DAVIS CUP - CZECH REPUBLIC vs USA

April 9, 2000

Jiri Novak

USTA: Questions for Jiri.

JIRI NOVAK: I didn't hear you. What?

JIRI NOVAK: Yeah, I think I was getting pretty tired but he was playing unbelievable tennis today and I didn't get a chance to make one set. It was the big rally from the beginning. From the beginning of the match we were playing, I think, very nice tennis. We were playing a lot from the baseline. I was just getting tired and tired.

JIRI NOVAK: Yeah, I had very good motivation, you know, because I beat No. 2 or No. 3 player in the world right now. And I had very nice confidence for this match, especially after the doubles yesterday. But Andre was playing very different game, you know. He was playing from the baseline; not like Pete on Friday, he was playing serve-and-volley. This is completely different game, and he was much better today than me.

JIRI NOVAK: Yeah, I was trying to do that, but there wasn't the chance, you know, because he was playing so fast and the ball was from him very long, very close to the baseline, so I didn't get a chance to play, let's say, many balls from the net.

JIRI NOVAK: I think I can take some confidence, you know, from this week to the ATP Tour tournaments, because I was playing really great tennis this week. I didn't expect that I could make two points against the US Team, so I've got the big confidence and I hope that I will take this confidence for the other tournaments on the claycourts.

JIRI NOVAK: I said to him he must play the game like me on Friday, you know. (Laughter.)

JIRI NOVAK: The tired?

JIRI NOVAK: It's tough to say, but Andre was much better than me from the beginning of the match, you know. So it's tough to say which moment was very important. I think every point, because I was running, you know, all the time, to the right and then to the left. Then I was just getting tired. Maybe after first and second set, you know.

JIRI NOVAK: No, I don't think so. I think that Andre was supposed to win today anyway, you know, so I'm very happy that I made the second point yesterday. I was playing doubles and I was just trying to play my best tennis today.

JIRI NOVAK: He made the four errors?

JIRI NOVAK: Yeah, I was under big pressure, you know, he was playing very, very fast. And I was just major defense and I made maybe three, four errors, but I didn't won it.

JIRI NOVAK: No, I don't think so, but this is special kind of player, Andre Agassi. He's really killing the balls very fast from the baseline. I was playing against Alex Corretja last week in Key Biscayne, he was playing also from the baseline. But this is a special kind of players, you know.

JIRI NOVAK: Yeah, he was playing very well and especially serving. He was making a lot of points from the first and second serve.

JIRI NOVAK: You know, I think that Slava have nothing to lose. He can play without the pressure, I said already many times. We are very happy that we had the score 2-0 right now and we are playing the fifth match for the victory, you know.

JIRI NOVAK: I think much better. But I said to Czech News that when I was playing the first serve, I had serve from much faster back, you know, in my legs in the baseline. So maybe was better to play just for the percentage because they said that I didn't make a lot of the first services, you know. So...

JIRI NOVAK: You never know. I think that they've got very nice chance.

JIRI NOVAK: I was just playing my game. It's tough to change completely my game when I'm just playing the tennis from the baseline, and I think that Andre's too good, also, if I will play the serve-and-volley because my serve is not so good like let's say Pete's or Rusedski or Philippoussis. I think I can just play from the baseline.

JIRI NOVAK: Yeah, I think so. Because I think that I can play right now with the top players. I beat Sampras, we beat in the doubles O'Brien-Palmer. I think it's a very good experience for me and very good confidence for the next -- my tennis life.

JIRI NOVAK: You know, I didn't see it much, but we just arrive from Sunday and we visit the Lakers, Lakers team was playing. And we were all the time in the stadium, we were practicing a lot. We were practicing maybe three, four hours per day, and then we were just coming back to the hotel around six or seven o'clock in the evening. We just had dinner. Everything was just concentration for the game. But I think that it was very good for us. This is very good experience for us, and we were really enjoy it.

JIRI NOVAK: Yeah, sure, because it was my first visit in LA. I was just many times at the airport when I was travelling to Palm Springs or somewhere else, but I would like to visit some Hollywood and some parts of LA.