EUROCARD OPEN

October 22, 1997

Goran Ivanisevic

Q. What is the injury, Goran?

GORAN IVANISEVIC: I don't know. I am going now to take MRI and they are going to tell me more.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: It is painful. I don't know why I played today. It is just maybe I thought it is not going to be painful. Maybe I just wanted to play so badly and then in the end, I just make myself stupid and they were booing me and they don't know why I stopped. Just I make the mess without -- for nothing.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: I mean, they don't know why I quit. And, I mean, it is stupid if somebody stops to play, it is not because I want it. It is probably something wrong with me and they were booing. But, I don't care. I mean, hopefully, it is not so bad, my injury, but we will see what is going to happen.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: I was very close. I was maybe 10% to play, but then I was okay, maybe it is better, maybe this, maybe that. I wanted to play so badly because I am playing good tennis at the moment and I have a good chance to qualify because all the other guys are losing who are close to me and it is just unbelievable. Finally, I find my game. I find the desire to play again and then the injury happens. It is probably not my year. I have to forget about this year.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: I realized as soon as I lost my serve. At that point, I was in pain, unbelievable, but I didn't play for three days -- I didn't serve, I mean, at all and my serve was terrible. I mean, I was throwing the ball everywhere. I hit one serve 10 meters long. It never happens to me. I mean, my serve was going everywhere and he was returning pretty easy. But, then after it was -- I knew it is not going to happen.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: I mean, he was returning pretty easy, but I couldn't put first serves in the court. Every time I needed it, it was not there. Even when I am 100%, he is a tough opponent. He is 19 in the world. He beat me before. He beat a lot of good players. So, he knows how to play tennis. But like this, it is no fun for me to play. It is no fun for anybody.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: It is no problem for me to serve. I can serve hard. It is not a question of serving hard. I can hit the ball hard, but it is a question that when I hit the serve 205, it is enormous pain and my whole shoulder, elbow is getting so tired. And, then like it is okay; I hit a serve; I hit one more shot and then I cannot hold my racket, it is getting so heavy. That is the problem. It is not a question that I cannot hit the serve. I can hit the serve. I can hit anything, but it is just something is probably wrong inside that makes my whole arm -- it makes it tired then. I have to find out why.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Something, I don't know what. I didn't play for a long time after the US Open and then in Vienna, I played a lot of matches, a lot of serving, a lot of stress and I don't know -- I don't know where this is coming from. The balls in Vienna, they was so heavy.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Here also. I don't know what they are trying to do there, but they are putting some strange balls and I mean, anyway, my shoulder has been hurting for a couple of years. But it is never like this. Now I always have a problem. So now is the time. Maybe it is like a sign for me to go to check and see what -- because I want to still play tennis and for one, two tournaments, it is not worth it to risk anything.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: I am going to find out now. I am going to the doctor at 7 o'clock and do all the test, MRIs and probably tonight I will know.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: They told me a couple of days, but maybe it is worse than they thought. I don't know how worse. I cannot say anything how bad it is before I do the MRI. I do the MRI. When the guy tests me, then I am going to know what is the problem.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: No, he played a solid game. He doesn't have any big shots, but he is -- every shot is solid, forehands, backhand, serve, volleys. He is doing -- and there are worse guys to play like him because you don't know where to play, forehand, backhand. Whatever you play, it is solid. He doesn't have any big shots, and he is always doing -- giving 100%, always playing his solid game and that is why he is 19 in the world.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: I mean, to go into the match already knowing that even if I win today, I don't know if I can play tomorrow, or you don't know if you are going to finish the match, that makes me very nervous, very nervous, very -- I mean, maybe today I was very close, if I continued the match - I was very, very aggressive, not because I was losing, but because all of this pain in the shoulder. All these things were happening. And, a little bit sad because I am playing good tennis and I am not able to produce at the moment because of this. So I was very pissed about everything. Nothing is over yet. If they say next week I can play and then I still have two tournaments, but so now I have to see what is going to happen.