THE LIPTON CHAMPIONSHIPS

March 28, 1996

Goran Ivanisevic

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Yes.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Set the record that nobody is going to beat in another 200 years before robots comes and breaks the record.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Yes, it went up, up.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: They're going to find it.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Great. You can't beat Chang with just the serve, he was changing and serving close and far, but today I think I surprised him, I mean, his way of playing he gives you this very soft ball in the middle of the court and then you blow it off the court or you miss everything and everything comes back. I surprised him. I hit a couple of winners in the beginning and I put pressure on him. He couldn't give me any more of the soft balls. Then he tried to make the winners and then he was missing and that was the key of the -- not the -- I played today and I beat him because he was rushing, he wanted to make the winner and he couldn't.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: I mean it's great. We have so much fun. We practice serious, serious we have sometimes fun on the court. We play lots of different things, lots of shots that I didn't play too much before and that's why I am hitting those balls much better, especially forehands down the line, which I used before every fifth month for the tournament, now I am using a lot of those balls, this is one of the most important shots in tennis, working down the line, especially for me which I made him run to the backhand and then hit down the line, which is a much better shot. So, I practice that a lot, backhand cross court, so with this new coach, I think I improved a lot of those little shots which I missed before.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: That was just a small -- this ball is not allowed to bounce, that's what we playing evey --

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Point nothing, just to win and he beat me last two days, which I didn't like. Today I beat him, so that's why I was happier, that's why I played good.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Yeah, I mean, I don't have to practice now so much, everything is working fine. I just have to, every day, half an hour, 40 minutes put my game together and I will be ready for the match.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: I feel very tired, but just now I am just playing -- I am happy to play and that's keeping me going. When I come on the court, I am concentrating, mentally. I am still -- my legs a little tired, but here I am still okay, fresh. I have busy schedule and pretty tough Friday, I have to play Davis Cup in Croatia, it's pretty tough, but I am still surviving. I mean, I am still going to keep going until I collapse on the court.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Yeah, I'm playing -- before I could dream to be in Key Biscayne till Friday only if I take holidays, now I am here in tournament. It's good, every week we are till Saturday and Sunday and the lockers are pretty empty on Saturdays and Sundays, so it is pretty fun.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: He is not my good friend and he is a great player and we had a lot of good matches before. I think it is going to be another -- it is going to be different than tonight, will be a lot of big serves, a lot of free points from the serves, but I think it is always between me and him who is more steady from the back and we concentrate more on the serve, putting and returning better is going to mean the match, but I think I have a chance. I think he is not playing the best tennis. I think in Indian Wells he didn't play the greatest tennis, but here he seems to always play better and I saw a couple of, I guess, Martin played good tennis, I am going to have fun and I am going to try to hit my shots and if he wants to beat me, he has to play good tennis.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: It has nothing to do with Wimbledon. It is important for me to win any match. This is another tournament. Wimbledon is another story. I can win every match before Wimbledon and Wimbledon will come and I can lose. There is nothing to compare any tournament. You can't compare any tournament with Wimbledon.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Yes, I have to look, I mean, I am not thinking yet, but Wimbledon is pretty close and first I think I should -- I grew up on clay and I have good results on clay and I think I am going to give it a shot first Roland Garros and then I am going to concentrate about Wimbledon.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Yes, I mean, clay, I learn my tennis on clay and it's maybe one of my favorite surfaces. Last year I had a great season except for the French Open, so maybe I am still thinking like that. I would think -- maybe I would like at final Wimbledon if I can reach another final that best match of my life.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: I don't think so. I throw a couple of times, maybe against Reneberg, I throw one time, but -- it helps. It doesn't matter, throwing or not, it doesn't take the points away from me. It doesn't bother me. It doesn't break my concentration.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: When I throw the racket before, when I throw the racket and I start to talk to myself and then I lose a couple of points, game and then it is tough to come back, especially against Chang. You cannot let him see that and give him any free points, so now when I throw the racket it is just I throw it and have fun.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: It is better throwing the balls. It doesn't cost anything.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: I was pretty surprised, especially when I did a doublefault. They went bananas. Usually the crowd here is pretty fair, but tonight I was surprised. They were pretty exciting, like Davis Cup, that gives me something extra, you know, I just say, yeah, yeah, just go ahead. Then I hit an ace, and then it cooled them down, I liked that. When they go so exciting, then they go, whoa. It makes me happy.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: No, not bananas, but maybe I go more scared, but I couldn't provide the ace, maybe I go tight and maybe I start to go for the big second serve, which is something stupid. So, today, I kept my mind on doublefault. I say now it is time for an ace and ace came and very, very -- I was very concentrated.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: No, no, my coach.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Yes, more fun, I am more focused. I know what is my priorities and I keep letting my mind when I get on the court.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: That has nothing to do. I am more calm on the court. I am just -- this year by surprise, everybody is surprised how calm I am. I just lost my mind a little bit in Milan a couple of weeks ago, that was just for a couple of seconds, but I was controlling myself okay.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: No, no, I am not now try to stand on my head at night and be focused for the next morning. I just have fun and on the court I am enjoying more. I am enjoying to play, have fun on the court, to hit more shots and that's why I playing better.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: A lot. I don't know why. I mean, it's a fun country, never boring here, always things to do, always see interesting people, I just didn't like the surface. I didn't -- maybe before I come on the plane, I didn't like to think that I have to fly to the States and then I put extra pressure on myself, oh, the States again, but since last year when I had a pretty good season, summer season on hard court and then just Open, twist my ankle, then I realized I can play good tennis and now this year whatever I am, I just don't make any problems, trouble, I just play wherever they put me and have fun and I start playing better.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Interesting? Wait a second. Nothing interesting. We playing little cards me and coach against my mother and father. That's a big, big thing, you know. It is a big, big battles, you know, and we losing all the time. Last night was pretty upset.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: It is an Italian game.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: It is called Briscola. It is tough for you to --

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Briscola. And all sort of signs which you not allowed in this game, little cheating, you know, doesn't help.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: It is a secret. My father is pretty experienced.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: No. No. No, he doesn't know that we are cheating, you know.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: For everything, you know, but it doesn't matter, it is more pride. It is just I don't like to lose any kind of cards and this is pretty bad when we losing. I didn't like last night, they beat us pretty badly and I couldn't sleep.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: My father is not so tall. 180, 178,. They are pretty small. I mean my mother is 175, but my grandfather was pretty tall, 195.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: I don't know. You have to ask my mother and father.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Great. We had little jogging in Indian Wells at 6:00 in the morning. You know, those things happen. Before I never could imagine me running before Bob, but in Indian Wells I was just coming back from running and Bob was going to the running it was 6:00 in the morning and that is something unbelievable, so -- but we have great, great just talk and I still, four and a half years I was part of the family and I still have good relation with his kids and the wife. We talk normal.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: He is the most complete No. 1 player when he is playing good tennis. He is the most complete No. 1. He can play on any surface and he is the best No. 1, I mean.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: No, it is not because I am winning, I just change my attitude and enjoying, doesn't matter what -- I know I am going to probably, this year, going to have some tough time because it is tough to go like this, but I change, I change and I realize that now this couple of years could be my best years in tennis and you have to change sometimes. I imagine to change and play good tennis.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Martina Hingis. Chang, sometimes the ball clicked, especially today, came amazingly back. I mean, he was standing so close and I hit right into the body and the ball came so quick, so because he is pretty quick, I mean, he is very quick, so he is returning, but Agassi is more picking the side, he is picking the side and he is guessing. He is 95 percent time guessing right, which is unbelievable in the head. He has this talent of guessing and unbelievably quick, but these two are the best.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: It is tough to slow because now I am playing tomorrow and then Friday I am playing Davis Cup in Croatia and then one week after then Barcelona, which I have -- maybe I am going to skip that, but then it is pretty busy, clay court season, then is Wimbledon, then is Olympic games and then is hardcourt season, then it's indoor, and then it's -- I don't know what. It is tough. I made a tough schedule. I don't know what for, I try to be iron man, but it is okay as long as I'm winning I don't complain. It's fun.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Monte Carlo, Hamburg, Rome, yes, everything.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Clay is coming. I am going to have to run a little bit there plus I don't mind. I like clay and today I was not so easy everything.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: I knew after such a bad two months last year, everything went bad, I practiced so much with Bob, everything, I was so concentrated I wanted to win match so badly and I couldn't produce anything good on the court losing to anybody, everybody, it just was not there and suddenly all those pieces paid off and start to work, and then I start to hit the ball better, little change in the coaches, you know, sometimes it is good to change. Sometimes maybe what's good for me at the moment is a little fresh and he put little fresh things into my mind and just suddenly I clicked and started to produce good tennis and have more fun.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: That was pretty interesting. He had -- I mean -- I couldn't win the match and we practiced a lot and then we came to Essen and I lost that day to Sinner then we played doubles 2:00 in the morning, I lost to doubles, so he said to me eight o'clock practice, I said, I'm not going to practice because practice or no practice I cannot beat anybody, so I decide not to practice it's much easier, you know, then he say we're finished.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Yes, he said so many times like that we finished then after half an hour we came back said, sorry, Bob, everything is okay, you know, but then next morning he called me at 9:00, whatever it was, and he said he wants to talk to me and I came to his room and he showed me the statement, he wrote a statement. I was shocked. I almost got heart attack. I mean I was pretty shocked. Then I was not any more sorry, I knew it's over. And then I had to write a statement and that was it.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: No, I was really -- that was tough, that was really tough. It was really something very touching and -- but then I had to go -- I couldn't do anything. I wrote a statement and I had a couple of tournaments, now I said, okay, new life, new season coming, let's try to make something from that.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Actually I didn't try to beg him, I mean, to -- I just felt like that, he said he wants to stop and I didn't want to beg, I just was ready to go and I wrote my statement and that was it. I think it will be stupid after this press release thing went on that I go and beg him, please, Bob. I think it was his decision and probably he was right. He just -- you never know.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: What do you mean lowest?

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Yes, I was pretty down, you know, when you cannot read the match. I know that I practiced five hours a day, I know that I have a something that is there, whatever match I play I cannot win, I lost everything first round, indoor, that was my best maybe surface, I lost everything, then I knew I have to -- it cannot be worse, it can only be better, so from then step by step I managed to play best tennis of my life.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: I called Vedron, I knew he was coming to Split for Christmas and New Year and then I asked him if he can ask the club where he practice if he can go to me to Australia and then we went to Australia then from Sidney. I phoned Bob and I asked him what he thinks about Vedron (ph), if he can become my coach, and Bob gave me full support. He helped me with that. He was happy that I asked him for the advice, so Bob helped me in that, if Bob said no, maybe I will have different thinking, but Bob said, yeah, I think he is a good guy for you, he is new, he is going to be king to work and he is going to be king to produce results for you, so then that's it. Then after Sidney, after Australia, I said, "Vedron, you want to be my coach?" He split with the club and then we signed the contract.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: No. He is five years older than me, we met in the tennis club, all the life spent together, it is pretty interesting, you know, he knows me very good since I was nine and it is just -- he knows me and just now he is my coach. It is very strange whenever I see him he is my coach.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Everybody asks if he is my brother. I didn't see one person, oh, he is your brother, you look same, but he is my brother, my coach, my friend, everything. We have just -- we have to -- I mean, now a lot of coaches they are just there because they are paid to be there and, okay, they practice with the guy and say, see you tomorrow. I didn't want a coach like that. I think for good relation you have to be good friends which I manage to be with Bob in this four and a half years and now with Vedron I was friends for 15 years so that's helped me.

GORAN IVANISEVIC: Well, I beat him today singles.