GREAT AMERICAN INSURANCE ATP CHAMPIONSHIP

August 13, 1998

Patrick Rafter

Q. You haven't lost a set in a couple weeks. How did you mentally approach when you got down and came back?

PATRICK RAFTER: I haven't lost a set since my 7th match, so it's not that big -- I don't know. I know that when I play -- when I play Todd that he really comes out and blasting and he's pretty tough and you've got to hang with it. I can remember Stuttgart, Sydney, the Australian Open the last three times and one here, I've always been down two break and two of the matches -- one of the matches I won the set but he comes out usually blasting and you've got to stick with him and find a way of breaking his return service game down. But he serves real well. I feel like I'm returning pretty well, so there's always a chance at breaking.

PATRICK RAFTER: Todd, yeah, I thought he was playing pretty well. He was serving well. I think he got that break at 2-2 in the second set. If he got that, then I think it could have been a whole different story.

PATRICK RAFTER: No, it isn't him. I think he probably didn't realize how hard that thing was. Yeah, I guess, you know, played him four times in a row, and the results have been similar enough that he got frustrated with that. But it's understandable. But after the match he's in great spirits and during the match.

PATRICK RAFTER: Physically, I feel great and mentally as well. I'm moving well. I'm relaxed and enjoying it at the moment. If I'd come off losing in the match tonight, I still would have felt good about how I was hitting the ball. I just felt -- feeling good about things at the moment.

PATRICK RAFTER: Definitely, yeah, I can move well on this surface. And when I move well, I play well, simple as that.

PATRICK RAFTER: This is a big tournament. Everybody keeps asking me about the U.S. Open. It's going to come around. It's inevitable. But I'm here playing the Super 9. I think this tournament's harder than the Grand Slam, it can be. Because everyone is so concentrated the seeds don't have a chance to lose but this week they have. But usually a lot these sort of tournaments they don't have a chance to get a by, and all of a sudden -- I mean, I could have played Henman the second round to play -- it could have been Henman tonight. I mean Todd, Henman, it doesn't matter, they are all great players. But we come up with very tough opponents here very quickly. But whereas in a Grand Slam, you can play two qualifies maybe who aren't quite as strong .

PATRICK RAFTER: So it doesn't get any easier.

PATRICK RAFTER: He's got me, most times. I got him once at the Grand Slam Cup. As I said, you know, if I can continue to play the way I'm playing, there's no reason why I can't have a good result against him.

PATRICK RAFTER: I haven't really thought about it. It's not that big a deal for me. No, I don't. Again, it's not something that's plaguing my mind. If it was like going into the semifinals and I'm in the finals and maybe then I can think about it. But not at this stage.

PATRICK RAFTER: And as I said I've played a lot of tennis, it's just matter of getting enough balls and hit.

PATRICK RAFTER: I think I was getting very frustrated around the Queens time, was definitely the lowest point of my career thus far.

PATRICK RAFTER: You've just got to keep -- keep going at it. You've got to keep working hard and eventually things just turn around.

PATRICK RAFTER: Motivation was more or less the end of last year. It was tough -- I found it difficult to get out of bed to train where was before I never had that problem. And now it's just -- I'm just playing matches so it's great. I don't need to try -- I like it this way.

PATRICK RAFTER: I guess there's a bit more pressure, yeah. It's great to see. Takes a bit more pressure off me as well.

PATRICK RAFTER: What makes him dangerous is he can do everything and he can do nothing. Whatever shot -- he can make any shot from my part of the court and it just depends on what frame of mind he's in. And then he can turn a whole match around and not miss a ball. He can do that to you. He can make you look very silly on the court. But he can also make you look bloody good.