IBM/ATP TOUR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

November 13, 1995

Wayne Ferreira

WAYNE FERREIRA: Well, I was actually here in '92 as an alternate, so I've been here before. I've seen how it works. I didn't expect to be here. I was supposed to be the alternate again. So, I am happy I got the chance to play. Obviously, I play first match against Boris which is going to be pretty difficult, but every single match that I'm going to play this week is all going to be difficult anyway. So, it doesn't make a difference.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Well, I had no idea that I would be playing, so I mean, this is, you know, obviously every player in the world wants to play here and I have the chance to play. So, obviously, I'm thrilled to be here.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I've been training a lot; better than I had in the last week. I didn't play last week because I wanted to rest a little bit and also I didn't think that I had a chance to make No. 8 so I thought I would just take the week off and try and recover and I feel a lot better, so, I'm feeling good.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I had a problem with my stomach.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Yeah, I'm just going to have a lot of fun and try and play as well as I can. I'm not expected to win. I'm not expected to do that well. So, I'm just going to try and have as much fun as I can and just enjoy the week here. I mean, it's a great week to be involved in, so I'm just going to have fun playing in it.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Yes. I actually arrived in South Africa on Saturday to go on holiday with my wife and her family, so unfortnately, they came and I had to leave and left my wife there, so I was going to spend time back home with my family and her family and I was going to rest. This is a little bit unexpected. I mean, I can go back next week and have a holiday, that's fine.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I think they are. I heard they have T.V. coverage which is going to be great. There hasn't been that much tennis coverage through the the years, so I think probably a lot of people are going to watch it and support me.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Well, it's been pretty difficult, you know, with all the chances and I had lot of problems with the Federation. Our Federation went bankrupt a couple of months ago so there's been no funds for any of the juniors. None of them have -- are traveling, no prospects have come up with yet because they don't have any money to spend.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I think it's good in a way because they have new people that take over and they seem to know a lot and they have good ideas and they definitely would make it a lot better than it is.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Yeah, just nobody knows why. Nobody knows where the money went.

WAYNE FERREIRA: No, I think with the new people in there, it's going to take off pretty quickly.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Two weeks ago I would say five maybe. I am not quite sure. About four or five.

WAYNE FERREIRA: No. Everybody here are tough guys to play against. They are all going to be hard.

WAYNE FERREIRA: No, but I bet anybody in my group would be a favorite start although the guys in there are tough. None are better than or worse. They are all just as hard as the other.

WAYNE FERREIRA: No, I played Becker twice in the Grand Slam Cup and I've got used to playing against him in German grounds. It's difficult, but that can inspire you to play well. You know, you try and like beat him in front of his crowd and it makes for a little bit of enthusiasm as well.

WAYNE FERREIRA: At this stage, yeah. Sunday.

WAYNE FERREIRA: It feels good. I mean, I had no idea I was going to play and to come here and not sit on the sideline makes a big difference.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Exactly. Play and have fun and enjoy.

WAYNE FERREIRA: In the last two months, I'm playing well. I have a good chance to do well.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I think I played well against him the other time. I would like to see if I can do the same.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I feel it is tough. Everybody in the section is tough. Everyone here is the best in the world, so it's not going to be tough.

WAYNE FERREIRA: That's for sure.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Well, I mean, it helps to have people around you. Unfortunately, my wife is not with me this week. My dad is coming to give me support this week which is nice because I hadn't had him around for a long time. It's nice to have my family and friends. It's nice to have some support on the side.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Obviously, I feel more comfortable having my family and friends around than nobody. It makes it much easier.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Nothing at this stage. I don't know if I'll have time to see anything either.

WAYNE FERREIRA: No.

WAYNE FERREIRA: No, I'm sorry, I don't.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Sorry.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I guess it's their choice. I don't know. I don't have anybody. I don't have a coach either. I just arrived here myself. Maybe they find it better. Maybe they need it. I'm not really sure what they think.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I think that also depends. There are a lot of former players that know about the tour, but there are a lot that didn't play on the tour and they are pretty good too. I think it all depends on who is around and who you know well.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Well, after thinking that I have the chance to play, I think if he had played here it would have been good for him. It would have been fun for everybody else, but at least, I have a chance to play and hopefully, I'll do as well as he would.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I found out probably around Friday evening. So, a couple of days then.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I was in South Africa at the moment. So I was there one or two days and I had to come back.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I haven't played him in the last couple of years and he has improved for the last couple of years. I haven't played him this year. I played him last year, so, it's good to know how much he has improved. I think playing him one time or another, I'll be able to know how much better he is.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Sometimes it misbehaves. No, I think it's me. I don't know, it helps me. If I didn't have one, I wouldn't be here so I thank it for that.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Yeah, it can be. It's definitely with me all the time, so it has to be my friend.

WAYNE FERREIRA: At this stage, there's nothing, yes.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I was lucky. When I was younger, I was one of the last ones to be funded by the Federation before the money disappeared. So I got a lot of help from them and they helped me a lot.

WAYNE FERREIRA: No, not at this stage. It's difficult to be because we don't have any tennis there. The only thing which might help is - probably be good is the Davis Cup, but we don't have a tournament.

WAYNE FERREIRA: The weather is fine and there are a lot of courts. The enthusiasm is not there. Nobody is really enthusiastic to play tennis anymore.

WAYNE FERREIRA: No.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I just played Davis Cup there in February. That was the last time.

WAYNE FERREIRA: A couple of thousand, not too many. There is a lot of other problems involved. I don't know. It's a difficult situation.

WAYNE FERREIRA: At this stage, yes, I think we have until Wednesday of next week to decide.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I don't know that yet. That's what they say. We have a couple of choices, but they are not really sure yet. I like it. It's quite nice. I think the court surface is a little bit (inaudible) in the last couple of weeks. The coloring is good to play tennis on. It's difficult because, it's only a single sport so you have to take your time to get used to it. It's good.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I don't go back to South Africa very much so it's not really that difficult, but when I'm there, it's quite difficult. All the people want to be my friend and sit and talk and sometimes it gets a little irritating. When I go home, it's nice to have some support. I just try to hopefully try and (INAUDIBLE) and get some people to play and get enthusiasm with tennis, but it's difficult. I mean I don't really mind it.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Rugby and soccer.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Fifth, sixth maybe.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Nothing.

WAYNE FERREIRA: No, I'm not a politician. I mean, this year I have only been there one week this year. I have not much time to do anything.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Yes.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I'm glad to be here. I'm glad to play. I think all the matches are going to be really difficult. I don't expect too much. I'm playing against a lot of guys that are ranked higher than me. I think I have a good chance to do well if I keep playing the way I've done in the last couple of weeks.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I think the group is very tough, a very tough group.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Just the thing that is important is always to take off time for me. It's something that comes and goes away. There's nothing I can really do for it so the week I had off, last week, was good for it. Now, it's fine, yeah.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I think, you know, something that he has that most other people don't is he has the ability to play and give 100 percent every single match he plays. I think that's difficult in the amount of tournaments we play and the amount of tournaments and matches we play, it's always hard to get motivated for every match. That's a quality he has much better than everyone else.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Does he earn to be No. 1?

WAYNE FERREIRA: I think he deserves to be

No. 1 for the matches he has won and the tournaments he one, but I think for the game that he plays, he shouldn't be No. 1 because he's not good on every surface, but if you take away that aspect, I think he deserves to be No. 1, yes.

WAYNE FERREIRA: In Johannesburg I'm not sure what surface --

WAYNE FERREIRA: Yeah, they did. I'm not the man to talk to about that. I don't really know too much about it. The man walking around here is starting to be, you know, Gordon Forrest, is the guy to talk to. He's around here somewhere.

WAYNE FERREIRA: That will never work. The only thing we have in South Africa now to save us is tennis. We're not going to give it away, that's for sure.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Well, I had a good week last week. I rested and I feel a lot better now and I'm ready to play again.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Well, not anymore.

WAYNE FERREIRA: No, definitely not.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Not much. It's a tough group. Everyone is good. I've been playing well the last couple of months. I actually had beaten Sampras the last couple of weeks. The chance is there if I play well and I carry on playing the way I have, I have a good chance, but it's going to be tough very tough.

WAYNE FERREIRA: At this stage, it's fine so far.

WAYNE FERREIRA: It was a difficult match because I wasn't able to serve that well especially against someone like him. I have to serve well and volley and I wasn't really able to do that. It was difficult. He play exceptionally well now.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Well, my goal for this year was to finish at No. 10 and I finished at No. 9, so, I'm happy with that. Well, next year is next year. I have to sit down and think about that. At this stage, I really haven't thought much about next year.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I've played some of my better tennis this year, so I'm sure it does.

WAYNE FERREIRA: This year I had a good year. This year -- last year I only won on hard courts. This year I won on hard courts (inaudible) the place -- indoors, so I had a good year in everything. I was pretty consistent.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Yes, it was definitely a match I should have won.

WAYNE FERREIRA: No, not the biggest. Obviously it was the way my tournaments were played in the summer in America. That was pretty bad. I had a very bad time there.

WAYNE FERREIRA: It's the same racket. It's the identical racket, but I wanted to change the color, but they changed the color, but they didn't make the racket the same.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Dunlop Revelations. It's the same racket, but they said it was the same, but it didn't feel the same. It was a lot of problem, not with the racket itself, but it was too light in the head, the weight wasn't the same.

WAYNE FERREIRA: That's difficult because they play so much rugby and soccer inside and all we have is the Davis Cup and the most we can play is three times a year. There's not too much enthusiasm. They don't show too much tennis on the T.V. either. See a lot of people have lost interest in tennis. I mean, I don't blame them in a way, it's difficult.

WAYNE FERREIRA: No, he's doing with the rugby. But not with tennis, no.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Well, the Federation has been changing. They have got new people involved starting off with trying new ideas, so, I think they have a lot they can do and a lot they wouldn't do, so we'll see how things are going to change in the next couple of months. The Davis Cup next year is going to be important to see what happens.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I would say depending on what surface we play on, it would be 60 percent.

WAYNE FERREIRA: It depends indoors or grass. It depends on what they can make. It depends on the money situation.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Have they asked me, I've given them my opinion.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I think we should play on grass.

WAYNE FERREIRA: We don't have any tournaments on grass so we can make a grass course. It's easy to make a grass course.

WAYNE FERREIRA: That's not true. I played against India on grass last year.

WAYNE FERREIRA: We don't have any tournaments. How can we pick which one we can play on. We don't have a tournament, so we don't have a choice, so it's nothing we can't choose really.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I'm not sure, no.

WAYNE FERREIRA: We don't have anything. We have no tournaments.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I guess. I think we can choose. I'll find out. I mean the Federation should know that. They should know the rule already if they do and they haven't said anything so I don't know.

WAYNE FERREIRA: We have an indoor court home.

WAYNE FERREIRA: No, South Africa.

WAYNE FERREIRA: This time of year is not Paris time, it's too cold now and I (INAUDIBLE) it's too cold rather.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Good question. Nobody knows. I think the basic reason is you need to send a lot of juniors overseas and get some experience and play against people their own age and for the rest of the world, and our Federation doesn't have the money to send anybody so they lost out on all that. (INAUDIBLE). They don't really show too much. Like now, this week is great. They are going to have this week on T.V. which is great and they have Bercy on. The people seemed to have enthusiasm. The people seen from Paris that the tournament was unbelievable. Everybody was crazy about it. They thought it was great. You get the French and the Wimbledon. That's it. Not very much people see it, so they don't get involved with it.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Everybody said that I was injured not playing last week, I just didn't want to play last week.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I didn't expect to be here this week anyway. So I just didn't play. Last week I had off.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Yes, it wasn't very good in Paris, but it was a lot worse in Lyon. It was okay except it did affect me a lot on the serve. When I went forward, it hurt a lot. When I stayed back, it was okay.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I haven't felt any problems yet so it's fine now, we'll see.

WAYNE FERREIRA: Well, I think I'm going to do the same next year as I did this year. I played maybe 16 tournaments. I don't play-- I didn't play the Grand Slams which I'm going to play (INAUDIBLE) the rest I want to play. I'll play maybe 16 tournaments and whatever I want, but not really that important.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I mean, I play about 28 singles this year and then 16 doubles. This is a lot of tennis.

WAYNE FERREIRA: We are going to play the Australian Open next year. I might play a couple of others.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I agree with you. Now, it is too much business Lifestyles are different.

WAYNE FERREIRA: I think it would be better if they did that. It would be a lot better, but I don't know what the situation would be (INAUDIBLE) I guess if they can sort it out, I guess they can come to some solution. I think it would be better for everybody.