AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 16, 2001

Gustavo Kuerten

THE MODERATOR: First question, please.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Well, I just feel a little bit tight at the start of the match and after I got the net break, I think I start to feel a little bit better so it wasn't anything that got me worried.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: It was just I feel my leg a little bad, one bad movement I did. But as far as I keep playing, I could move around and play as I wanted.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Sorry?

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Like normal. A lot of stretch, massage and food, too. (Laughter.)

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Yeah, I think, no, for me it's been always tough to play well here so I knew it would be a difficult match my first match this year. And I think he played very good also. He played some good points. I'm sure I didn't know how -- playing well, like during whole set. I had up and downs during most of match. I think it's good to win. First match I played last year, I was out in first round already. So I fight a lot. I think I really, you know, he played like a match for his life. You know, it's tough when you play the guy wants to win. It doesn't matter how, but he wants to win. I think I hanging in there. After losing the tiebreak, I start to play well again. My mind was into the game. So I got to be maybe more focus for the next one.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Well, I think not the surface too much. I think I can play well on this surface. Just the way it comes, very early for me. Always one of the first tournaments. Here is all the opposite, you know. Like when I wake up, I want to sleep. When I sleep, I want to play. So it's strange. But I try to find a way like I always been doing this.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Not much. I think it's -- for sure it's a little bit different. As I face today my first match and also coming here like one, almost two months without playing, so was special I think. But, there's some bad things but it's kind of bad things that everybody wants. You know, like pressure that everybody is looking forward to beat one good player that everybody's trying to beat you, but at least you are there in the top spot.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Most of the place, I've been in many place with Brazilian guys and some surf competition or with the media around. So they got to know me little bit. But they didn't let me catch a wave at all. (Laughing.) Didn't give me any special treatment.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Well, I think it was a great test already this first round. Not even, you know, the hours we played but the way we played, too. We run a lot. I think I show that my physical condition is okay. It's ready to play. I hope tomorrow I don't feel so much, you know, soreness from the match today. But I think I'm ready. I've been walking a lot, work out a lot, doing a lot of practice. But it's also difference when you play a match. It's more nervous, more excited so your body feel a little bit more so. So let's see what happen for this week. But I think for here I'm ready again to play.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Finally now I know I adapt myself better with the contact lens, too, so I can play better during the night with no -- not as much problem as I had before. So it's better for me. Maybe I can play at night sometimes, too. It's much better. You don't feel all the tired from the sun and from the warm weather that can be. So I think probably I'm going to play some -- hopefully also -- I play some night matches and I think I'm ready to play, you know, any other hour during the day.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Yeah, I think that the biggest country -- the biggest jump, no, as a country last year was from Argentina. Not even -- they put so many players, but also top players like Squillari, Portas, many guys in top 30, top 40. They really impress last year, I'm sure they're going to impress much more this year the way I saw many more Argentina here, young guys. They gonna play and put themselves in better and better rankings. It's good, I think South Americans showing up a little bit. We just look forward to maybe have more respect as a tournaments, too, as players so we can be, you know, better, they can look at us as different not as strange as we are right now.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: I don't know if they're gonna do it in Sao Paolo. They move it. That was very disappointing. We don't have any single tournament in Brazil. It's very frustrated. I think the tennis is -- it's going so hard there, people expect so much to see, you know not only me, but the other good players, too. And I think we miss a great chance, you know, to build the sports image of tennis a little bit more.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Well, I think for me especially these guys, they very dangerous. They don't give me too much reading. I'm gonna have to, you know, to focus a lot in my serve and try to put him in difficult conditions when he's serving. So I think is gonna be -- it's gonna be tough match and he's always a difficult guy to play against because you cannot -- never expect what he's coming through or when he's serving so big. I think doesn't matter who he's playing against, but when he's doing well, he's a tough guy to beat.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Yes. I know we played a couple times. I'm see him playing many other times, too. The key it's gonna be like returning his serve and trying to make him work a lot on his serve. It's gonna make me feel more into the game and feel myself more chance. So I just gonna -- depends if he miss more first serve or if I'm returning well, that's gonna be the difference on the match.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Yes, I think last time we played against each other was different situation. I was still improving my game. I didn't know so clear like I know now how to play on other surface. So I think I'm more ready. That doesn't mean that I gonna play better than the other times, but at least I face in a different way than I have. I know that I'm ready to play and maybe if I play well to beat him.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Well, I think the courts are pretty similar. Maybe the ball fly a little bit more, it's not so humid as there. But I think it's -- this year is more fair. Last year was a little bit over -- fast. The balls were flying too much. So this year it's kind of -- depending on the weather, it can be a little bit slow and maybe in other fast.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Well, it's tough to say really because of the -- they're hungry, you know. Like Argentina, they very -- they like adventures, they like challenges, you know, they try to go to take somehow more and more I think from themselves. I think that's why they having all that success. We not really have a great Federation help, not even in one or two countries in South America just because people start to believe more. We have great talent also in Juniors. So as far as we can get more players in the top, I think it's like a way for the others to see it can be done.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Yeah, I think I have more weapons, let's say, right now. I can do different things like this, I try to surprise him a couple of times, you know, going after my serve. Sometimes second serve. And I think that's the kind of things that can only help me. You know, I can do against him maybe and other players and sometimes not doing in the guy is returning too good. But, you know, it's one more thing that I have in my hand that I can use. Like today he was returning well and playing very strong from the baseline, so I tried to play the points little bit shorter, and there's more things. Like today helped me a lot to find a way to win the match.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Yes, I think I've been a long time without playing. So the longer I was on the court, I feel myself more into the game, like feeling my strategy better and feeling myself more prepared to play one point to the other. And I think we both really rise our game very high at the end of the fourth set. He played unbelievable when I was leading 4-3, you know, like after saving three or four break points to make 5-4. Then I had two set points and played maybe my two aces in tough situations. And that time, I really feel that I was more into the competition. In the beginning, I playing like one more and more practice. I'm not used to the competition feeling any more. But as far as I've been on the court, you know, playing more, I feel myself more and more into it.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Yes, there especially I save, you know, great -- many, many break points, a tough situation with the serve or with big shots. So this is going to help me, and it has helped me a lot. So I just -- I hope I don't get too much this situation. But if I can get out of this like today, it's gonna be good for sure that I'm gonna be much more confident for the next match.