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DAVIS CUP FIRST ROUND: FRANCE v U.S.A.

February 3, 1995

Cedric Pioline

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA

Q. Cedric, in your heart when the draw came and you knew you were going to play him; the given your record, did you believe you were going to win; did you feel --

CEDRIC PIOLINE: I didn't know if I was going to win or not, but I was very confident because I played him three times and I beat him three times, so it is always better to start like this, than Love-30, so I was very confident and it was well, why not?

Q. Do you know what made his serve fall apart; it went from very effective to gone, his serve, what made it fall apart; what made him lose it?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: I don't know, maybe -- I feel his game, so I know where he is going to serve or when he is going to play, so maybe it is stopping his game, so after his serve is falling down, maybe, but I don't know if he played only one tournament since last year, so maybe he is looking for some confidence.

Q. You put the hat on early in the first set what; was the reason for that?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: Only my hair. It is too long.

Q. In the matches you have played, have a couple of things developed which you keep with you every time you play against him and maybe you could let us in on that?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: Yeah, sure. But I am not going to tell you. Because I would like to keep it for me until I finish playing and you come back and I will tell you.

Q. Obviously you have got something going, on him.

CEDRIC PIOLINE: Yeah, yeah. I know how he is playing and so I can anticipate a little and I have like I am before the ball, ahead of the ball, so it is good.

Q. Did the slowness of the court take away from his serve a little bit giving you a little bit more time, a split second more to get your return?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: Yeah, yeah. But -- yeah. I mean, the first set he was serving very good, I mean, first games, I was just looking at the ball and then I had time to make the return to play a little. It was better for me.

Q. Cedric, you say you know his game; you want to keep it to yourself. What about Guy, is Guy going to know Todd's game by Sunday?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: Sure. Sure. I will tell him what I know, but he is playing a different game than me, so maybe he is -- he can not play the same way as I am playing.

Q. When his serve started to go away, did you change too and start to attack more?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: Yeah. I tried, I tried to attack more to make him feel his serve is going away, so put the pressure on him and make him think what I am doing and I am not serving well, so yeah, I did that.

Q. How good does it feel? What were your emotions like when it was over?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: I mean, it is great because I didn't play very well the last few weeks in Australia, so I mean, playing a top 10 player or I don't know top 15 like the first match, it is always tough, and so it is a great feeling and I am very happy for me and for the team to make one point.

Q. Were you surprised when Yannick chose you for the singles? I understand it was very close.

CEDRIC PIOLINE: Half surprised because I was expecting to play, you know, I was preparing myself to play because I played last year and even if my ranking is low now I know I have some experience. I have played big matches in the past, so I was like half surprised.

Q. When you were serving for the match, was that nerves where Yannick said he started to worry because he thought you got very tense; that --

CEDRIC PIOLINE: Yeah, I was a little tense and then he -- since two free games he was playing better; he was trying to take the net after my serve, return on volley and tried to make short rally to come to the net, so it was -- and he did very well, so when he broke me the third set, he played like very good game and then I took my time and tried to not to panic and then it worked well.

Q. Did saving the double breakpoint, did that lift you a lot?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: Yeah, when I saved the double breakpoint I knew -- I mean, anything can happen, but I knew -- I was more confident to finish the match.

Q. The way you hit this afternoon, off the ground, did it feel a little like the 1993 U.S. Open?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: I hope so. Yeah, no, I played very good and solid match, that is a good feeling because last year I didn't play so many good matches, so it is a good feeling and it give me confidence for the next tournament, so, yeah, maybe it is not the same player as '93, but it is -- my level is going up.

Q. When is the last time you played this well, Cedric?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: Well, I don't know, it is only one match, so I mean, it is not --

Q. As you said, you didn't have a very good '94?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: Yeah, not at all. But '93, I think the end of '93 I was playing good and even better than this, I think.

Q. This is the best since then, would you say?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: Yeah, one of the best, yeah.

Q. Does winning today make a difference in how you will feel Sunday or do you think that if you are a professional you just have to block it -- for you, will it make a difference?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: No. No. I keep my mind cool and wait for Sunday.

Q. How helpful is Yannick; how helpful is it to have Yannick out there?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: It is good because he is knowing the game very well, so he can help me when sometimes my serve was going down so he just told me a few things and he is a big help, yeah, big help.

Q. What was Yannick saying to you during that last changeover, the third set, seemed to be talking very earnestly to you, pumping his fists; what was he saying?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: I think he felt I was a little tense because thought I was -- Todd was playing much better, so he just told me to try and make the first points; to keep concentrating on my serve, first serve, to make it, make my first serve and to start the point with a big shot.

Q. Did you expect to see Todd Martin more at the net this match than he showed you?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: Not really. I mean, he played always this way against me, so I mean, his game is -- he got some good shots, so he is mixing up, so, no.

Q. How early in the match did you realize that you wanted to keep working on his forehand?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: At the beginning of the second set he start to, I mean, I think he was disappointed to lose the first set and he start to make few miss, so, yeah, beginning of the third set.

Q. When he was hitting all those aces, does it take something special to hang in there, I mean, do you think a lot of players would have just written it off?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: I think when a player is being like that you just have to wait, because I mean, you just look at the balls; ace on your forehand; ace on your backhand; you just wait. I was serving well too, so I was not afraid about something -- just wait and he start to miss some and I start to lose some and then I broke him.

Q. How have you done against Courier in the past and what kind of confidence do you take into that match on Sunday?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: I beat him only one time in the U.S. Open - I think it was a good time to do it - so he is a tough player, I mean, if you want to beat him you have to play well because he is not going to give you the match, so -- but I think he didn't play so well in Davis Cup last few years, so anything can happen.

Q. In that match in the Open what worked for you, I mean, I am not going to ask you to give the strategy for coming up, but looking back, what made you successful?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: I think that tournament I served very well and so I was not worried on my serve. I could keep my concentration on his serve and then I mean, I just tried to take my chance, you know, and do not wait for his mistake, just try to do the point by myself and it worked.

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