ATP TOUR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

November 17, 1993

Andrei Medvedev

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: Yeah, I think I have never beaten No. 2 in the world, so maybe it wasn't my greatest match, but it definitely was the biggest one -- the biggest match, not the biggest one.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: Well, I hadn't thought about this when the score was 5-3, Love-40.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: I understand that. Michael played two great matches and my side I have to say that I played one good match which was that. I am looking forward to playing him because I never play him before. But, you know, I will go on the court and try to play tennis because it is already happening to me in the first match when I put too much pressure on myself and I get nervous and I couldn't hit the ball, but tomorrow will be even bigger match, so I will try to concentrate on the game. I will not think about being in the semifinal or lose in the semifinal.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: I was thinking that, well, it was a good try for the first time being in Frankfurt, and I was already thinking that if I could make it again, ever, but then it turned out -- turning back after just one point, when he make a doublefault, the way he made it, I thought that I have a chance, a very slim chance, but I had it, and I was lucky to use it and, well, I was lucky.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: The first serve he missed, and then the second serve he was -- he was already thinking that he won, the way he hit the ball, and it just flew far away. It was a big fault, and I understood that he already won in his mind, so he is already relaxing, and I thought that at this time maybe I have a chance and I was trying to play. He missed the next point. Then there was a great return, and that was that. Normally it doesn't happen this way, but today I was lucky; I was very lucky.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: No, I haven't seen it because I had a lot of my own problems. Couldn't look after him.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: Yeah, it is too late for me. Tomorrow will be another late match and hopefully I can be ready for this. But, playing late, it is not such a pleasure because normally I am in bed 10:30, the latest. And now I have to be on the court at 10:45, which is maybe that is why I won, could be because I was sleeping and it happens, I don't know, really. It was funny. It was funny. I wanted to sleep before the match. I was dying to sleep. I was -- my eyes were closing, and I went on the court and then, you know, the dream -- I didn't want to sleep. I wanted to play. But before the match I thought it was terrible; the way that I felt was terrible.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: Seriously.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: It is not strange. It depends what kind of book. If you read love story, maybe it is not very helpful, but who knows, who knows. To me, I would read the book of let us say Rod Laver, or Jimmy Connors, or Brad Gilbert. That is not funny. You ask me the question. I have to answer it.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: No. I mean, if you read some crime detective, something like this, maybe, you know, you lose the concentration. But if you read about tennis, let us say you put the mistakes on the list, and during the changeovers you just read what kind of mistakes you have, maybe it helps -- I don't know -- for some players. Because I am not sure what he was reading. Maybe that is why he could come back in the second set, and he was very strong in the third.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: I read faxes, normally and letters.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: Who to? To me, the people sending the letters and faxs and I read them. I think it is funny.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: I don't think so. Because I have a feeling that our styles are a little bit different and, first of all, you cannot compare any tennis player in the world to Bjorn Borg. Because he was -- he is a legend and, you know, he is the kind of the person that has never -- has never been born before, and maybe will never born again, so it is just the close. It is the clothing, and I think it looks nice. Maybe the people now will remind -- will remember the Bjorn Borg, but I don't know; I don't know what idea the Fila company has, but I am sure they have a very good idea because the clothes looks nice and hopefully it will help me to play better. I don't know. I mean, I wish I could play like Bjorn.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: Still don't know. I think you should be more -- I should come to the net more often. I should be more aggressive on the baseline, and I should risk, because it is just so fast, and I realize that if I don't risk, my opponent will risk, will approach and go to the net. Sometimes I see the short ball, but I hit it, and I don't go to the net because it is, you know, it is mental cycle or something. I still cannot beat myself. And I know that if I go to the net, I have a good chance to win the point, but I am still sort of afraid to do that. It is getting better and better day after day. Maybe week after week; I don't know how fast it goes. But this one proves that I can play. I mean, not the best indoor player, but I can play indoors.

ANDREI MEDVEDEV: Paris was very tough. I wasn't in good shape and the only thing that I was doing I was fighting. I was fighting for every point. I was fighting with myself; with the opponent; sometimes with the crowd. And you know, I was lucky to to win. And the tournament gave me-- first of all, the tournament put me here in Frankfurt and then it gave me the confidence that I can play indoors. Not that I can be sure that I go indoors and I can win any tournament I want to win. But I can play. It is very important. I can play and I can still enjoy tennis the way I enjoy it on the clay courts. I find it now more and more attractive, for me to play indoors. But I still have so many things to improve to make my game perfect, because I cannot play volley very good and I don't move very fast. I am heavy and I need to lose some water and I need to do some more physical exercises. We have time between the seasons so hopefully I come back year stronger.