AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 21, 2003

Andre Agassi

ANDRE AGASSI: Score lines I believe can always be misleading. Today was a question of it being a lot tougher than the score. It was toe-to-toe. Yeah, I broke for the first set a second time, which when you're up a break, you let a few shots fly. I did that again in the third. So it was sort of one of those matches that I felt comfortable and I was pleased with the way I was playing, pleased with sort of the manner in which the match was being played, but felt great about putting it away.

ANDRE AGASSI: (Smiling). I don't know. I don't...

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, there was a little breeze from that side of the court, so he was serving with the wind there. It was the second serve. From that side you really want to make sure you hit out on it. It's just a little tougher to control the passing shot. I just took it early.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, I'm trying to help myself out there. I think there are a lot of times where I can utilize coming in a little bit more, coming in on my terms.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah. But the thing is with Sebastien you have to be real careful because he does two things very well. He moves incredibly well and he handles pace, because his swings are very short and compact. He can pull triggers very quickly. Plus, combined with his speed, if he knows that's coming, you'd have to hit almost a perfect shot not to be in trouble there because the quicker you hit, the quicker it's going to come back. That's what he's really good at. It's more a function of surprise more than anything.

ANDRE AGASSI: I just remind myself I'm up two sets and it's 1-all. I mean, I'd rather be me than him. You just -- one thing I always want to do is just make somebody work hard every point, no matter what the score is. I thought he played some great shots to hold that game. So it was easy for me to forget about because he earned it.

ANDRE AGASSI: I wasn't thinking about him winning at two sets 1-all. I was thinking about the next point. Really, it's a function of that. Whether he comes back or not would only have been a result of him playing another two and a half, three hours of incredible tennis. That was my goal, to make him play something very special to win. It was just one game, so you just keep going to work.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, I think everybody has people that are going to give them more problems than others. I mean, tennis is a game of matchups. There's no question that Younes has a game that can give not just Lleyton problems but a lot of guys problems. You always anticipate a good match. But for Younes to find a way to actually put it away, was credit to him. I just got to see some of it.

ANDRE AGASSI: I can't really say it has an effect on it. For me, if I'm have -- if I have another match to go, Lleyton still had three matches to win before he was in the finals. I had two matches to win. Again, I would sign up for that final any day just because it would be a great final to be a part of but also it means I'm in the finals. I have one person on my mind now, and that's either Wayne or Juan Carlos. So it's really as simple as that for me.

ANDRE AGASSI: When you lose, you mean?

ANDRE AGASSI: That's the great thing about our sport is there's always the next week. That's the way you have to look at it. You have to look at it as a building process. While it's an opportunity to accomplish something pretty great, it's also understandable to have days that don't go the way you plan. So you just try to put it behind you. There's not much more you can do. You come here ready to go, but it's the start of the year, and it's going to be a long year. Buys you an extra week of either rest or preparation, depending on how you feel, depending on where you feel you are, what you feel you need. There are certainly positives you can find in it.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, I think tennis is a very physical sport. I think there are certain arenas that require more physically than others. I think this would be one particular tournament that is more difficult physically based on the possible conditions but also based on the court. You dig into the court, you move. It's not easy to -- you move, you stick, it's more sort of trauma on your muscles when you change directions. So there is more of an opportunity for one to get tired out there, but somebody getting tired against me is really only a function of me working hard myself. And you hope that they're working harder than you.

ANDRE AGASSI: Every Slam you play has a different sort of rhythm to it. Some of them are filled with a bunch of curves, nothing feels like it fits, it's constant. You play a night match and you have a long one, then you get a short day and you have to come back and play earlier, it happens to be hot that day. There are a lot of variables that can work in your favor, work against you, depending on how you take care of the business once you're out there. Getting through it is the first priority, but getting through it with fuel in your tank would be the second. That's where I feel like it's been a good tournament for me up to now, is not so much that I haven't played at night, but that when I have got out there, I haven't spent any useless energy, unnecessary energy.

ANDRE AGASSI: No, I don't prefer the five-setter. I prefer to win in straight sets, ideally love, love and love (smiling). But I will say that a five-setter doesn't necessarily mean you're in trouble. It all depends on what kind of tennis was played, how physical was it, what were the conditions, how long you were out there, you know, those things. And if somebody has the preparation in them, they can overcome that.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, that was certainly -- I was certainly nervous and excited to be back here, because it did feel like a long time since I played here. My only -- the only thing I can give this tournament is everything I got when I'm out there and I really can't control how, where the ball bounces specifically. So it does feel good to be out here competing again. But then it also sort of reminds me that it was such a lost opportunity last year. So it is bittersweet. It was not a good thing that happened. It's unfortunate. But sometimes the tougher decisions are the clearest ones.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, I think if the alternative is back-to-back matches like at the Open, I think that's sort of a disadvantage for potentially one player. Two days off for one or one day off for another, both guys go into the finals ready. So that part is good.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, it seems to be a great atmosphere. Every time I've been part of a semifinal match here, it's been a tremendous, tremendous atmosphere. So I must say that I've liked it so far.