WIMBLEDON

June 29, 2002

Wayne Ferreira

MODERATOR: First question for Wayne.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I think I'll find one, I'll definitely find one, yup.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I think it's shocking. I mean, there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. But if he had any decency, I think he would have at least come and apologized.

WAYNE FERREIRA: The umpire. Tim's -- got nothing to do with Tim.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I -- no, I mean, I haven't seen anybody yet.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I would, too, if I was in the position. 4-1 in the breaker. I'd also hope for it to be out. I think it's a normal reaction from most people.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Well, he hemmed and hawed about it being close, touching the side, but maybe long. I mean, he wasn't really sure. I mean, I think it was a total intimidation thing. I think he realized he made a mistake. But, I mean, you know, what can you do about it? Nothing to do about it. It's over - over and done.

WAYNE FERREIRA: No, no. I think I was obviously annoyed because I would have been 5-1 instead of 4-2. I mean, I gave him the benefit of the doubt that it was out. But I have been told by a few people that it was in. So obviously I'm more pissed off now than I was then.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Yeah. Hard for me to tell. It's the baseline. Now that I know, I'm quite angry.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Well, I guess Tim. I mean, he was showing out, showing a finger, acting like it was out.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I don't blame him for it, no, not at all. But the umpire gets paid. He travels the whole year. That's his job. He's a professional. Shouldn't let things like that happen.

WAYNE FERREIRA: It wasn't really that much of an easy volley. I just tried to do something stupid with it. It wasn't totally easy. It was quite low and below the net. I mean, maybe I could have done different. I think the thing I did make the mistake on was I wanted to go for the big serve up the middle, where my conscience was telling me to swing it wide, and I changed my mind at the last minute and paid the price. I think if I'd stuck to swinging it wide, it might have won the point and won the set. But, you know, I got the first serve in, which was good. Just unlucky.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I'm not going to get into that.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I'm not going to answer anything about that anymore, no. I'm not going to get into players doing anything. It's got nothing to do with Tim. It's the umpire's mistake.

WAYNE FERREIRA: No, not at all. Not at all. I tried not to let it bother me. Obviously, it makes a big difference, 5-1, 4-2. But I didn't let it bother me, and I played the tiebreaker as if I had missed that ball. I just found out now that the ball was in, and now I'm pissed off. But back then, I thought that the umpire, must have been out for him to call it out, obviously.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Probably more tired, more mentally tired than anything else. It's mentally draining. I feel I should have won that match in straight sets. So it's a little tough to get up. My back did start hurting me a little bit in the middle of the third set, which I played through. And it's tough mentally once, you know, you have so many chances and lose it to stay mentally focused when you do have a bit of pain with you.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I think it was a tough match today. I think he got a little lucky, you know, a little bit of luck and maybe a little bit from my part. I didn't play the big points as well as I could have. You know, he's a good grass court player. He plays the right way on the grass. I mean, I think there's not a lot of really grass court specialists left, especially in the half that we were in. I personally hope he does well. I really do. I like Tim a lot. I have a lot of time for him. I think he deserves to do well here.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Well, you know, that's a discussion that's been going on for a long time. My personal opinion is that umpires should not overrule when it's tight, when it's close. And it seems to happen a lot. I don't know, there's probably not many stats around and anything. But I get really annoyed because it always seems that whenever the match gets close and it's tight, then the umpires start overruling. I haven't had one, really one mistake with these linesmen here. These linesmen are really good. They're very, very good linesmen, compared to some weeks we play. I have total trust in them. And I don't believe that they would make a mistake. And if they're not going to make a mistake, I don't think it's right for an umpire to overrule on a slow ball at that stage of a match.

WAYNE FERREIRA: No, no.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I haven't, no. I don't know if I'll even care to look. It's not going to help me any right now, is it?

WAYNE FERREIRA: It happens. It happens occasionally, yeah. It does. Not all the time, but occasionally. I mean, umpiring, it's a difficult job. You know, they try their best. But, you know, they make mistakes. It's just unfortunate there was a big mistake made today at my expense.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Yes.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I don't think he has to improve much because I think that I'm a great grass court player, one of the better grass court players in the field. And it was a very tough match for him right from the word go to get through me. And I think he knew that, too. And I think either of us had got through today, we would have had a great chance to do really well. So I don't think he really needs to improve that much. He just got through probably one of the better grass court players on his route to getting to where he wants to be.

WAYNE FERREIRA: He has changed his serve a lot. I don't know if I really think that it's that beneficial. I think it's become a bit of a negative part of his game. His serve is a lot easier to return now, especially the second serve. I don't know the reasons for it. I mean, maybe he wants to get higher percentages in. I don't know what percentages he got in today. He still served well enough to get through his serve. That's the key. I guess you have to win your serve no matter how, and he did that today. And that's all that counts.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I think he just made a mistake. Have to give him the benefit of the doubt. I mean, people make mistakes. Like I said, it's just a pity that it's at my expense. At that stage of the match, it was a very important call. I mean, what more can I say? I got screwed. But, I mean, I'm not going to hold a grudge to the guy about it. I mean, he made a mistake.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I think both Tim and I knew that this was an important match for both of us, if we got through this. They're not easy, trust me. The guys are still good, and we have to play well to win. But it does look great on paper, and we both knew that it was an important match for both of us to get through. You know, I mean, I hope that now that he is, he can go through and play and keep playing well and do well now.

WAYNE FERREIRA: You know what, you don't remember the ones you get; you only remember the ones that you don't. I think it does even out somewhere along the line. I'm sure I've had some good calls go for me that have made me win matches. Just don't remember any of those. Just remember these ones. That's just the way it is. You know, you focus a lot on the negative. I'm sure it evens out somewhere along the line. I hope it does. I'll wait for mine somewhere.

WAYNE FERREIRA: As far as right now in my mind, this one. I think it was a very important call, very important point.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I don't think he had more than I had today. I think he was quite surprised. There were a lot of South Africans. It was great. Best atmosphere I think I've ever played in. I kind of knew that. I knew there would be a lot of support for me. There's a lot of South Africans here. But I had no idea that it would be to that extreme. It was just one of the most unbelievable matches I've played as far as that aspect, people following me, shouting for me. You know, even though I lost today, I had a wonderful time. I enjoyed every minute of it. You know, it will be a memory that I'll remember for a long time.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Well, tennis is a -- having a bit of a downward swing and a bit of a struggle. We don't have a lot of funding and money in the Federation. So it's not obviously doing as well as the rugby and the cricket is. But I think South Africans are such sport people, they love the game, they love any kind of sport that a South African is involved in. And even maybe if they don't follow tennis, but because there's a South African playing in a situation like this, they're diehards; they want to come watch and be a part of it.