GREAT AMERICAN INSURANCE ATP CHAMPIONSHIP

August 11, 1999

Cedric Pioline

Q. Did you have any idea he was injured?

CEDRIC PIOLINE: No. Surely, no. I didn't see he start to cramp, because tiebreaker in the second set, I think he played normal like he played since the beginning.

CEDRIC PIOLINE: Tired, of course. It's very hot out there. There's a lot of effort physically for to play. I mean, you sweat a lot, and it's more tiring than normal.

CEDRIC PIOLINE: Yeah, but I had some chances first set. I had one break, a couple of breakpoints. I was up 3-Love in the tiebreak. I was disappointed, you know, because I think I had more chances than he had. But I tried to just stay in the match and keep my serve, and it worked.

CEDRIC PIOLINE: Yeah, I could make some points. He made some very good shots on the breakpoints. It's always a disappointment. You have to keep playing and try to do a little bit more every time. Sometimes, I mean, you have a happy end.

CEDRIC PIOLINE: Michael is a tough opponent. I mean, even if his ranking is went down in the last few months, I'm sure he's still able to play very good, like he did today. I don't have a good record against him, so I'm going to try to play the kind of tennis I played today and against Moya on Wednesday.

CEDRIC PIOLINE: No, I mean, I'm ready for everybody, no matter.

CEDRIC PIOLINE: He's very - how do you say - he gets a good average in his game. He's always doing shots, one more shot. He's running a lot. He's able to pick some unbelievable balls. It's always difficult to play against a player like this because you never know when the point is finish.

CEDRIC PIOLINE: No, I don't like that (laughter).