U.S. OPEN

September 7, 1995

Jim Courier

JIM COURIER: In Spanish. I didn't realize that there were so many bilingual people, but ---

JIM COURIER: I am ramping up right now, so I don't know what a renaissance --

JIM COURIER: My game started to come along. It is ramping up at the right time. It is good.

JIM COURIER: That and also that is what I needed to do against Michael because he was hanging in the backhand corner. So, you know, got to try and exploit the opening, and that is what I tried to do.

JIM COURIER: Ping-pong point?

JIM COURIER: That was pretty good, good timing. I just got lucky. I guessed right twice in a row and, you know, got my racket on both of them and that was a big point, big turning point.

JIM COURIER: Well, I mean, obviously, my results have been sporadic this year. I have had a few tournament wins and a few first round exits so I haven't been, you know, as consistent as I would like to be. But, you know, I feel like I am hitting the ball very well right now and, you know, I am going to try and continue to keep playing like this, you know, through the end of the year, for sure.

JIM COURIER: I didn't expect it in the middle of the summer, but the week of practice before I could feel it starting to come, I didn't know if it would come. But I thought that if it didn't come here, it was, you know, not far around the corner.

JIM COURIER: Probably down in Australia. I felt pretty good down there. I mean, I think I am playing better now, but I had a good run.

JIM COURIER: If I don't come out and play well, I am in Florida on the beach in that match. That guy is a good player, and I knew I would have to play well. And I knew that was a perfect match for me because it got my attention right away. And I had to be there, you know, otherwise like I said, I would have been gone. So the draw worked out fairly well for me.

JIM COURIER: I think we are fairly familiar with each other's games.

JIM COURIER: I think this tournament has been a good tournament just on the standpoint on how I am hitting the ball and hopefully I will win that match. If I don't, I'd still consider this a big step in the right direction.

JIM COURIER: That is long ways away.

JIM COURIER: That is a long time ago, good match, and hopefully we will produce a match of that quality again.

JIM COURIER: I was, yeah. I came back and I tried to play and I played here I wasn't as prepared as I would have liked to have been, but I wanted to play in any case. And, you know, when you are not prepared at a top level tournament, you are probably not going to do that well.

JIM COURIER: No, I don't think so. You know, I have seen so many guys that walk away when they are 24, 25, 26 and even if you walk away just for a few months, you know, and if you say that you are going to stop and you put the rackets away, I think it is that mental thing that you come back; it is never the same.

JIM COURIER: Even McEnroe took the hiatus; he was never quite the same and he had good results afterwards, but he was never, you know, razor sharp like before and I don't think that you can afford to do that mentally I don't think you can let go. Because once you let go, I think it is gone. So I have never reached that point. I have reached points plenty of times where I say okay, step back, I need about a month; get home in my own bed and I think that is natural due to the, you know, the year-round schedule that we keep and I think that everyone needs that particularly me the way that I train. My weeks off aren't weeks off, so I am training harder than I am at tournaments, so...

JIM COURIER: Yeah, it is a big drain and also I think in your '30s people physically start to breakdown as well as mentally; just want to be home; most guys have families at that point and you just don't want to leave your kids, I mean, it is not the way to raise a family.

JIM COURIER: I played the big points well. When I do that, that means that I am sharp at the top.

JIM COURIER: No, not really. He doublefaulted quite a few times.

JIM COURIER: Three sets in three hours, that is enough.

JIM COURIER: We always have -- Michael is always trying to do whatever it takes to win and he thought that I wasn't ready to receive his serve and he is looking at me and he hasn't bounced the ball to get ready. I am standing right there on the baseline. He can serve it at any time, but that is when you are playing the Changer, you better be prepared.

JIM COURIER: Just people in my box.

JIM COURIER: No.