WIMBLEDON

July 5, 2000

Byron Black

MODERATOR: Byron Black.

BYRON BLACK: I just had it analyzed right now. I just hyperextended my knee a little bit. Just the hamstring, right at the bottom of the hamstring. I just felt it in the end of the second, started to hurt me a little bit. It was a pity because I thought I was sort of getting things together there. I was just sort of making a comeback, settling down a little bit. You know, I can still move. I mean, the guy just in the end played too good for me. It's not an excuse. Definitely sort of unsettled me a bit when I was sort of calming down there for a while.

BYRON BLACK: Yeah, it does. I had a good week coming in here from Nottingham, got to the finals. Yeah, I'm happy I got to the quarterfinals. I would love to have gone one further. I think it was a great opportunity for both of us to get to the semifinals. You know, I got to the quarterfinals of the US Open in '95. I think I was looking to go one further. You know, I'm glad I had a decent draw this year. The draw really opened up. I've had some tough draws in the past. I'm glad I didn't run into Pete or a guy like Henman earlier on.

BYRON BLACK: Voltchkov? He's a flashy player. That was the frustrating thing. When I thought I had him, he would hit some great shots. When it was time for him to sort of finish me off, he sort of hesitated. He plays up-and-down. You know, I think with the way Pete's playing, I don't think this guy could really hurt him.

BYRON BLACK: Yeah, he did. Like I said, when he needed to, he sort of stepped it up a little bit. Other times when he had the break, he wouldn't close it out. He's sort of up-and-down. He's a flashy player.

BYRON BLACK: Served for the set, yeah. I mean, that was key. That's where if I could have won that game, I think it would have been all square, obviously. You know, I'm sure he would have been thinking about it a little more because he was well in control up till just before that.

BYRON BLACK: You mean, for his first quarterfinal?

BYRON BLACK: Yeah, I mean, I thought he would be a little bit more nervous out there. I've been through it once before. You know, he was sort of getting angry with himself out there. He was aggressive. He took it to me. He went after it, hurt me a little on his serve and his forehand. I knew I had to work his forehand a little bit. I was trying to serve forehand to him. But he goes for it. You know, he's dangerous.

BYRON BLACK: I think since the elections, things have calmed down a bit. Just leading up to the election, you know, we're all concerned about it. Zimbabwe is my home. It was torn apart there for a while. I just hope it's healed up a little. We were playing with a lot of sort of hurt in our heart out here. We're pretty far away from it, just reading about it in the papers. There's nothing really you can do about it. It's just frustrating seeing your country torn apart a little. It's been a hard time. I'm looking forward to going back and just seeing everything, seeing that it's all right or better.

BYRON BLACK: I don't know. I've been out of touch a little bit. Maybe they would be. I hope it's on live. I'm sure there were some guys having a few drinks, watching.

BYRON BLACK: Friday. Got the Davis Cup next weekend, playing Romania.