US OPEN

August 31, 2003

Younes El Aynaoui

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Yes. Were you there (smiling)?

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: I love to meet some people. I never saw anybody. I stayed there only seven months, yeah. I was staying in the hospital of special surgery for almost one month. It was around $300 a day. After a month, I had to look for a place. Nicely, make me stay there, the Ronald McDonald House, 71st Street.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: I had a surgery, so...

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Ankle surgery. And I wanted to stay there to make all the rehab work. I was supposed to stay six months. So that's why I was there.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Yes. Only children that has treatments that takes three, four years, like leukemia, cancers, yes. I was there with my wife and my son, was a two-year-old, three-year-old maybe.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Yes.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: I want to make it long, you know, more suspense (smiling).

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Yes. It's true. But I think it happens. You know, we saw Kafelnikov also 5-4, was serving for the set. When you serving for a set, you know, the opponent is trying harder. Maybe you get a little bit tense because you know you just a few points away from the set. But I wish I could end it up every time I was up. But Novak was coming up. I went down. I think, there still more sets coming on. The more the match goes, it's better for me, because I was feeling good.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: I love it. It's the third match I'm playing on the grandstand, you know. When yesterday I told Hicham Arazi, "I'm scheduled again on the grandstand." He was like, "You almost won already because you're playing on the grandstand, it's your court." Is just great. I had play on it before when it was a restaurant behind some windows. It's much better now.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: It was this year. My first round, my second round, my third round, I played on the grandstand.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: I think in Australia when we both walk out of the court, we were both happy. When you lose in a tiebreak in a fifth set, I mean, even me, I won, I'm happy, but I know it could go the other way. Just the matter of one point then. We were 5-All. It's tough to play a tiebreaker in the fifth set. I don't like it too much.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: It's a matter of luck. The tiebreaker, 5-All, you know, I went for the passing cross-court. Could have been this far out and it was match point for him. Then came match point for me. When you play at that stage, it's a matter of luck, I can say.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Yeah, I like it. You know, it's a very high-pressure time. You don't have many choice because if you lose the point, you are behind. It's two serves each. I didn't know I was 5-5. I always think I lose more tiebreaker than I win.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Yeah. I think it's good to be referenced as an endurance player. It means, you know, I've been working out, because you get only this by practicing and getting hours on the court. So I think it's all credit for me. Of course, Davis Cup, again, can be five sets. It's over three days.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Yeah, I hope. If the captain choose me, I will be there.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: For the Davis Cup?

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: You know, right now I'm looking forward to playing against Carlos Moya.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Yes. Right now I'm not thinking about it. It going to be on clay, you know. Still have a few more weeks.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Yes.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Yes, sometimes it does surprise you. People are really thankful about it. I just can say "thanks." I'm maybe happier than all of them are. But they seems to be so happy to shake my hands, to come and watch me. I like it.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: My trainer.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: I'm living in Spain right now, in Barcelona. He's a trainer there. He takes care of the massage and all the fitness training.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Ricardo Gaitero. He never has been in tennis before. The first time he saw a tennis match was in Doha, in the beginning of the year, when we start working together.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: At Doha this year I lost in semifinals.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: I saw he was wearing the football shirt.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Yes. When I was watching tennis, I would love to get a piece of a tennis player, a wristband or anything. So I'm always trying to give things away and make the people at least happy. Yeah, was a good throw. I had to throw two racquets because the first racquet was too short. Then I throw the second one. I'm trying to get some more racquets right now (smiling).

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: That was good.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Not any more.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Two.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: (Nodding head.)

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Every point was so important then. I don't know if it's my first tiebreaker in the fifth that I play. I don't know if you know that.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: He lives in Mallorca. I moved two years ago in Barcelona. He already left. We never practice together. The last time I played him, was in the final in Bastad on clay. It was a good match, 7-5 in the third. He's a tough opponent. We all know he has played finals in Grand Slams, won the French Open. I know is going to be a tough match. But it's to go in the quarterfinals. I'm going to try to give 100% again.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: In the fifth, I don't like them.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Yes.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Yes, every match is very important, of course. When you won like this, after a strong battle, he was there, he helped me during the whole match. I'm spending more time with him than I do spend with my wife recently. We are really good friends. I was happy that he hang me high. I was a bit surprised.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: I wasn't really good, you know, until 23, 24. It was so many players better than me. I guess in the future, if I meet a young player who wants to go on the tour, not just looking at him how he plays on the court. You know, I have a talk with him, see if, you know, he's really into it, he really wants to do. What happened to me, I never had a chance to talk to a famous coach or somebody like this and tell him, "I really want to do it."

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Yeah, I was doing a lot of small jobs, you know, just to pay for my stay there. For a while I cleaned the gym, organized all the gym, drive the bus, watch the kids in the room, if everything is clean at night, things like that.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: No. I had a chance to practice once with Andre while I was there. No. Now we are very good friends. We respect each other. I played him a couple of times. But while I was there, no, they were like a bit apart.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Karlovic, also Lleyton Hewitt lost against him. He's a big server, of course. He's so tall. But it helps of course the big servers. They play a tiebreaker. Ivanisevic used to play tiebreakers, Rusedski, Philippoussis. One more point in the tiebreaker, it's yours.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: I'd love it, for sure. Maybe I'm just now blocking mentally on that shot because there's no reason I don't hit it. The slice has been working all right, but sometimes I play some scary balls with that backhand.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Yeah. But I guess if I was comfortable on the backhand, I wouldn't try to hit that many forehands, and my forehands wouldn't have been that good, you know. Some players are playing, you know, average backhand, average forehands. On my points, when I hit the forehand, I'm trying to go for a winner.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: No, unfortunately. We had a baby last week, you know. My wife, we knew exactly the day.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: It was hard last week. I was very happy. I knew it the day I played against Guga. I had a boost of energy. The next day, I was really down. I played against Blake a poor match. I was thinking on flying for a few days. But then I decided to stay. Now I'm looking forward, of course, to go back and to see the baby born, you know, seven days ago now.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Yes, the e-mail, of course. They e-mail me some pictures.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Noam. Noam, N-o-a-m, Ismail, I-s-m-a-i-l.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: My wife had a caesarean.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: I loved it.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: No. My wife likes it. She was taking care of the kids when I was playing, then we would spend time together. We really liked it. We did it for five years almost. But now our oldest is six, and he has to go to school, so that's why she's not traveling. Otherwise she would be traveling still.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Yes, of course I think I have the chance. A few times I'm in the quarterfinals. You know, it's three match away. I did let's say 70% of the job. I'm back every year the same.

YOUNES EL AYNAOUI: Yes.