U.S. OPEN

September 1, 1996

Stefan Edberg

STEFAN EDBERG: I don't know. Nobody knows. It was a good one today. You know, I felt pretty good about my game. I'm through to the next round, so I'm pretty happy the way it's been going this first week here.

STEFAN EDBERG: I don't know. It's still such a long way to go. I have a tough match coming up next. The way I'm playing, you know, I definitely have a chance of moving forward here into the tournament. You know, every day is different. A good thing is that I played three matches here, hasn't been any long matches. Physically, mentally I feel good about my game. I'm looking forward to the rest of it.

STEFAN EDBERG: I don't know what happened. You know, I let go a little bit. I stopped instead of moving into the ball. I hit some lousy volleys. That can happen. The very good thing, I got my timing back. There was only a bit of the match where he had a little bit of a chance, in the second set, got a break. Luckily I got the break back, played a good tiebreak. After that, it was pretty easy.

STEFAN EDBERG: I think there's been more emotion in the last couple of years. I think I showed that in '92, that was a great year. At the moment I'm feeling good about my game, and I feel excited being out there. When you're playing good tennis, such a great feeling. I think in order to come up with some good tennis, I need to be fired up, I need to be excited out there, I need to feel the tension and be part of it. It's important.

STEFAN EDBERG: It helps. That's why I choose to go back and work with Tony a little bit. It worked out well during Queen's and Wimbledon. Since it's my last year, it's nice having him around, too, at the same time as a friend. There's many aspects that he can help me. He's pointing out a few things. It's working out very well. I think playing the Grand Slams, it's always good if you can have somebody there to help you, because there's other things off court, too.

STEFAN EDBERG: I think a lot of the players come up and say, "Well done, well played," probably a little more than usual. Not that I think about it that much.

STEFAN EDBERG: The crowd has been great so far, been on my side.

STEFAN EDBERG: Not really, because it's still pretty much the same thing being out there. Maybe somewhere in the back of your mind, but you're still out there to do your work. If you have too many thoughts in your mind, you're not going to be able to play good tennis. You really need to be focused on what you're doing, how you're playing. I really don't think about those things when I'm out there.

STEFAN EDBERG: Thank you for being there and supporting me. I have to give something back, too.

STEFAN EDBERG: No, he stopped working with Petr some time ago. He's just working with me.

STEFAN EDBERG: I think I definitely do. I know it's my last year. I appreciate being here over the last couple of years. I think, you know, winning here back to back has made a big difference coming to here. I really enjoy coming. It's the last hardcourt of the season. Usually it's nice coming here. I feel out on the center court. It's just a nice court to play on because I've been out there for many matches. I love being there.

STEFAN EDBERG: Well, it's a little bit different. I mean, last time around when I won, I was playing some great tennis. I feel I'm playing some really good tennis as of now, too. I'm just going to give everything that I have here and see how far that can take me. I'm not sure myself. You know, I think if I keep producing the tennis and feel as good as I've felt, it sure can take me a little bit further. It's going to be really difficult to win it, because everybody keeps asking, "Do you feel you have a chance?" I feel I have a little chance, because so many things can happen. Each round is to wait for.

STEFAN EDBERG: Hopefully they will. It definitely helps. If you get used to playing on a court, it is the best court playing because it's a lot more room out there, instead of playing on these tiny courts. Definitely it's different. That's the court that I like the most. Hopefully they'll keep me there.

STEFAN EDBERG: I mean, that was the intention, to go away on a high note. The anticipation of playing the last year. I know that I can't keep going forever, it's just not physically and mentally possible. I want to finish playing good tennis. It's so much nicer to do it that way.

STEFAN EDBERG: Peaked a little bit too late, I would say. I think for most of the players, you're playing your best tennis between 22 and 28. You have some exceptions like Paul, I think Thomas Muster is another one that is really peaking towards the end. For me, I've been there for so many years, you can only give it so much. Once you've been at the top of the game, being 1, it's the only way to go.

STEFAN EDBERG: You can never know. As I got the break early, it has happened before playing against Paul. It went quick, which was good.

STEFAN EDBERG: Of the guys that I've seen, I think Thomas Johansson has a lot of potential. There's still things he needs to work on. Probably one of the youngest. Tillstrom is another one with potential. He's been around for some time now. That will be one of the players to look out for.

STEFAN EDBERG: Enqvist, he's made it. He's been to the Top 10. I don't consider him young any longer, because he's been there three years. He still can improve his game definitely.

STEFAN EDBERG: The first one?

STEFAN EDBERG: Oh, yes, I do remember that one.

STEFAN EDBERG: Krickstein in '83. It was quite an amazing match.

STEFAN EDBERG: Court 7. It was packed. It was 7-6 in the fifth set. Amazingly enough, they called me for about 20 foot faults in that match. It was a tough one. He had a good year that year because I think he beat Gerulaitis, went into the fourth round.

STEFAN EDBERG: I think we're all different the way we think. I've had a bad time for a year and a half where I didn't produce any tennis. I want to keep playing if I feel I can win another Grand Slam. I think it would be very difficult next year. At the same time I want to be in the Top 10 because that's where I feel that I belong. If I don't, doesn't make sense for me to play, therefore I made a decision to sort of play the last year and hopefully have a good last year. At the moment, it's been good for the last four, five months. Just the first part of the year was tough.

STEFAN EDBERG: I think it's helped me in the end, once I get going, once I started playing matches and winning matches. I lost a lot of close matches at the beginning of the year which didn't help at all. Since that, I'm pretty relaxed out there, don't feel that I have that much pressure. Then it's a little different feeling playing.

STEFAN EDBERG: I wish I could tell you. It's like why don't good players come out of England. If I knew, I would tell them. It would be nice. I don't know why.

STEFAN EDBERG: The higher it is, the lower, whatever you call it, the better it is. The way it's going, I have a chance of hopefully getting into the top 15. That wouldn't be so bad. Probably around 20 at the moment. Still room to improve since I don't have any points to defend at all towards the end of the year. A lot of things, it's possible.

STEFAN EDBERG: No, no, it doesn't really change my mind. Everybody's trying to change my mind, but I don't think it will work. I'll be fooling myself, I'll be fooling other people, too. I feel it wouldn't be right to do it that way. Okay, I may have a fantastic end towards the end here; so much better, I think. I'll be so much more happy retiring. It's tough being out there, no question about it. Takes a lot of work.

STEFAN EDBERG: There is zero chance of me playing doubles in the next couple of years.

STEFAN EDBERG: In his case, what should I say, if I was in his clothes, I probably wouldn't play at all. He wants to be there. Nobody's going to stop him. If he really loves being out there, I think he should. But I wouldn't.

STEFAN EDBERG: It's a very difficult translation, being a junior and going into the pros game. 17, 18, you're winning every match. Suddenly you're going to start losing matches. That's the hardest part. At the same time it's such a big difference. It's so much work that has to be done. It really is a big translation.