RCA CHAMPIONSHIPS

August 20, 1995

Thomas Enqvist

THOMAS ENQVIST: Yeah, I am very, very happy to win such a big tournament that this is. I mean, it is very good feeling for me, and I have a week off now, so I am going to take it easy first couple of days then I am going to practice and go to New York and try to stay in shape and hopefully I am going to do well in U.S. Open.

THOMAS ENQVIST: Well, our captain said that he is going to decide after the U.S. Open, so I have U.S. Open to think of now. So I don't think about the Davis Cup match. So if they want me on the team after the U.S. Open, I am going to play, but if they don't, I am going to home and practice.

THOMAS ENQVIST: I think I am pretty strong now, yeah.

THOMAS ENQVIST: Well, I mean, it is up to the captain. The captain is going to take -- the most important thing is that we have the best team as possible to play the U.S., and the guy we put there is going to have at least a chance to play well to beat Sampras or Agassi or whoever plays the match, that is the important thing, I think. But right now, I don't think about that at all. I am just very happy I played unbelievable tennis right now and I look forward to playing the U.S. Open right now. That is most important right now.

THOMAS ENQVIST: Well, I was a little bit nervous, I think, today. It is always, I mean, a special feeling to play a final, and -- but I think I played well. I moved well on the court and because he is hitting the ball really hard and I get back a lot, and I made some big returns, so I think I am very happy with the way I played.

THOMAS ENQVIST: Like I said, you want to win very, very bad, and if you have a game point -- when you break him the first game, you have a game point and you are also maybe lost a little bit concentration there, I get a little bit upset, but it is better, like I said, to get rid of it and then, I mean, go on and concentrate on the game and I did that.

THOMAS ENQVIST: No, but I think Swedes break rackets.

THOMAS ENQVIST: Yeah, we play a pretty similar game, but maybe I run around and hit my forehand a little bit more and I think that Bernd have a better backhand. I don't know if he agrees, but his backhand is very, very good. It is one of the best on the Tour, I think. He can hit it down the line and crosscourt. But otherwise, we play pretty similar. We can serve good and we hit hard from the baseline, so today I didn't didn't do so much mistakes. Maybe I served a little bit better. That is the difference.

THOMAS ENQVIST: It is a very good feeling. I get a lot of the questions about if I have have a goal to be in the top 10 and now I don't have to answer that anymore.

THOMAS ENQVIST: Yeah, I think I hit a couple of good returns, I think, and he did some mistakes, and I mean, he hits the ball so hard so you lose his pace a little bit and I did that and I get him running a little bit and made him do some mistakes.

THOMAS ENQVIST: That is his style of play, that he is going for his shots, so -- but I mean, he had been doing that for the week here and he has been playing very, very good, so... He is gambling a little bit, but he is very consistent from the baseline. He is a very good clay court player, so Bernd is a very good player.

THOMAS ENQVIST: I think I have been serving well and that is important on hardcourt and I have been moving well and that is key for me because if I am comfortable, I usually hit it pretty good. It is important for me to move well. I have been doing that. I was winning a lot of close matches. If you win close matches, you get a lot of confidence and it is easier to win the next close match. Sometimes you win the close matches and sometimes you don't. It is very much up and down in tennis. I know that. I am just happy to enjoy the roll right now.

THOMAS ENQVIST: Especially when you won a title, you always want to go back. You always look forward to go back to that tournament: Also this is one of the nicest tournaments in the world, so you really want to go back even if you haven't been doing that well, I mean, it is a very nice tournament.

THOMAS ENQVIST: It is pretty good to prepare for the Open to get used to it. New York can be pretty hot and humid too.

THOMAS ENQVIST: Well, I don't know. Because I have a place in Monte Carlo that is pretty small, so I am not going to fit it in there, maybe I give it to my brother. He is living in Dallas.

THOMAS ENQVIST: Well, I never thought about to be a top 10 player - how much it takes out of you to be a top player and I knew when I played good in juniors, it doesn't mean that you are going to do well in seniors. It is such big difference in the games. I just-- I look at the game like I have now; I am going to try to do my best and improve as fast as possible, but I know I need to work very hard and I mean, when you do have good wins like now, when you do have high ranking, you know that you are on the right way, so I am going to continue to work very hard so I can stay up there.

THOMAS ENQVIST: No, I don't think so. I don't think about that at all, actually. I mean, nobody recognize me and I mean, I just think about the game and I enjoy to play. When you play well, it is a very good feeling, so I don't think about that at all.

THOMAS ENQVIST: Very much, I think. He has been helping me a lot to think right on the court, when you -- before I hit maybe a little bit hard on every ball, you know, I didn't change any pace.

THOMAS ENQVIST: I hit maybe a little too much low percentage in the beginning and he allowed me to see, I mean, the opportunities in the game and to mix up my pace and because I mean, it is good, like I have I can peel the ball from the baseline even if it is pretty deep down in the court, so if I mix up my shots, it is much easier to get a high level on my game.

THOMAS ENQVIST: I know he was looking for working something in tennis and I got a sponsor for three years ago that told me that if you want to have a coach we pay for the coach expenses and I talked to Joakim; we tried a couple of weeks. I think he had a lot of things that I needed to have and then the sponsor pulled out, so, but I thought that it is a good investment for me to have him because he is going to help me a lot.

THOMAS ENQVIST: Like I said, mix up my shots and don't go for everything; think a little bit more on the court.

THOMAS ENQVIST: I don't remember.