as well.

MARK PETCHEY: They were fair all around, I think, you know, they seemed great. I was just enjoying it.

Q. How good are his hands?

MARK PETCHEY: His hands? As in--

Q. Well, the way he controls the racket?

MARK PETCHEY: Second to none, I should think. Some of those topspin lobs, I never saw them coming at all and I just saw-- he just-- you knew he was going to make it. You could see the way he hit the shot, too good. You couldn't read it at all. I was having to hang at the net a little bit because it was such a good shot; you can't give it to him because he'll make it every time.

Q. People always said he's got great hands with some of the shots he can come up with from impossible positions?

MARK PETCHEY: He gets so much whip on the ball, amazing topspin and some of the returns he hits so well and he just gets an angle on it, you have no chance picking up no matter who you are, if you don't take them early down at the feet, it's gone.

Q. He suggested the wind played a factor in the second and third sets; did you feel that?

MARK PETCHEY: I don't think it changed particularly. Not noticeably at all. It's windy. It's never going to be calm here. I practiced-- every day I've been here it's been windy, so I don't think it was any different particularly. Maybe it was, but I don't think so.

Q. Do you feel at this point in your career-- what do you expect at the Davis Cup in a few days?

MARK PETCHEY: Obviously, playing well. It's difficult to go back onto slow claycourts in Portugal and I've got to be prepared well for that, but if I'm going to play -- it is not for sure that I'm going to play and I'm going to go to Sun City after that. It's tough for me. Quite a busy schedule after this and it was something I planned to do, so I'm going to try to make most of it, and see if I'm playing Davis Cup-- I have got to go back and do well in Davis Cup and go from there. But obviously, I'm playing well, I'm enjoying it, that's the just the main thing, and keep going the way I'm going and hopefully I'll keep on going up, but you never know. I'll just keep working. I'm looking forward to the next few months.

Q. What do you know about the Portuguese team?

MARK PETCHEY: What do I know about them? I don't know that much, actually, about them. I haven't played too many times when they've been there. Marques used to be a junior with me, and he didn't play so much last year, but I saw him playing recently and Cuhna Silva, he's been up in the top 100, so it's going to be a tough few for us. It's going to be difficult on clay, but I think we have got a good chance of winning and I feel this year we can get back into it what we're looking for anyway.

Q. When will you go to Portugal? Will you go home now?

MARK PETCHEY: Either tomorrow or Monday I'll go home and we're flying out, I think, on Wednesday.

Q. Are you going to Estoril first?

MARK PETCHEY: Yes, yes. I'll be going out with the rest of the team.

Q. When you broke in the fifth game of the second set and you guys play on and there's not another break, how are you dealing with that; what kinds of things are going on as far as "I've got to break, but I've got to hold too"?

MARK PETCHEY: All I was thinking about today was serving into his body and trying to get him out wide on his backhand and get the ball up high and I was just concentrating on my serve much more than his, because, obviously, it's tough, he doesn't serve big, but he serves hard and it kicks up and it's tough to take. The ball is so high on this court, you have to take it early, so I was concentrating on his service games, but I just wanted to concentrate on getting a lot of first serves and making my first volley, because it was tougher to pass. It's tough to pass out there on that court, so I just-- that was my main aim.

Q. What makes it tough to pass on the court?

MARK PETCHEY: The balls are quite heavy, you know, obviously, with a little bit of wind, obviously makes it difficult and it's quite a slow court. It's tough to generate the pace so you get good shot if you stay low, but he's one of the players that can do it, but he's definitely difficult-- it is difficult on that court to do that.

Thank you.

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