THE LIPTON CHAMPIONSHIPS

March 24, 1998

Steve Campbell

Q. Can you tell us how you're feeling right now?

STEVE CAMPBELL: I'm just pretty tired. Obviously, I'm very happy. First, I just want to thank God, because without him I couldn't do anything. I want to thank God first. I mean, obviously I feel great. Best tournament of my life. I'm just, you know, struck the ball pretty well, grinding -- fighting really hard every point. When you do that, you give yourself a chance to win every match.

STEVE CAMPBELL: A couple. A couple. Two or three probably. I don't know. Not too many. Not too many.

STEVE CAMPBELL: I started when I graduated from college in '92. I had a couple injury problems. It took me a couple years to really get going. I really almost quit at the end of '94, I believe. And then I had a couple good satellites, so I stuck with it, started coming up.

STEVE CAMPBELL: No, no. Been mostly on my own. There's been a couple people here and there that have given me a little help in the past. I'm most grateful to them. Without them, I couldn't have even stayed out on the satellites, because I didn't have much money. I have a lot of people to thank for my success.

STEVE CAMPBELL: I'm sure it is, by far.

STEVE CAMPBELL: My coach is George Henry. Most of the time I travel alone. He happens to live in Miami, so he's here. I'm a little older now. I'm a little stubborn. I just prefer to be alone and do things my own way and not worry about anyone else. It's a little easier for me that way.

STEVE CAMPBELL: I live in Detroit City - Motown.

STEVE CAMPBELL: Oh, yeah. I'll probably go for the French. That's probably about it.

STEVE CAMPBELL: For the claycourt season, yeah. I mean, I'll probably try to play Wimbledon also. Maybe one grass tournament before that.

STEVE CAMPBELL: This is probably about my favorite. It's a medium-paced, even a slow hardcourt. It gives me a chance to use my legs and speed to get to a lot of balls.

STEVE CAMPBELL: I just kept hanging in. The conditions were pretty rough. It was a little breezy, a little tough to see with the twilight and everything. I knew if I kept hanging in there - I've been playing a lot of tight matches lately, I feel confident I could win those tight matches. I felt loose the whole time. I wasn't worried about losing. I was playing and grinding every point.

STEVE CAMPBELL: It's a tough situation. I mean, there's a lot of opinions out there. It's tough to say who is right and who is wrong. I don't have any ill will. They didn't support me a whole lot because I wasn't one of the top juniors and I wasn't one of the top college players. I don't have any ill will. If I was one of the top players, they would have supported me. They can't support everyone. That's fine with me. I did it a different way. I'm proud of grinding through the satellites. I'm proud of what I've done. I mean, it's tough to say what's exactly the right thing to do. I mean, I think maybe the USTA should look at what some of the other countries are doing and maybe try to experiment with that, try some different techniques.

STEVE CAMPBELL: It's been a long time. It's very tiring. I'm tired.

STEVE CAMPBELL: I'm not sure. I mean, I'm not going to make any excuses. You can always get yourself in better shape. You can always be ready to play as many matches as they throw at you. I played a lot of matches the week before I came here, so that might have had something to do with it. But, I mean, I'm holding up. I'm not tired to the point where I feel I can't play. Obviously, I'm having success in the long matches. I don't think that makes a difference. You've just got to get in the best shape you can.

STEVE CAMPBELL: Yeah. I mean, one of my goals has always been the Davis Cup team, to make the team. This is obviously the first step in that. You know, I still don't see that as unrealistic goal to set for myself, to make the team one day. This is just a start. I need to, for sure, practice with those guys. I probably don't practice with that level of player as much as I need to. I like to go home to Detroit and relax. That's probably been one of the biggest criticisms of myself throughout my career. You know, it can only help my game to practice with those guys. It's definitely a good thing.

STEVE CAMPBELL: What's that?

STEVE CAMPBELL: No. I really don't try to think about it right now. I mean, I've got another match to play, so I've got to concentrate on that. I try not to think about it really. I mean, it's definitely overwhelming, but I just try to put it out of my head and concentrate on the next match, try to get a little rest.

STEVE CAMPBELL: Small claycourt club in the city, called Metropolitan Racquet Club. They've been my biggest support throughout my career. I owe a lot to them. They held clinics for me and a lot of kids like me. We didn't have a lot of money. I think when I was coming up, they might have charged us during the summer $15 a week for like six hours a day of play. I think they still charge $15 a week. It's just ridiculous. The people that run it, Tim Ballard, and Dr. Emeral Crosby, they want to help the kids as much as they can. Obviously, they've done a lot for me.

STEVE CAMPBELL: Of course, of course, for sure. I go back there and get with them as much as I can.

STEVE CAMPBELL: I would assume. I hope.

STEVE CAMPBELL: We played one time in Columbia. I think that's the only time we played. I lost the first set 6-Love in about 20 minutes. I came back and actually won

6-4 in the third. It was on clay, altitude. That's probably one of my first big wins on the Tour.

STEVE CAMPBELL: That was at least two years ago. It was a while ago.

STEVE CAMPBELL: That sounds right, maybe.

STEVE CAMPBELL: This tournament. I beat Courier last year in Atlanta, somebody else. I don't know. Byron Black last year, Coral Springs, a couple solid wins here and there. Anyone else? I don't know. I guess not too many.