WIMBLEDON

July 3, 2002

Richard Krajicek

MODERATOR: Could we start with English questions, please.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: It was tough. For me the toughest part was the last rain break because that was basically the first time in the match I was leading. I was a break up in the last set. I knew if I would serve good enough, then I was supposed to win that match. That was the toughest. I mean, I thought I was pretty sharp all over, yesterday, day before, everything was pretty good. Today I came out really sharp. I went to the gym before, did a few sprints on the bike because I knew, yeah, it's only a few points. So I came sweating on the court. Normally, yeah, you stretch a little bit and you make sure you're a little bit warm, but never unbelievable sharp because you know you hold the serve in the beginning and gradually the match will, yeah, unfold somehow. But now I knew it was only one set, and I was very sharp. He was, I guess, a little bit less sharp than me in the beginning. Because after that, I didn't really have a chance on his serve. He was playing very good. But that was the toughest part. From 2-Love, I suddenly had half an hour to think about it. Yeah, I was pretty nervous.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Yeah, I think with a lot of -- with everybody, it's the key - especially when it's only one set to go. Yeah, you're not a hundred percent sure what's going on. You know a little mistake can ruin the match for you. I mean, if you start a match, you maybe play one bad service game, you lose only one set. But now it meant losing the match. Yeah, maybe wasn't so much that I thought I was going to break Mark, it was more that I wanted to be sharp and not play a loose service game and lose the match because I wasn't sharp enough in the beginning.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Yeah, it's -- yeah. I felt third round was maximum - before I saw the draw. I expected to beat Squillari. I felt if I played good and lucky, would beat Blake. That's actually what happened, I played good and I was a little lucky. I think I was even more lucky because Andre lost. Suddenly a close match again yesterday, I win the fourth set with a little bit of luck. 5-All, 15-40 in the fourth, could have been decided there. And suddenly I'm in quarterfinals. Yeah, it's unbelievable. I never would have expected this. I mean, I booked my holiday house for today. My wife is already on the holiday house. That just shows the trust I had in my ability to reach the second week.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Yeah, it was nice. Yeah, this is the second time I felt so good actually in a short time. When I came back in Holland, was a nice standing ovation for my comeback before I started. So it was a great feeling. And now also, yeah, the crowd was so happy to see us. The terrible weather. We could play the last set. They were really excited. The Australians made it a good atmosphere. Yeah, you start to think -- everyone before I won the match, basically from the beginning, I think this is why I wanted to come back, play on these show courts, have the excitement. Being nervous is also a reason why tennis is so fun. You have to work for it. And when you finally win after being, yeah, all the stress, then the enjoyment is of course much better. So that was a great feeling. The crowd was great. It was really good atmosphere. That makes -- yeah, winning is much more fun on a full stadium than, of course, Court 25 or something like that in the back with three people watching.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: I think you can tell me more about him than I can. Yeah, I just know that he improved a lot over a year. I think he thanked David Felgate for helping him a lot. Yeah, very talented. He surprised me. I expected to play Rusedski. He was playing very good, Rusedski. Before the match against Philippoussis, I was looking already a little bit what was going to happen. I thought, I play Rusedski, it was going to be very difficult, because he was very sharp, very good. I thought he was actually going to the final, Rusedski. Then he had maybe a chance of winning. Suddenly, Malisse, who was very loose, wins the match. I'm very impressed. So he's definitely a good player, and also somebody who plays -- who can play against a big server like me. So I have to be, yeah, ready to expect a lot of good passing shots and good returns. It's going to be a completely different match. I'm going to get some more chances on his serve, but also it's going to be a little more difficult for me to hold my serve, I think.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Yeah, it's okay. I'll put some more in tonight. I don't know what, pasta or something. No, no, I think it will be okay. I was struggling yesterday, but I came out pretty good today. In the end, I only played one set. Except for the stress, it's been, yeah, pretty -- time-wise, amount of time spent on the court wasn't too bad. But the stress and of course the time makes it a little bit tough for recuperation tomorrow. But it's okay, I think this is maybe what I needed to be ready and sharp for tomorrow.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: No. Like I said, after the first and second round, I was really struggling. I think I was lucky also with the rain, that I played my third match on Friday. I really had a lot of time to recuperate. Except for the hamstring, which is a little bit tight, I feel much better, like I said, than I did on Thursday, for instance.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: What do you mean? Today?

RICHARD KRAJICEK: I don't understand exactly.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Well, maybe it keeps me a little bit looser at the moment. I was very motivated to come back. Sometimes I was wondering why I wanted to come back, why I was putting myself through this mentally. But, yeah, once you come back, because I haven't played so much, I notice maybe I'm a little fresher than some of my opponents who have been playing year in and year out. I still have a certain looseness about myself. Yeah, it is only the second event. That makes me relax maybe a little bit on the big points, I think. I don't know. But, yeah, you just try to work hard. Finally when the moment is there to come back, then you know again why you did it. So, yeah, that keeps you motivated. Just go day to day. One day you come close enough to your goal that you can finally come back again.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Yeah, that's exactly a good comment. I mean, that happens. I mean, I beat Yevgeny once with 49 aces to 10, and I lost a match also. Aces doesn't mean anything; it depends when you hit them. It's important when you hit them. I hit them at the big moments. Yeah, when he was breakpoint down, he came up with the double-fault. Yeah, I think that was maybe a little bit the difference. It's just a little -- my serve was less I think than his in the fifth. But when it mattered at Love-30 or 30-All, then I came up with some big serves. That's important.