TMS - INDIAN WELLS

March 16, 2000

Magnus Norman

MIKI SINGH: Questions for Magnus.

MAGNUS NORMAN: Yeah, it was. I think both Sebastien and me were playing very good tennis. It's just fantastic to be such a part of high-level tennis. That's what you train for every day. I'm just glad to actually have won the match as well.

MAGNUS NORMAN: It is, yeah. It's one of the toughest things in tennis, when you lose a set that you actually should have maybe have won, because I was always leading the set. I thought that, you know, I was in a good position to actually win the tiebreaker, then I lost it. As you said, to come back as strong as I did in the third set, it shows how strong I am in the moment, both physically and mentally.

MAGNUS NORMAN: Absolutely not. In the new Tennis Masters Series, right from the beginning you've got to play a hundred percent, otherwise you're out of here in the first match. I'm just going to take one match at a time. If I win one more match, I'm going to be very, very happy. You can't take anything for granted because then maybe you'll be flying out of here.

MAGNUS NORMAN: Absolutely. Last year, as you said, I had five titles. This year I'm trying to focus more on the big tournaments. I was down in Australia, made the semifinals there. I'm already in the Top 10, which was my goal for this year. Still it's only March. I have good room for improvement this year. I'm just looking forward to a very exciting year.

MAGNUS NORMAN: Well, I'm looking more for the year-end ranking. I want to be among the Top 10 when the year ends. I think that's what really counts. I think I have a good chance, absolutely, to make it.

MAGNUS NORMAN: That's a big step for me. When you've done it once, you know in your mind you can do it more times. It's very important.

MAGNUS NORMAN: I think it's fair to all of us. It doesn't really matter if you are a serve-and-volley player or if you're a baseline player. I think it's fair to everybody. I think the tournament -- it's really a fair surface for everyone. The tournament should be happy. There have been a lot of good matches. I'm sure on the weekend, it's going to be even better tennis.

MAGNUS NORMAN: I think I beat Corretja twice and Santoro once. I don't think I lost to them. I have a little bit of advantage there. But both are playing very good this week, so it's going to be a very tough match. I just have to play as strong as I did today to get through.

MAGNUS NORMAN: Absolutely. No one knows who I am. If you want it to be that way, it can be that way. I'm not trying to make publicity, things like that. I like it more like it is for the moment. Of course, I want tennis fans to know who I am and that I'm a pretty good player. Hopefully if I have some good results, people are going to start to recognize me.

MAGNUS NORMAN: That would be something. We're practicing together in Stockholm all the time. It's far away to think about that. That would be a dream final for us both.

MAGNUS NORMAN: Perhaps maybe you're right. I'm not just that kind of person. I'm not going to act a different kind of way because I want to make more money. I just want to stay like Magnus Norman, not try to pretend to be anyone else.