EUTELSAT MONTE CARLO OPEN

April 25, 1996

Boris Becker

BORIS BECKER: Yes and no. I mean, he plays very much the same all the time. He's a very good counterpuncher. He plays with the power of the other guy; takes the ball early, and has a very good feel for the court and the balls. On a good day, he can be excellent.

BORIS BECKER: You can say that.

BORIS BECKER: To tell you the truth, I won't comment about the balls. I did that last fall at Bercy. I happened to be in the finals. It was easier for me to talk about the balls then. It's the same balls. Other players have picked it up, what I said then. I don't comment on it.

BORIS BECKER: No. You know, I saw him last week, a couple matches on television; had a great tournament. He won two tough matches here. He has played already many, many matches on claycourt. I knew coming in, that, you know, I have to have a very good day; conditions have to be a little bit different, and both things didn't happen.

BORIS BECKER: I'd rather have it happen then than, say, in Melbourne, or during Frankfurt. An injury is never, or a sickness is never coming at the perfect time. But maybe my body, my mind, needed a rest - needed a break from it all. I'm glad I'm over that, but it's going to take a few more weeks until I'm in my best form. The year is still very long. I plan to, you know, play a few more tournaments.

BORIS BECKER: Usually the next opponent, but Muster, being in top form, probably himself. You know, he played a great match today; should have won much easier. For me, he's the No. 1 favorite. If everything goes normal, he wins.

BORIS BECKER: You know, coming into a tournament at this time expecting not very much because I haven't played a healthy match in over two months almost. So, for me, every new day I can play a match, singles or doubles, is an improvement. You know, I had a pretty tough match yesterday; plus doubles; finished at eight o'clock at night. I didn't feel too bad today. I actually thought I was having a better match today than yesterday because the opponent was better today and I had to play better, and I did play better. I'm not at all, in a way, down, because, you know, to be on Thursday in a tournament hasn't happened in a while.

BORIS BECKER: Well, you mentioned all the things already.

BORIS BECKER: What's left for me to say?

BORIS BECKER: It's Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Paris.

BORIS BECKER: Well, he's 12 already.

BORIS BECKER: If he's 12 - I don't know how long he's a professional, but the last two years or so, he's beaten many good players the last couple of months. He beat me today. Probably if he wins another round, the computer is going to be the answer. Next week he's going to be top 10. You know, his game is definitely very good, and he deserves to be in the top 10.

BORIS BECKER: I don't think actually he considers himself a claycourt specialist. I think he prefers slow hard court. But that shows his talent, that he can play on a very wet claycourt. He's a player who has a gifted hand and has good vision on the court. The surface doesn't matter. He, you know, has a good eye for everything.