PILOT PEN INTERNATIONAL

August 21, 1998

Guillaume Raoux

Q. Things started to go down for you in the third set. It looked like you were getting frustrated. Was it the inconsistency of the refereeing that was kind of forcing you -- getting you to lose your focus?

GUILLAUME RAOUX: It is two or three bad calls that we had today that changed the match. Just I start well. I start very well and seeing after the second set, he start to play deeper. He start to hit stronger, the ball, and so I lost like one minute, one minute and a half so, I played very far from the baseline. It was more difficult for me to make the points and I was very aggressive the first set and then he changed -- he found a solution to put me in trouble when I had to play very far from my baseline.

GUILLAUME RAOUX: Yeah, but this is -- little things can change a lot. If you just be a little bit later on the ball, you hit maybe too late and you miss the line for -- like for this (indicating an inch) that is tennis. But one more time in the first set didn't hit the ball so well. He tried to play high balls, but it was not deep and after the second set, in the second set after, I had two breakpoints I didn't make it. He served well and then he start to play deeper and stronger so it was -- he is tough to play because like this -- it is tough to play with a lot of precision on this kind of ball compared to the first set, more time to adjust my shot.

GUILLAUME RAOUX: First thing I tried to do after my win yesterday just focus -- I mean, the tournament is not finished yet. That is what I tried to keep concentrating on the tournament on the match I had to play, but Kucera and Rafter are two different players and it is not because I beat Rafter that I am going to beat everybody -- Rafter is No. 4 in the world -- I had in my mind that Kucera is better than me on the Tour. His ranking is better. He is playing very good and I knew I had to be like 100% on my legs, 100%, my mind to win the match. That is what I tried to do, but it was not enough today because he played very well.

GUILLAUME RAOUX: I had one match or two matchpoints last time we played and he is tough to play against him for me because -- if I serve well, but he is returning well, I hit -- when I hit hard in the ball, he take the ball very soon and he play very fast. He is running well. He is not -- what is his ranking 13 or something.

GUILLAUME RAOUX: He is playing finals, semifinal everywhere he is playing. He is very constant player. You have to be 100%, even Sampras has to be 100% to beat this guy.