DAVIS CUP - AUSTRALIA vs FRANCE

December 2, 1999

Guy Forget

Q. What is the very strong points of your team?

CAPTAIN FORGET: I think it's very homogeneous, and also there's no big gap between the players. They all respect each other. They are very highly, highly motivated and pumped up for this event. It's an event that they cherish among all other events.

CAPTAIN FORGET: Well, you know, the fact that we've been there before, Fabrice was there, Cedric was there in '96, Olivier was there in '91. They have nothing to envy looking at the Australian players. They're not playing against Sampras and Agassi at the moment. They're playing at home on their surface, you know, with their crowd. This is simply just to go out there and have no regrets once the tie will be finished. The only way to do that is just to go out there and, you know, try your best from the first point to the last.

CAPTAIN FORGET: As a player and as a captain, I felt this already, yes. As to the signs of nervousness, when Pioline misses a point during practice, he throws his racquet on the ground. It's not because you miss a point during practice that it's a catastrophe. It's a sign that he really wants to be in the fight already. He's frustrated because he's not there yet. He's waiting with a lot of impatience to be into the fight. I myself break one or two racquets sometimes in the practice sessions before the ties.

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: In '91 I watched the final on television. I was not at home. I was in my school where we did sports and studies at the same time. The name of the place is Boulouris, and I watched it. But in '96 unfortunately I wasn't able to watch it on television because I was playing a tournament so I didn't watch it in '96.

CAPTAIN FORGET: As a captain, I wanted to do as Newcombe did, is having the maximum number of players ready if something happened to one of them. I said that during a press conference in Bercy. Otherwise, I said I had no reason not to renew my trust in those who were playing well. Di Pasquale and Escude prepared as well as the other players. They are as good as the players who will be on the court on Friday. Now, the other players are not injured, but otherwise I had no reason to change my choice, otherwise I would have had to make a choice. It was between Fabrice and Nicolas.

CAPTAIN FORGET: Well, as long as I see good things during practice, and Fabrice and Cedric and Sebastien showed me good things, I had no reason why I should wonder about my choice. Of course, Nicolas played a very good practice week. He was at a very high level. He was very fit presently. But what he has against him, if you want, is that he didn't play the former ties. If I had chosen him, it would have been because other players would have missed or been injured or something serious. But it was not the case. Now, Nicolas is ready to play also. Of course, it must be frustrating for him to have done all that and not be on the team, but he also had the merit of helping his friends and pulling them upwards and helping them in preparing well.

CAPTAIN FORGET: All the ties, you know, I've played, especially the ones in the finals when we won, doubles was a very big factor. I think today Fabrice and Olivier are our best chance of, you know, getting one point for the team. I'm really confident about their ability to beat the Woodies even though the Woodies have a much better record in terms of, you know, results in Grand Slams, probably even in Davis Cup. I don't know exactly the one of Olivier and Fabrice. That's all that matters, you know. Winning five Wimbledons is not going to help you winning that particular match on clay. It's a totally different game. You know, the way they're playing at the moment, I tell you, they are going to go through a hard time. You know, of course, defeat is something that you must be ready to accept. But as long as you try your best, you know, you can't be ashamed if you go down. I know that they're ready to give whatever they have to win that match. I'm confident that doing that, you know, they have a really high chance of winning.

CAPTAIN FORGET: I think it could be both ways. I'm serious about that. They want me to make short answers, I'm sorry (laughter). I think, you know, anything can happen, but I'm really confident about the fact that each one of these guys here can win each one of their matches.

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: Well, the first time it's true, I was very tense. I didn't know how the atmosphere would be, how to prepare myself for that. It brought me a lot to be able to participate in those two ties, and I have a better behavior now.

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: I will talk about the tactics with my captain tonight. But I think I will have to move him a lot because he's very powerful and he hits the ball very hard. I'll have to move him a lot.

CAPTAIN FORGET: Well, I think, you know, it's the same in every sport, not only in tennis. You have to try your best. If Cedric had won against Enqvist on the Sunday when he was up, you know, in the fifth set I think, probably no one would have remembered that tie being as exceptional as it was because Arnaud saved match points, had problems finishing the match. But overall, you know, it's the same story again and again: just give your best till the last point.

CAPTAIN FORGET: No, not at all. He wished us good luck and said he was on our side.

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: Well, I believe so because it brought me luck the first two times so I hope it's going to continue that way. I won't have to wait for Cedric's match to finish. I'll know at what time I will have to play.