NEWSWEEK CHAMPIONS CUP

March 9, 1999

Yevgeny Kafelnikov

MIKI SINGH: First question for Yevgeny.

YEVGENY KAFELNIKOV: I can't really explain you what happened. Just lost the focus for a little while, that was the reason that I lost five games in a row.

YEVGENY KAFELNIKOV: Don't get me wrong, I was trying hard as I could. Not many times you get opportunity like that to win the tournament and become No. 1 in the world, you know. Just, you know, first round, it's always tough. Plus, Gustavo had already one match yesterday. He got used to. You know, I was a little bit off the game in that second and third set.

YEVGENY KAFELNIKOV: No, not at all, not at all, no.

YEVGENY KAFELNIKOV: No, no.

YEVGENY KAFELNIKOV: You know, I thought that he was nervous in the beginning. That's why he couldn't, you know, play his normal game. But then he kind of regrouped in the beginning of the second set, although I give him a chance. I got broken first game and that was good enough for him to come back into the match. You don't have to do such a mistake when you playing somebody -- you just don't do those mistakes when you playing some like Gustavo. That was the reason. You give him one chance to come back to the match, that was good enough.

YEVGENY KAFELNIKOV: I don't want to talk about it, honestly. I wish I could, but I don't.

YEVGENY KAFELNIKOV: That's exactly what happened.

YEVGENY KAFELNIKOV: That's exactly what happened. I was cruising through the first set 6-0. Anytime you win 6-0, you thinking, "Oh, might be danger." When you win 6-0, that means the guy is not in the game yet. And then when you give him a chance, that's basically what happened. Like I said, I got broken first game. It was good enough for him to come back to the match, got into the rhythm and he started to play better.

YEVGENY KAFELNIKOV: No, I'm not disappointed at all. I know I will have another opportunity. You know, I have a disappointment because I lost the first round, that's about it. I'm not disappointed because I didn't get to No. 1 this week. But I am disappointed I lost. You know, there is only nine of these events of the year. You want to play them as well as you can. But, you know, unfortunately didn't happen. So I have to, you know, look forward more, move on to the next one, which is going to be Lipton. So hopefully there I can really play my best game and try to win it.

YEVGENY KAFELNIKOV: I was, yeah. I was. I was. I was, yeah. Maybe there was another aspect of the pressure that I had going into the match today. I knew a lot of people would come out and watch, his family. Just wanted to win that match so badly that perhaps I put myself so much under pressure that I couldn't handle it. I was not thinking about No. 1 in the world; I was thinking just to win that match.

YEVGENY KAFELNIKOV: No, I got here on Thursday morning, Thursday morning. It was five days to adjust. I thought it was enough time. Like I said, I felt like I was playing well. You know, unfortunately played the wrong shots on the wrong time.

YEVGENY KAFELNIKOV: Of course, I'm optimistic. If I lose three, four, five times in a row first round, I'm expecting that because it's the quality of the tennis we have today on the Tour. You know, a lot of guys you see outside of rank of Top 100 can give a big battle to the top guys. That's what happen in these days now. You don't see any easy matches anymore.

YEVGENY KAFELNIKOV: You know, Pete - don't get me wrong - Pete is the greatest champion of all in this decade. He was able to play the right tennis in the right time, which was the Grand Slam. He was able to focus on the Grand Slams, which was Wimbledon and US Open. When you win those Grand Slam tournaments, no matter how the other guys plays the rest of the year, you're not going to get to No. 1. That's why you saw so big gap between him and the rest of the Tour.

YEVGENY KAFELNIKOV: Yeah, he did got close. He got hot at that time of the year, won back-to-back Indian Wells and Key Biscayne. But the guy never won a Grand Slam. Where is he ranked now? He's No. 6 or 8. If he doesn't do well in those two tournaments, he'll be 28. Nobody even remember who was Marcelo Rios. But everyone will remember who Pete Sampras is.

YEVGENY KAFELNIKOV: I don't. I don't.

YEVGENY KAFELNIKOV: Because No. 1 player in the world hasn't competed in the Australian Open. That's first. Second of all, I haven't faced him this year. That's the second. Why I should be seeded No. 1? Although I did win two tournaments of the year, Pete is only compete in two tournaments of the year. He hasn't really been tested yet. So hopefully he'll get tested in this tournament and Key Biscayne. Then after that, we can make a statement.