US OPEN

September 6, 1998

Richard Krajicek

Q. Richard, if you'd explain what happened out there today. Is this a recurring injury for you? Must be very disappointing in the third round of the US Open.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Yeah. It's really been bothering me since the end of last year. I've been really trying to play this year as long as possible because I know I need operation, because I will tear my meniscus. I was trying to postpone it as long as possible. Yeah, against O'Brien I felt it a little bit. I took antiinflammatory before the match today. But it didn't help. That's why I didn't even ask for the trainer, because I knew what it was. I took already antiinflammatory, so it's nothing that could have helped me to get through the match. And now I just have to see what I'm going to do. The operation now takes eight weeks to rehab, so the year is finished anyway. So I just have to see if I want to take the break and try to play a couple of indoor events before I have surgery, and then in the months of November, December, do rehab and be ready for the Aussie Open. That's basically what I have to think about, what I'm going to do the next couple of months.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Before I was standing like I tried to think, like today, I'd try to finish the year playing tennis. Now I know if I take the break, physically it is possible to play pretty decent in the indoor events, maybe not all of them, but maybe one or two. It's always good to have them in the pocket for next year. But mentally it's always difficult to pull out. So that's basically what I have to think about, if I'm willing to -- I know it can happen mentally. I know that it can happen that I have to pull out. It's not going to discourage me too much. Basically it's a mental decision that I have to make.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Well, I thought maybe it can happen later in the week, but it's been a very easy week. I didn't play much last week. I played Tuesday easy match. I played Friday relatively easy match. This was my third match in more than two weeks. So, yeah, I felt maybe if I would be in the quarters or the semis, I would be playing every other day, four-, five-set matches, three-, four-hour matches, maybe there was a possibility. But I didn't expect it would happen early in the tournament after having such easy matches.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: No. I played three tournaments in a row, but I had a week off before The Open, so I thought it was perfect.