ATP TOUR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

November 18, 1996

Boris Becker

The field here is all good sounding names. And it is stupid to talk of an easy draw.

(When asked about the people and the City of Hannover) It is the first time in Hannover. I am not here to get to know the people. The hotel and the hall are good. But the atmosphere, we will have to see when the crowd is in there.

No matter what Tiriac is putting together here, everybody has to know that tennis still has to be the most important thing.

I would have rather not played on Friday. But, now that I have to, it is okay. For my birthday, if I have any wishes, only my wife will know them and maybe she is going to give them to me as presents.

In order to beat Lendl's record, I still have to win a few times. That is theoretically possible if I play good. But, this year I have only played a few tournaments. Actually, I was the one who played the least tournaments of all the guys who are here. Plus the surface is a lot slower than five years ago. But, I have been trying to get my game and my match changed according to the surface. As for tomorrow playing against Kafelnikov, I am not going to tell you his weaknesses because there is people here listening in on what I am saying, but, he is a strong player. He is an all-arounder and he can play on all surfaces. And, he has got the talent to be a No. 1 at one point.

I am in good physical shape right now. I didn't play in Stockholm, not because I was taking sometime off, but because I was injured on my right foot. The break that I had after Wimbledon really was no advantage for me, but a disadvantage because, for example, last year, I didn't have a break and I was still getting to the World Championships and winning it. So, this year with the break, it was more like a time of suffering because I was watching guys play really well and I didn't have a chance to compete.

It is a mystery to me how I played the tournaments after Wimbledon and won them, but I am very, very happy. This year, however, there is new names in Hannover because about four to five years ago all the players retired from tennis and now -- and we got new guys and they are now in their mid-20s and they still have another four to five years to go. So, that is how long we have to wait until we get new names to qualify for the World Championships.

A lot of people, for example, thought that Philippoussis was going to make it, but maybe he just needs some more time and there is only 10 spots in a top 10 field.

(Regarding how much money the young guys get) Well, the young guys like Philippoussis and Rios, they make some money when they get into the top 100, but there is still a lot of difference between what a Pete Sampras makes and what a Marc Philippoussis makes. And also, if the young guys only play for the money, they will never get into the top 10. I am not playing tennis because of the money, but because of the possibility to be the No. 1 in tennis, one sport of the world that I could be the top guy in. And I have been playing tennis for 25 years now. It fascinates me and for me it is some kind of art form. For example, every year Wimbledon seems to be the same for the spectators. But, for me, every year, Wimbledon, is totally different. Even though having been on the Tour for so long, a lot of the tournaments, when I go there, I am much more conscious of what is going on. I am more relaxed. For example, five years ago, I would have not been able to sleep well the night before a match at the World Championships. But, this year, it doesn't make a difference to me. Tennis is a part of my life, but it is not my life. Even though when I win a tournament like in Vienna or Stuttgart, I appreciate it a lot more than when I was 17 or 18.

(When asked as to when he is going to quit tennis) At the latest, when my son is going to school. But, I am not going to do it the Edberg way and announce the year before that I am going to retire because that would be too much, all those parties every week. It is not my kind of thing. And, plus, I think that you cannot win a tournament if you know that this is going to be the last time you are playing a tournament.

(When asked about the retirement of boxer Henry Maske) Well, I know Henry Maske and I know that probably a year ago he already knew in his stomach that he was going to retire next weekend, but it takes about a year for a decision like that to get from your stomach into your head. I don't think I am going to be retiring and then get involved heavily in other sports because I have already been running so many miles in my life and at some point it is just enough. Plus, my wife wouldn't like the idea.

I am happy that I am playing Kafelnikov tomorrow. And, like I said, there is no easy players here. So, all the guys who are here are top eight players and it is not a question of whether the red or the white group are stronger.

With respect to the Sampras quote, what he said in Stuttgart about me playing in Germany would be the worst opponent a player could have: Sampras has only played against me for five years and if you would ask a Lendl or a McEnroe, they would tell you something totally different. In Stuttgart, I think the public was on my side, but it wasn't unfair and they were still cheering for Pete. Even though I have to say that the atmosphere was not that good for the first two days and I was very happy when I saw them get more -- the audience get more involved in the match on the weekend. Because I am very dependent on the spark that comes over from the atmosphere and the cheering of the crowd. In very important moments, players like us, do not get a lot of feedback and we couldn't recognize the crowd, but we still know they are there. We know that our people are there like my wife and Mike DePalmer, but they are always in that one box not because they wish to be there, but because it is the seat they have to take and it is being given to them for the whole week.

The worst thing for me would be to play in front of just 6,000 people here with half the hall too empty. So, I hope that everybody is coming here and some way or the other is making themselves audible and cheering.

With respect to Davis Cup, I really would like to play Davis Cup next year, but the question is when and where. There is a lot of criticism about the Davis Cup. But, I have to say that if it was played any other way than it is now there would be no team feeling and no atmosphere in the team. For example, when the German Davis Cup team went to Brazil, it was two weeks of just team spirit and fun and we were really close and it was intense, but it was a lot of fun. On the other hand, the ITF and ATP Tour calendar is too crowded and top guys have to think about what they want to do. I mean, everybody in the public always says that we should play this tournament and this tournament and even with Kafelnikov, when he went home from the U.S. Open, people were saying that he didn't want to play, but all we have is our body; it is our potential, and, we have to take care of it. That is why we have to make a choice. And, next year, we will have the same situation again where players like Pete and myself will not be able to play every tournament the crowd wants us to play. Pete Sampras five years ago had said that he couldn't understand my criticism, but now he is at the same point. He has been playing a lot of tournaments in the last five years and he is getting to the point where he has got to make his choices as well. I mean, nothing has changed because non-tennis players decide and they don't know what the reality of a tennis pro is like. We could get together in a solidarity group if the top eight players would meet and come and talk about how we want to change everything. But, even then, we would have so many non-tennis players that would have to have an influence on our decision that really we couldn't make a chance. Plus we are all opponents and we play for fame and money and points. So, a lot of times when I say that I think this has got to be done, all the other guys will say something totally different just because Becker mentioned it should be this way.

In Germany the DTB should sit together and should find a way to get more young plan to the tournaments. I mean, thirteen years ago when I started we didn't have a lot of tournaments here. But, now we have all the big tournaments right here, so young guys can jump on the train and go straight to a tournament and they could get a wildcard. I don't understand why we do not have a lot more young guys that play. I mean, we are still talking about the new guys -- new German guys on the Tour, but a lot of them are already in their 20s, like Marc Goellner. Somehow, something was not done in order to use the tennis boom in Germany more efficiently. . That is why I say the DTB should get together with the best players we have and should talk to them and find out what the players think how we could motivate more young guys to get on the Tour. I think I have shown the way, but now someone has to follow-up on that.

With respect to the group I am playing in, again, like I said, Kafelnikov, to me, is an all-arounder. He has about one or two small weaknesses, which I am not going to mention here. Agassi is extremely talented. But, he has got his ups-and-downs. And, Sampras is the best and most constant player of us all. But each draw has two sides. So, we have to see how it will go. All of us could not be playing that well this week or one could just be surprising everybody.

With respect to Agassi, right now, we are at the stage where we greet each other friendly, but it is not like before

Yes, I am doing something with Mercedes Benz order in order to help the tennis youth in Germany and we are going to get a team of four players, two young players between 15 and 16 and two older players and they will be coached by a coach and I will be the tennis guru who comes by once in a while and tells them that they don't play good tennis. But, I am deciding basically who gets into the team and I choose the trainer. So right now, there is a little bit of a movement in the tennis youth in Germany, but it should have happened before. But, it is better now than never. And, I do have scouts out who are driving around Germany and internationally to check out young guys who are trying to get into professional tennis.

With respect to breakfast, I have all kinds of things in the morning. I like meat or I have an egg, or a bun. And, before the match, you know, we have a really good catering here, so, we will just see what they serve. I am practicing with Nicolas Kiefer. He plays with a lot of rhythm and I have met him privately last year. I get along with him really well and he is a young player with a lot of talent. He has got a potential to survive the first one or two rounds of big tournaments. But, it is really difficult to say if he is going to be a top guy in a few years. And, the whole thing is very easy going. I mean, we just meet and we play and I try to play with as many young players as possible. And, if a young player approaches me, I am always willing to give him advice and to try and practice with him.