TMS - INDIAN WELLS

March 15, 2001

Goran Ivanisevic

MODERATOR: Questions for Goran.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Yeah, but if I could hold serve first game of the second set, maybe that was my chance, you know. Maybe he might fell apart. But he play very good tennis. I play him so many times. No mistakes. I have to work for every point. No free points. If I hit one shorter ball, short return, I'm gone. I mean, he play great tennis. Everybody said the way I play, everything was great. I need those kind of matches, you know. I need some more matches to play players like him, and it's going to be much better. Nothing to say about my game. I play good, he play better, and he beat me.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: I gave a lot of times serves. You don't see that on the tour, you know. Most of the guys, they don't do that. I mean, nobody actually do that. Maybe few more guys just give the points. But I think that's nice. I think I say to myself, "It always comes back somehow." Today didn't. Maybe in another match, another tournament, maybe the things where you give to the other guy comes back. Sometimes the other guy gives you the ball back, you know. It sometime can be good.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: I don't feel any sympathy. When it's good, it's good. The ball was clear on the line. What I going to say? I better say good, because it was really good serve, not because I feel any sympathy. It's just because the ball was good.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: I was getting a little tired. I had a lot of serves. He was returning very good, and then I start to force myself a little bit more. I didn't know what to do. I start to force second serve because he was returning too good. It just start to hurt a little bit. That was not the reason because I lost. It was the reason because he play better tennis. But it's still here; it didn't fall off. Hopefully it's not going to fall off yet.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Yeah. I mean, when I can keep up with a guy like him. Usually we play a lot of times and I have a better score than him in head-to-head matches. I know I can beat anybody when I play good. Today match could go around, but I can feel that I can play against these guys - doesn't matter if it's him or Andre or whoever. If I have my momentum, if I play good, if I keep my mind, I think I can play against anybody here. That's why I still playing. Crowd likes me. Lately I like myself. Perfect.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Yeah. I think they still want me to play, still want me to win some matches. Everything is working fine now, slowly progressing. But it's nice, it's nice. It's so tough when you lose first round. Is better like this.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: It encourages you to play tennis, to try to win. They really want me to win. Is really nice, you know. After I say all the comments about this place a long time ago, they still like me and they still want me to come back. The older people are my best fans. I'm going to keep coming till I can.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: I hope so. I hope so. I still going to play tennis, I still going to have fun. Hope I don't need a wildcard next year. Hopefully I can move my ranking. Is also no fun when I have to have a wildcard every week. Is not a goal for me. I want to achieve something, like go to Top 50, then is easier. You don't need a wildcard. You can move, you can choose the tournaments. Like this, I have to choose what they offer me. If they offer me wildcard in Memphis, San Jose, I have to go there. In Europe, I cannot get a wildcard. So is different story. When your ranking is not good, you can take whatever is there.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: I going to move now a little bit with these points. If I can play every week like this, I going to be okay because I have nothing to defend. I have only Queen's, Key Biscayne I won two rounds last year, and Queen's two rounds. That's it. Every first round after that. Whatever I do, I think I'm okay. If I play like this, if I'm with my mind like this, I'm not worried about my ranking.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: I don't know. I was talking about that yesterday. That's a decision that I have to think deeply. I don't know. It's really tough decision. I don't know what I going to do. Like today, you know, what worries me, if I have to play five sets in one tournament, I don't think I can make it. Today I already start to feel a little bit. I had to call trainer. It bother. As soon as you start to think about that, it's not good. But I still have to see with myself how is going to progress my shoulder, how is going to be.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: What do you mean "racquet toss"?

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Yeah. I had to be careful because there were a lot of ballboys there, to aim it. I wanted to throw it harder. I say, "Man, be careful because a lot of traffic there. If you hit somebody, you going to be escorted out of the court and pay big fine." Actually, I tossed it nicely, landed nicely, like airplane. No warning, beautiful. That's the art of throwing racquets.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: You have to know how to throw the racquet. You have to know how to break the racquet. Especially when there's a lot of ballboys, chair umpire, you have to know how to land it. High, then land it nicely, no damage, nobody was hit. It's nice. You don't get warning. Perfect. You get your anger outside of you. Smart, smart to throw the racquet.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Yes, some of them, they miss that. Some of them, they have it. Some of them, they throw the racquet. Some of them, they don't know how to throw the racquet. If they don't know, they going to learn. If they don't learn, what can you do?

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Safin is the man. And he's a great tennis player.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: No. But I saw (John?). He was a good thrower. I saw once in New Haven when the throw the cameraman. The picture on TV went (skewed). But I still have one goal before I finish my career, which I not going to tell you. Nobody did that also ever. It's my goal to do it. I have to be careful with that.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: I can't. I can't. Going to see it. I going to announce you the match.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Definitely. With me, everything is against the rules.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Yes.