WTA TOUR CHAMPIONSHIPS

November 19, 1995

Steffi Graf

STEFFI GRAF: I think it's definitely a challenge. I mean, I was looking forward to it. It was not hoping for five sets, actually. But singles, we didn't really have too many long rallies, it wasn't too demanding on our condition.

STEFFI GRAF: The thing is, it really depends on the surface. I think it will be tough for us to play maybe on a claycourt best of five or even in Australia, where it's pretty hot and to go there five sets or go the long distance, I think that's pretty difficult. But I think it's possible.

STEFFI GRAF: Absolutely. I mean you win this tournament at the end of the year and it obviously makes it a lot sweeter, even if -- it was difficult to make the year even sweeter, but obviously it did.

STEFFI GRAF: No. Because I knew what she can do. And like I said already yesterday, I kind of thought she could make it to the finals and she's somebody that really goes for her shots and she likes her first serve. I wasn't surprised at how well she did at the end.

STEFFI GRAF: I really wasn't, because you could feel she was nervous in the beginning. And you could sense she couldn't find her timing, and was probably a little intimidated being in the finals. So I thought to myself it's not going to take long, and in the best of five sets she has time to recover. So I didn't anticipate the match to be that short. I didn't because I know she's just a much better player than she showed in the first set.

STEFFI GRAF: I'd hate to talk about my injuries at the end of the year. I've been through enough. And I've had the last two weeks, problems with my foot. And that's why I changed to orthodics, and that's why I got some nasty blisters on my foot. And it's been troubling me a lot. And then the problem that I had with the left foot, with the bone spurs happened to come up again. So it was like my feet were kind of killing me at times.

STEFFI GRAF: That was the blisters.

STEFFI GRAF: I actually know which one you're talking about. The problem was when I had to go far out to the sidelines, it gave me a lot of troubles. And on a few occasion, had hurt a little more than normal. It was difficult for me to go out far on the sidelines.

STEFFI GRAF: Well, I think the U.S. Open and Wimbledon definitely were quality-wise, a little better than today. But it's always a different match everyday you go out there. So you can't always strive for that performance.

STEFFI GRAF: I don't think so. Definitely the longest. And probably -- it was exciting to be in the fifth set, I have to say. And knowing it could go either way, and the serve was so important, probably, excitement-wise, the fifth set was special.

STEFFI GRAF: Well, the thing is that -- I'm sure it was at times difficult for her. And people always kind of comparing her. And she has her own style. I hope that people by now have seen that. And you could see, she goes for her shots and she's running around trying for everything and showing a lot of guts. And I think -- I just hope that she -- people have figured out by now that she's a different player. And one to really watch for.

STEFFI GRAF: No, it has never been upsetting to me. And everybody has their own decisions to do different things. And you can disagree or not disagree. I haven't really disagreed with their ruling about it. So I don't have anything further to add.

STEFFI GRAF: Well, I've definitely passed a few barriers that I didn't think I could. Obviously, I've played, I think, 11 tournaments this year, which is not really much to my normal standards. And I went to the French and U.S. Open not very well prepared, not playing very many tournaments, and physically, because I haven't been able to train on it, I haven't been really ready. And then I come up to the tournaments not feeling a hundred percent, and going beyond what is possible for me. I've been surprised by what I've been able to achieve, at times not thinking that I could really do it.

STEFFI GRAF: I think I showed a few times that I can focus when I need to. And I think I showed also, that tennis means a lot to me. And I've been able to put a lot of things on to the side and just play and enjoy it. And I think that was one of the most important things.

STEFFI GRAF: Heaven and hell?

STEFFI GRAF: At times. But I'm not playing tennis just to get away from something. I play tennis because I enjoy it. And it's not -- I don't look at it as something where I can -- where things will relieve or I can put my mind on something else. Sometimes, sure. But this is not my first priority, because I enjoy it and like to do it.

STEFFI GRAF: There were a lot of close games in the beginning of it. She just played better in the fourth set. She made fewer mistakes, ran me around. And I gave her a few chances and she just played more aggressive than I did at this time. So she had maybe, in the beginning of the first set, I could change something about it. But she just played better on that set.

STEFFI GRAF: Sure. You can't really count on that. I mean you hope, maybe, but the thing is that you don't think about what the other person is going to do, you concentrate on yourself. That's what I did. At 4-3, I was telling myself to try to get the return in long, because a couple of times they come short and she just could do anything with it. I was concentrating on being more aggressive on the points. And it worked. Obviously, there were a few points where you could say maybe she was trying for too much, and maybe she got a little nervous on some. But that's what happens when it gets close.

STEFFI GRAF: I don't know. It's really difficult to say. It's difficult to say. I think maybe I've had a little edge at 4-3. I had an attitude after the changeover that I wanted to win this game. And I don't know if it's experience or if it's just your character. I don't know how you can say that. But maybe being that I haven't really been at that position, either, maybe the different matches that I've been in close situations and, probably, I relax a little more at that moment than she did. Because maybe she has not been there.

STEFFI GRAF: Yeah, I did. I did a couple of times.

STEFFI GRAF: You just keep playing. You just keep playing. And try. That's all you can do.

STEFFI GRAF: Well, I've had other problems on my mind.

STEFFI GRAF: Yeah, I think I'll be stronger. And I think, also, I'm probably more relaxed than I've been, just in what happened all year long. I think it will probably make things a little easier next year to go into the tournaments and start off. And it showed me a lot of things this year. So I'm sure I can transfer a few things into the new one.

STEFFI GRAF: I think still Monica is the main competitor to look forward to, unless -- there will always be good -- there are a lot of other good players that can challenge you. But I think on a steady basis, I think she's the one.

STEFFI GRAF: What I was feeling then, I felt -- I was happy for her. But I thought, you know, the way she was standing there she was quite shy, like the way she was looking, so I had to smile about it. That's sometimes, I think, the way I look, that's what I was enjoying. She really deserved it. She played a great tournament. And I think even watching the crowd that loves somebody. It's a nice feeling.

STEFFI GRAF: I'm planning -- right now I'm not planning on anything. I just take every tournament at the time. I have a schedule of 15 tournaments. And I will see whichever ones I can be able to play.

STEFFI GRAF: That's a long way ahead to me.

STEFFI GRAF: Combination of both. I think in '88 I was a good player, but not really a complete player. And it doesn't mean really that I can play every shot, that's not what I'm talking about. I mean, I think, it's a combination of nerves, of playing, of tactics, of being able to do the right things at the right moment. And it's just a lot of things that involve to have a year like that. And I think in '88, I was probably more naive, more looking at tennis a little different.