RCA CHAMPIONSHIPS

August 15, 1995

Mark Woodforde

MARK WOODFORDE: Well, after you have played for like two hours and if you your opponent is constantly bitching about calls, I think it gets to you; especially in that type of heat, as I said to one of those questions, you are playing; it is so hot out there; you can't really play your own game because you are just so tired and just worn out that something like that probably affects you a bit more than usual, so I try and sit down and breath properly and -- but I just thought it was excessive even though I think that particular call towards the end, my smash was out, but there were a lot of other calls and a lot of other times in between the points which shouldn't be going on because play is supposed to be continous, but that is Jaime's makeup. He has got to put up with it and his opponents got to put up with it.

MARK WOODFORDE: Just told him to hurry up; stop complaining and play on. Everyone has an opinion.

MARK WOODFORDE: He thought that I should have not said anything and I think he said, "be a gentleman" and so -- I am a gentleman, I could have said a lot worse and used a bit more harsher words than I did, but so he just, you know, I said, I am always a gentleman, Jaime, you didn't see me complaining, so...

MARK WOODFORDE: Well, probably should have won the first set easier, and then I did; then in the second set being up a break, I think that explains that you can't play or I can't play the way that I want to in this heat. I think the heat affects -- I am one of the players on the Tour that is affected greatly by conditions like this, and I think I played the way I should have in the third set. Fortunately, I'd held myself a bit more comfortably than I had throughout the match, and so I thought the first set was important. If I had lost that, you know, I don't know what my frame of mind would have been, but having secured it, allows to free up a little bit and maybe just try and push a little bit earlier in the set to try and get an early break which I did, but Jaime doesn't really give in that easy, and I think starting to cool down a little bit enough for him to keep his composure and ability to fight back into the match, but, you know, I mean, I had a lot more chances than he did to beat me, and I think the whole match probably overall should have been a lot easier in my way, but, you know, the conditions are tough and I don't know how I am going to be tomorrow. I can only just show up and try my best, so we will wait and see. I think it is a bit ridiculous playing during the day, though, when they know it is going to be so hot and humid. I'd maybe like to see tournaments like Cincinnati and Indianapolis rearrange their scheduling of the matches and maybe go into of more of a night session, because too many players are suffering and you can't play tennis the way it should be, and someone is going to have an unfortunate accident soon and, you know, people are going to be starting to question why it happened when it is has been going on for so long. I just hope that maybe the Tour changes their attitude towards these conditions.

MARK WOODFORDE: Yeah, that would be a bit more ideal, because it just, you know, I mean, I played wih Mark Knowles last week in the doubles final. He couldn't complete the match. Sampras obviously fatigued against whoever he lost to, I think, Stich, and then Stich had the same problem against Chang and then Chang had it against Agassi, so, you know, the tennis is different. It is not the way that I think a lot of the players would like to play. I think it would be more ideal. You know, every year it is hot here; every year in Cincinnati; every year -- maybe not so at the U.S. Open, but that can vary, but here, it is just getting a bit ridiculous, and, you know, I don't think tennis should come down to, you know, solely survival of the fittest. I think it is the person who is able to display their repertoire of shots and their thinking ability as well as their physical ability; not rely on because they are so strong and can hit the crap out of the ball and belt winners and finish the point quickly. I think, you know, that is something that maybe we should look into.

MARK WOODFORDE: I am sure I have. I weighed myself beforehand and I am going to go and weigh myself now, and, you know, I am sure I have lost, you know, a substantial amount, so, it will be interesting to go back up there and weigh myself now.

MARK WOODFORDE: Yeah, I mean, at 10 in the morning you still -- players that have to play third match playing in the heat of the day so there is no use starting any earlier. I think only way to go is probably start at four or five o'clock. We have got plenty of courts. Why not utilize them? And, you know, there are lights, I don't see why we should have to play during the heat of the day.

MARK WOODFORDE: Yeah, that is very true, but you know, that is tennis I was brought up to, you know, to believe and understand that a tennis player plays singles and doubles and last year I think I had the same problem. I played a few matches going through here and it didn't really affect mere for my doubles, but it affected the outcome of my singles match, and, you know, I am trying my best to become a fitter tennis player and stronger tennis player, but sometimes each person is different; each player is different. Mark Knowles and myself and Alex O'Brien, there is a few other players that no matter how strong we can get, we are going to be affected by it, and I think that is unfortunate, but, you know, we are trying our best to become as I said fitter and stronger. I think maybe sometimes the tournaments maybe can just relax the rules a little bit or not that there is a rule in it that they can't start later, but maybe they should look into it. I think the general player's standard of tennis maybe higher. That is what we want.

MARK WOODFORDE: At Love-40. If I was Love-40 down. Yeah, you know, I think I won one game from Love-40 down on Jaime's serve or 40-Love down; I ended up just winning it. I think, yeah, you just, more or less, if you've played a tough game and you are down 40-Love or 40-15, then I wasn't too perturbed today; try and hit out on a couple of returns and try to finish the point a lot quicker to get back to the change of end and just try and cool down a little bit ready for my service games, so I mean, I was just ecstatic the way I served in the third set. That was what I would like to have played in the first and second set, but it took until the third set for me to really pull it out and to finish with 4 aces - I have never done that before - so, after 2 1/2 hours I think that is pretty good.