ATP TOUR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

November 18, 1994

Sergi Bruguera

SERGI BRUGUERA: If I feel what?

SERGI BRUGUERA: I don't know, I never played never before with myself, but I think that he is more used to playing these courts and I think he hits more -- little bit more flat than me. I get more topspin and here it is less painful. I think when you playing much flat and take the ball earlier, it is hurting much more on these courts.

SERGI BRUGUERA: Well, I think the third set just was one break. I think he start serve a little bit better and I was just one break -- he try for winners every time and he got it, and also very close call in the breakpoint, and that was the match in the third set. Maybe, also, the first set 4-All, 40-15 advantage he tried to win his return on the line; that could be 5-4 for me. Then I was coming back from 3-1 and maybe it could change a little bit. But still, it goes like this and nothing to do.

SERGI BRUGUERA: Always you lose, you are disappointed. If you play well and the other play little better than you, then it is less disappointing. But the important thing was qualifying, I think, for me, also to win today because it is better to win. Much important thing is to qualify. I did it. I think I played good match. He played a little bit better than me today and he deserve to win.

SERGI BRUGUERA: Well, I think maybe Becker, he has been playing much better at this season in indoors, and also everybody knows that when Becker is on, he is the best player on indoor, probably. And it will be tough match like today, but a little bit different than the players I have been playing because he is serve and volleying and goes to the net much more, so it will be a different kind of match.

SERGI BRUGUERA: Yeah, since he is in Germany there is a lot of indoor courts. And, you know, when you are growing up, you are adjusting your game to the court that you have been practicing, so he have the shots that are much painful in this surface; when I am used to playing on clay, you know, I know that the topspin is the painful shot in that, and so I am trying to have much topspin and higher, and here, he is playing good tactic in indoors; he is very -- he serve unbelievable and he -- good run, good volley and plays very well from baseline; also very hard and heavy balls. So I think he is very complete and it is difficult to find the weakness.

SERGI BRUGUERA: I don't know.

SERGI BRUGUERA: Maybe I think all the crowd is going to be for me. (kiddingly).

SERGI BRUGUERA: Well, it is better to have it than playing in Germany and playing Boris Becker, you know, that all the crowd is going to be like, you know, clapping every point and yelling. It is -- I like sometimes when the people is excited about the match and I am playing, even if it is for the other one. I prefer that they yell for the other one and be calm, you know, don't say nothing. I like the people enjoy it. If they see Becker and they enjoy it, it is good for me.

SERGI BRUGUERA: I don't know. You should ask journalists. They wrote about this.

SERGI BRUGUERA: Well, I heard it was, you know, not just in Spain, I think in every part of the world they talk about Boris, because when somebody at the age of 17 wins Wimbledon, I think everybody talks about it.

SERGI BRUGUERA: I remember I saw. I saw a little bit, yes. I think I was playing teams, European teams.

SERGI BRUGUERA: Well, I think the balls doesn't depend the court. I think sometimes it is much rough and it gets bigger, the balls, but if you take another balls that doesn't have a lot of hair, and then goes much faster so the ball doesn't just depend how they do it. The court, I think, is -- well, I think that the people are enjoying much more because they see little bit more points, you can still serve and volley, but you have to serve well and make good volley, not just with winners; is much fair for everybody and much enjoyment for me. I like to see more when they are playing much more tennis than not just serve or serve and volley and it is quick points because you cannot be able to put it back.

SERGI BRUGUERA: I think a little bit slower, yeah.

SERGI BRUGUERA: I think because of the surface, because the balls are still like the last year, I think.

SERGI BRUGUERA: Well, I feel so happy about my game and I feel very excited because I feel I am much better player; that I like to play indoors. I like to play hard court, so it has open me like six months of the year, and now I can play much relaxed clay court season because I know I can get points everywhere in every part of the year, and I think it is better because, you know, like you are playing another type of game, so you don't get bored to play the same way every time, so sometimes I am enjoying very much when I play indoor, when I am playing well. You know, when I -- when you are not feeling very well, it is difficult to adjust your game because you don't pass so many balls and you don't have -- when they serve like 30 aces, it is not fun.

SERGI BRUGUERA: I don't know. Monte Carlo was still very, very big event in my mind. When I just start -- you know, the goal is when you are very young and the tournaments I was watching was always Monte Carlo, French Open and Rome, Hamburg, all these kind of tournaments and the Grand Slams and the ATP Tour, but when you are playing and you see how difficult it is on indoors, then you are going down, and mentally, but now I am going up again because I think I can play much better and probably winning is always much better to than to lose in the finals, so I think if maybe I win it, it would be the third one, yeah, but if the final, I prefer to win Monte Carlo.