COMPAQ GRAND SLAM CUP

December 8, 1993

Thomas Muster

THOMAS MUSTER: As long as people put on these fast surfaces, there is nothing a player like myself can do. This will -- cultivating player personalities like Pete Sampras and Ivanisevic.

THOMAS MUSTER: There is not much to read when Pete is serving, because, I mean, he is just mixing it up very well. He is just placing the ball so well. It is consistently like 185, 190, and even if he is serving wide, I mean, it is very difficult. You have to take so much risk on the serve. There is not much that you can do on a surface like this. I mean, that is the way it is on Supreme, the one who is serving better -- if Ivanisevic would have been on the other side today, it would have been a tiebreak, and somebody maybe makes the returns, you know; sometime that is how it would be. But it is -- the question, is if it is interesting to play a match like that even for a player, I mean --

THOMAS MUSTER: Well, I mean, Bruguera won yesterday. He won a match, but it is just, I mean -- that is what I said before, if I would have played maybe somebody else, Brett Steven or even Bruguera, I think on that, our fast -- I think is a much better chance for me to win the match. It was unlucky for me to play Pete in the first round. That is the draw. But basically, I think there is -- there should be also some changes, because players are qualifying on different surfaces; the Grand Slam Cup, they qualify for the Grand Slam Cup on different surfaces. There is not one supreme tournament. Not one Slam is played on that surface. And the Masters, people qualify for the Masters on different surfaces. Always played on the same surface gives always the same chance to the same players.

THOMAS MUSTER: We have seen the most interesting things when Davis Cup ties happen, so everybody is able to put the clay court indoors-- not even clay court, but just put another like hard court, like Green Set, I mean even Green Set is better. I don't really want to complain because I lost the match. It is just the basic discussion, maybe I would have played on clay today and would have lost too, but I am just thinking about the idea of doing that. We have seen it for years now playing all these events. It is always the same players.

THOMAS MUSTER: Yeah, I felt the crowd was behind me, and this is something very positive. They know me being a fighter and going long rallies and long matches, and I would have love to show off my game, because here it is only serve and volley and just one serve it is finished. The character of player doesn't really show here. It is always three or four players who really have such a type of surface under control. I would have loved to show more of my play here.

THOMAS MUSTER: I can't truly tell you because I do not know who will be on the German team. I don't know where we are going to play. I don't know the facts, and I cannot answer this. Only thing is I believe we do have our chance.