DAVIS CUP - SWEDEN vs ITALY

December 5, 1998

Magnus Gustafsson

Q. Compliments to the Captain and all the team from the Italian press, because you played very well and you won. I want to know this from the captain: Do you suppose before this match to win 3-Love?

CAPTAIN HAGESKOG: Yes, of course, because I have very good players, and I have trust in them. I knew it's going to be five tough matches, but I also know we can win all five of them.

JONAS BJORKMAN: Well, it was nice. Last time was against Spain. It's a good feeling to have a chance to grab it in the final as well. You know, this is just a great feeling to win the Davis Cup. It was a lot of fun sitting on the bench yesterday to see these two guys here working so hard like I did. That was a lot of heart in that. Definitely a lot of credits to them.

JONAS BJORKMAN: Well, I think we had a little bit of advantage in the beginning. They had a lot of respect for us, I think. We sort of waited a little bit to see how they were playing. We started with control. We dropped it a little bit. We came up another level in the tiebreak. From then on, we had everything under control. We played a very solid doubles. We were always a step ahead of them.

NICKLAS KULTI: Well, of course, it's a great feeling to win Davis Cup back-to-back. The reason why I didn't play the first match this year was I got a little injured at that time, but I knew I could trust all the other guys here in Sweden. Gustafsson, Tillstrom and Norman did a great job in the first tie. I mean, it's a great feeling. Normally is an individual sport. It's not often that tennis player can get together and play for a team. There's one chance a year, and that's in Davis Cup. To represent your country, in this case Sweden, it make me feel really, really proud. Just we have a great time off the court and on the court. It's just an unbelievable feeling to win it for your country and for your friends.

MAGNUS GUSTAFSSON: Actually, it's pretty strange because I thought when I was injured four years ago, I was close to quit. Actually, never had the expectation to play Davis Cup until I got the chance in Bratislava this year. I took the chance there. I got the chance here in the final. For me, it's only a bonus. It's just something that I never, ever expected. What can I say? I will never win a Grand Slam, so beside a Grand Slam, this is the best you can win. When I finish my career, I know that I created something. To do it together with all my team friends I think is even better feeling.

CAPTAIN HAGESKOG: No, it's not nicer; it's just different. Every final is different. I think we never get satisfied with winning, so it's a nice feeling. We want it more and more.

JONAS BJORKMAN: Well, definitely I think it's something special to be part of the celebration of Davis Cup for all of us. When it's just a new year as a defending champ - I don't know the history that good - but I think it's something we definitely look forward to is to repeat it again and win it three times in a row. If we can do that, that would be, you know, a really good effort. I think it's already a great effort of all the guys here to win it back-to-back. That prove right now that Sweden is No. 1.