US OPEN

August 31, 1998

Mark Woodforde

Q. If you could sum it up in a couple of words, how did that feel?

MARK WOODFORDE: He just won with his serve. That was all. Once the points extended past, you know, either a doublefault or an ace or a missed return, I felt like I was doing okay, but he just served me off the court, basically, that is all. Goran has his serve and not much else, so it seems like he has got it back going together with his serve. Over in the year he had the yips with it totally and, you know, wasn't putting them in. He had poor results and then, you know, probably from grass courts on he seems to have, you know, just -- got back into to sync with it. He is starting to win. He wins with his serve. It is not much else that he wins with it.

MARK WOODFORDE: Not play three bad service games, one in each set which cost me the match. First set played, I think, I served two doublefaults and then was footfaulted for a third doublefault. Won my other service games comfortably, just, from the outset he started serving well. Usually you can against him if you can get enough back and/or depends how he starts serving the match out, sort of typifies how he is going to play and from the very first game that he served, he probably served a couple of aces by me anyway. He was serving up around 120 above and I just had no idea where it was going. It is pretty tough to return them. I haven't -- I have played him before and I have beaten him before and obviously I have proven that I can get the ball back against him. But today he just served well and I put in a very mediocre service game, one in each set that cost me each set. You just sort of walk back and forth and trying to get him to think, because he basically -- I don't even think he really thinks out there too much. It is just like I am just going to hit the serve and that is it. He beat me with it. So it was too good.

MARK WOODFORDE: Well, I don't see what the attraction is. I can't believe that the game is going that way and the fans want to see tennis like that. What do you want to see? There is nothing happening. It is just a big serve and nothing else. His games were going by so quickly. I think that is why he probably -- when he is not having a good day and someone returns his serve back all the time and he sort of blows up because what else can he do? I just -- for me, I mean, if I was watching tennis, I wouldn't go and watch a guy like him play because what does he do? He doesn't do anything except serve, but he is still one of the stars of the game. He has developed it and that is great. It is a beautiful serve to watch. It is very natural, but I wouldn't -- if I was paying money to come to the US Open, I wouldn't go and sit by his court. (Laughs)

MARK WOODFORDE: He just has a unique action. I mean, it is a terrifically relaxed action and he is able to get a lot of disguise on it, I guess similar to a pitcher who, I don't know winds up and pulls his leg up and sort of gets ready to throw it down. If that is the disguise in it, but Goran just seems to be able to -- he just has great disguise on it and he is able to hit it anywhere in all parts of the court. I mean, that is what makes Goran Ivanisevic one of the better players around. It is just really hard -- I mean, obviously I found it very, very hard to return today. Maybe one other time at Wimbledon, he served something like that to me where it is just back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, as you know, really not much you can do except, I don't know, try and hit him over the head on the change of ends or something.

MARK WOODFORDE: Well, when probably -- when McEnroe was playing, I mean, he didn't serve up to -- I don't know exactly, but I would doubt whether he was serving consistently 120 odd like Goran was today. McEnroe certainly had fantastic disguise, but he also had a lot more to his game, I think.

MARK WOODFORDE: I actually think with Goran's serve, if you gave him a wooden racket, he'd probably serve that way still. I really believe that. The pace of it may come down fractionally. As I said, he just has great disguise. The way it sets up, it makes you, I guess the way he just sets up it, makes you think that he is going to serve out wide on the first court and really down the tee on the second court. But he serves great down the middle on the first court and he serves fantastic outside on the second court. It is just -- I don't know whether the wooden rackets would slow him down, but I'd like to maybe try that possibility, suggest it to him when he comes in here.

MARK WOODFORDE: I don't know I have a bet with -- for this year anyway I have a bet with Gianluca Pozzi, who I think is the oldest guy that -- who finishes the highest rank out of us, we have got 100 bucks riding on it so it is really tense at the moment. As for next year, I don't know, I haven't -- since the hard courts began the hard court season began I really haven't hit that well and, you know, at the moment, you know, it is sort of in a match like that your confidence takes a bit of a beating because there is no structure to the match. It is just hit miss, hit, miss, hit, and yeah, I'd like to be back next year, I mean, why not give it a go, just hope you don't draw someone like that again so it -- it goes by very quickly. Yeah, it is -- my aim is just try and stick around and do the best I can. If I am out of the main draw, then you won't see me playing.

MARK WOODFORDE: I mean, if he can serve like that, but I think sometimes with Goran that he -- the serve goes off. It does go off. He can -- I have yet to see him serve an entire Grand Slam tournament as well as that. He may come out tomorrow and find his shoulder is pretty sore or something. I mean, I don't know. I know he has had shoulder problem the last couple of weeks, but you wouldn't have thought so today. I don't know. I mean, I think he is a contender to be alive deep in the second week, but I just think maybe the occasion would outweigh his chances of winning. That is the fact that he hasn't won a Grand Slam. That he wants to win one and I think maybe if he is still alive, you know, I think maybe the pressure of having to come up with great serve after great serve and there are better opponents probably than me that might be able to return better, that might be a little bit insurmountable for him, but don't take it as gospel just because I said I don't think he is going to win the tournament. Anything can happen these days, if he serves like that, then he is in with a great chance. But he has got a tough next match, I think probably Todd Martin -- if Todd Martin beats Tarango, so that is going to be a tough, tough one for him.

MARK WOODFORDE: I mean, you can't count Pat out at all. I think it is fantastic that he won last week and I think it is just -- if the focus can remain on a lot of the other guys, I think Pat is in with a big, big chance to defend again. He is playing well enough, beaten all the guys during the summer and he has got to be just bubbling with confidence and, you know, Pat is a fabulous guy and I just -- I really like his chances. I mean, I think it is wise that Pat is saying that Goran and other guys have a chance, but I will quietly say that my countryman will do very well this year.

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