THE LIPTON CHAMPIONSHIPS

March 25, 1999

Richard Krajicek

GREG SHARKO: Richard is the first Dutchman to reach the Lipton final in the tournament's 15-year history. He'll be going for his second Mercedes Super 9 title. He'll be also trying to win his second title of the season. First question for Richard.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Yeah, I feel very confident at the moment. I'm not rushing from the baseline. I think that's a sign when I'm confident. If I don't feel, yeah, confident, then I rely on my strengths, which is serve and volley. When I'm at the baseline, I'm rushing a little bit to get the point over and done with. Now I'm not afraid to rally with him. I won a couple of big rallies. I'm beating a guy like Thomas on his strength, which is baseline rallies also. Yeah, everything is going pretty good. I thought sometimes my return was maybe not as good as against Pete. According to my coach, I was returning well today. I thought against Pete I was maybe timing the ball a little bit better. I felt very, very good and very dominant on the court.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Yeah, it was actually amazing what happened there. First on the breakpoint, I hit a good lob against the wind. I'm on top of the point. I could have done maybe something better with the high backhand volley, but I choose to hit it short cross. I didn't hit it short enough. Then I completely misread the spin on the ball. I thought there was topspin on the ball. I was waiting for it to come to me. Suddenly it stops. In a painful way I lost a big point. In the first set I broke him, and that really set the tone for the set because I think when we are even, I think he would have returned better. But because he had the pressure that he had to break me, I think that actually made it more difficult for him to get a rhythm going on the return of serve. It was a very important game for the break. But I stayed calm, and in the end I hit another lob and I made a little bit better play after that. Then I was very happy to break him in the end because it would have been -- it could have been a big point, maybe even a little bit of a turning point if I would have lost that game.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: I think, yeah, the whole ten days helped a lot. I mean, I came here last Monday. It was raining. I was hitting the ball okay. Then suddenly Wednesday I had the feeling I couldn't hit the ball on the court. From Thursday on, I slowly really built my game up, and the match against Pete also was part of it. I really feel at the moment my game is really going up, together with my confidence. It always goes hand-in-hand, I think. It is a nice feeling that I didn't show my best tennis in the first rounds, because you can play great first round, but sometimes you don't have to. It's important in these kind of matches. I've been very happy with the way I played. Also against Safin, it was important to start strong, and I did that. Then after that, I played pretty good tennis, but not unbelievable. So far, I did what I had to do, and sometimes a little bit more.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: I think it's a little bit too early. But I'd have to say since the beginning of last year, I'm very happy with the way I'm thinking about my career, how I'm practicing, how professional I am, and the maturity I've shown on the practice court, and also off the court. I think last year was also a very good year. I mean, maybe I didn't win a Grand Slam, but I think I was very consistent. Like I said, I had a good work ethic. On the court, I think I was also mentally very strong. I carried it to this year. At the moment, I'm playing good tournaments also, but my tennis training and my off-court training, I'm doing also very consistent. I'm very happy with the last 15 months. I think I've made a lot of progress also mentally.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: I think it's also very important, yeah. Mentally, it's also important, but also for the tennis. I mean, I can do what I want on the practice court and also I can do what I want on the match court when I'm playing my matches. I feel strong. I am really enjoying myself, last 15 months, like I said.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Well, it could be. I'm not going to say it's the only thing. It also goes a little bit hand-in-hand. I think it was a decision to have a baby, to become parents. I think that also shows a sign of maturity, that you're ready for that. Yeah, I think I've matured in many ways. Off the court, by being a father, the way I'm handling my relationship with my girlfriend, maybe with other people, and also the way, like I said, I'm practicing and playing my matches, the way I'm handling traveling.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Tomorrow, 26th of March.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: No.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Yeah, she was. Friends of ours are here. During the match, they are with Emma in the restaurant watching. She recognizes me already for a while. She recognizes me when I'm playing. And also at home when I played in London, when they show me on TV, yeah, you can apparently see that she smiles and she's happy to see me. When she saw Greg, she start throwing tomatoes (laughter). It wasn't that bad. It was really a clear sign that she really recognized me when I was on TV. When she saw Greg, she didn't react (laughter).

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Well, for us it is. For me I think since my 12th or 13th birthday, I don't find birthday for myself so special anymore. Yeah, I'm a year older. But I remember how it was when I was young. Now it's my child, and it is special. You're going to have pictures, I'm going to remember it. In a couple of years, she's old enough, next year she supposed to realize it a little bit, but I think when she's four or five, she's old enough to understand that she was one year and she has pictures to remember. Not to remember, but to see what it was like. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Maybe also, yeah.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: I don't know. My girlfriend is good at that. She keeps all the clippings of the newspapers and also these kind of things. I have nothing to do with it. She's completely in control. They have already decorations on the ceiling, something fun to put over the table to make it more colorful. We bought a couple of presents. What we are going to do, I think, what I've seen with other friends have done, you get a good cake with a lot of whipped cream on it, camera on, and just let her destroy it, all over her face. That's the only thing that I know is going to happen for sure.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: No, I won't be concerned with overconfidence. I've beaten both guys. Last time I beat Grosjean, I won the first set, a little tight in the second, he actually sprained his ankle. I know what he's capable of. He beat Moya already. In that sense, also Clavet I've played some close matches with him. I know tennis-wise, you know, I have to watch out. But I think once somebody is in the final, then you always have to show your opponent respect. I think, yeah, it's a very stupid way to lose a match if you're overconfident. I can happen maybe in the first round, but not in a final, and especially not such a big event as this. I'm going to be very concentrated. If I would lose, maybe because I have a bad day or that the guy was playing better than me. But it's not going to happen that I'm overconfident. That's something I've been playing tennis too long for that to happen.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Well, fitness-wise I think I'm much stronger than '96. I mean, I don't think I was very fit or moving -- I was moving okay, but not unbelievable. Fitness-wise, I think I'm much stronger now. But confidence-wise, I mean, I was hitting the ball very clean '96 Wimbledon. Difficult to compare. On grass, it's a one- or two-shot game. I was hitting that very good. At the moment, I think I'm doing -- yeah, I have to construct the point more on the hard court. I'm very confident also now. Maybe it's a little bit similar. Also it's difficult to compare because it's a different kind of game. But it's pretty similar confidence-wise. I think fitness-wise, I feel much stronger now and quicker.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: I mean, I think the further away you are, the better odds you get, of course. But you have to wait. Like I said last Wednesday, I had the feeling I couldn't hit a ball in the court. You know, things can turn around pretty quickly. I'm just going to be working and playing my matches as tough as possible, as good as possible. I'm looking forward also to the grass court season. But first I have a hard court season and also in between next week Davis Cup, then we go to the clay. There's a lot of weeks to go before Wimbledon. Yeah, if the odds are better now, maybe two weeks before Wimbledon can you have a little bet. But there's no guarantees.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: I think Grosjean is more dangerous because he's a more aggressive player. He can take it a little bit to you. He's more aggressive on his passing shots also, I think. Clavet, I think his strength is that he makes guys play his game. He slows down the pace of the match. If you start playing with him, then he's very dangerous because then you start playing his game, he's very good at it, of course. He's physically very strong, I think. He can last very long. I've had a couple of very long matches. I've never lost to him, but I've always come off the court feeling very tired. French Open one time, I beat him like in four very tight sets. I beat him once in a Challenger, I think a Challenger in Casablanca like 7-6 in the third. I was not feeling too happy physically, but, yeah, he's physically very strong, I think stronger than Grosjean. Somebody who can maybe pass me more consistent. I think Grosjean has the bigger shots. Tennis is not only about shots, it's also fitness and mental. I cannot predict who is going to win. In the end, I think always the loser of the match would have been a better opponent because apparently he's not as strong as the guy who won.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: I was going for it, also against the wind. I wasn't missing them too much in the net, I thought, but always long. Normally against the wind, maybe you can hit them more in the net. I was trying to find my way. I start taking a little bit off my first serve because I was just not getting the big ones in. I had a couple of big ones in, but in general, yeah, I thought it's better to try to get the first serve in than hitting a big one that you always miss. He winds were, for sure -- I think it was difficult to play with the wind today. That's I think one of the reasons why I was missing some first serves.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Yes and no. I mean, he didn't get a breakpoint. I think that was important. Then you always feel confident. When I played Pete, at 2-1 I didn't have a game point. If I would have won that game, I would have felt much more lucky winning that game. It was a tight game, but always at deuce I managed to win the point. The closest he got was two points away from breaking me. That's a nice cushion to have. It was a tight game, but it wasn't really close.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Very. I mean, I wouldn't have made any money if somebody would have come up to me with potential finalists or semifinalists. I would have put in the top half, I don't know, Moya, a couple of names, Rios, Rafter. Then I would have gone more -- put my money more on those names than, of course, Clavet and Grosjean. I think always it happens that one of those players can get to a semifinal. Yeah, the two of them, I think that's pretty surprising.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Conditions are tough. Also, yeah, things happen in a tournament. I mean, normally I don't think Moya would have lost the match against Grosjean. Yeah, he's had such an emotional couple of weeks, I'm sure. The guy has been No. 1. I think also a really good effort that he toughed out those other three-set matches. He almost actually toughed out this one. 5-2 down, 6-5 up. For some mysterious reason, he also got nervous also, which I didn't really expect. But he looked tired, definitely. Yeah, normally maybe he would have been in the semis or maybe in the final. The wind plays a part also. I mean, it's not that easy. Rafter is just not in form. I mean, if he would have maybe played a little bit close to what he was playing in the summer of last year, yeah, he would have been in the semis. It's just the form of the day.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Yeah, I think so. It's not only to do with Carlos, but I think what I've seen the last 18 months maybe happen with the rankings, see players like Rafter and Corretja, who I think are very good players, but I don't think I'm less of a player than they are. For me, mentally I think it's been very important to see those guys go to Top 3 or No. 2, and even Carlos to No. 1. Before, maybe I always knew I could beat guys like Becker and Edberg. Somehow you always had the respect for them that they were the top, Agassi also. Even though I can beat them, I've beaten them in the pass, Sampras even, somehow you always had the certain respect for them because they were somehow a different generation, even though I'm the same age as Andre and Pete almost. But guys like Corretja, who are ranked below me when I was on Tour already, I think mentally that's done a lot for me. Maybe that for me is going to I hope make it possible to make that step into the Top 3.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: I don't know if Carlos felt pressure. I think it was just very emotional last week. It was such a relief, I think. There's two things about No. 1: one is getting there, and the other one is staying. I think both are very tough. Just ask Yevgeny. He had his chance in Battersea. I think that was his biggest chance. He was only one match away. It looks like it's getting tougher and tougher for him. I think that's what happened to Korda last year also. I think maybe that's as close as he got to No. 1. He didn't make it. It just gets tougher and tougher. You start to think about it more and more. So saying getting to No. 1 is easy, I don't really agree with that. I think that's also tough. Staying No. 1 is maybe even tougher. But I think getting to No. 1 also is a really great achieve. Yeah, Rios looked like he was going to be clear No. 1. That's true. I don't know if it was pressure or what happened to him second half of the year. But after such a great first half, you think he's going to be easy No. 1. About me, I'm just going to worry about trying to become No. 1. At the moment, if I could be one minute No. 1, I would be happy already, then I worry about all the other minutes that come after that. I think once you've been No. 1, then you can worry about staying No. 1. Now I'm just worry about trying actually break into the Top 3, then maybe looking at No. 1.