COMPAQ GRAND SLAM CUP

December 7, 1993

Boris Becker

BORIS BECKER: Maybe we start with English first. I guess German takes a little longer.

BORIS BECKER: No, we practiced indoors. They have about 4 indoor courts. I practiced on indoor supreme.

BORIS BECKER: My performance was such that I had 3-2, five breakpoints, and he hit the first two aces, and then I had three opportunities which I couldn't convert, and I paid the price later on, when I had 40-15 and 5-All and he was able to break me there, and in my opinion the whole match turned around where I had my head in front, in the first set. He had his head in front all the time in the second. Then at the end, he played some good tennis to beat me.

BORIS BECKER: I cannot be. I cannot be. I have beaten him three times out of three matches. Even though they were quite close, no, I am disappointed. I hoped, you know, especially in this tournament to go longer and to be able to win a couple of matches. I had two good exhibition matches last week, and I was practicing since 12 days and I felt fit and I felt fine, but I couldn't put it on the court in the match, what I could do in practice. I guess, the year has to finish now.

BORIS BECKER: My first tournament will be probably in Marseille, the first indoor event in Europe in February.

BORIS BECKER: We don't know it for sure. I have a couple of -- we are going to have a couple of more talks. He is going to stay until Sunday, and then we talk a few more times, and then I decide and he is going to decide whether we go next week -- next year.

BORIS BECKER: Absolutely not. I made the best shot of my career and it is going to come out in about two weeks, five weeks. If you talk about my profession, it was my worst year, no doubt about that. I had a couple of good tournaments at the beginning of the year and the middle - speaking of the semifinal, Wimbledon - but especially in the past three months, I haven't been able to play top, top level tennis, and right now I am glad, you know, there is no more opportunity I can play this year, and I am glad I can go into a five week break or six weeks.

BORIS BECKER: Of course I know why. It has to do with Barbara, obviously. It has to do with a couple of other things, speaking to Tiriac, speaking of trying to find a new base, speaking of home where it is about, but that goes into something I really don't want to talk about at this point. But the general problem was that my mind wasn't focused 100 percent on tennis, and in order to play top five level tennis, you have to concentrate 100 percent, and I wasn't able to do that because of other things which were at that time more important in order to have another couple of good years ahead of me.

BORIS BECKER: That is another point which didn't help me very much at this last tournament, but that is how life is sometimes. That is all I can say about it.

BORIS BECKER: Tell me what -- what format they are trying to do? I haven't been involved in Davis Cup lately, so I don't really -- I am not up-to-date.

BORIS BECKER: They had that idea a couple of years ago, but all the time, like the idea to play four matches after every three months, sometimes you have to go to a place you don't -- you don't want to go, but it has proven over the past - how many years Davis Cup is existing right now - with that format, that it is a good system; it is a good way, and I hope, you know, the system is going to stay the same. I hope in the next years to follow we have 4 matches over a period of 12 month and that it is not a tournament which is over in a week or ten days. Then it would be just like another tournament; you wouldn't have that special atmosphere.

BORIS BECKER: Oh, he has played not only the past two or three months, but over a period of 12 months, you know, starting with this victory last year, very, very good tennis, excellent tennis, and especially in Davis Cup the way he played as the No. 1 player of the team, you know, he didn't lose the singles; he didn't even lose the doubles, I think. He had an extraordinary year, plus talk about Davis Cup, plus the likes of Goellner and, Kuhnen and Steeb, played great in those four matches.

BORIS BECKER: You talk about the responsibility of being a father?

BORIS BECKER: That is a responsibility which is not only hard for my profession, but for my everyday life. But I am not the first tennis-playing father, you know. I cannot pretend that I am all the time 18, you know, the likes of Lendl, McEnroe, Edberg, Connors have made that stage, too, and afterwards played good tennis again, so I don't see that as a real problem.

BORIS BECKER: From my point of view, there weren't any ill feelings about it. He started with me the week before the French Open and we had a good couple of weeks, especially Wimbledon, but then already in October, Eric told me that at the beginning -- at the end of the year he is trying to find a new spot, you know, he wanted to stop with me anyway now, and that is the whole story to it. And about Nick, what was the question again?

BORIS BECKER: Hopefully make me play better tennis. That is as simple as I can say.

BORIS BECKER: I can't give you an answer today. There have to be talks Michael Stich, Nick Pilic and myself. I can't tell you today.

BORIS BECKER: I mean, I am not prepared to refer to a very bad year in general terms because I had very good moments this year, and the last three months were very indeed. And my career for ten years now, and there have been periods where I was really down, and this can, as you see, can even happen to Boris Becker. Now I am glad I get a break and get some new energy and try and come back the shape that I used to be in for next year 1994.

BORIS BECKER: Well, she may be better than I right now, but tonight she is going to lift me up again, and we are both very much looking forward to our baby.

BORIS BECKER: I feel it -- I find it rather difficult to provide an intelligent answer to this question, but anyway, Barbara is a better singer than I am.

BORIS BECKER: Maybe there were no Spiegel readers here today. What I think is certain, that people want to see me play tennis for another couple of years.

BORIS BECKER: Until three hours ago, I had intended, indeed, to play some more days, but not in this situation, of course, but tomorrow we shall sit down with Nick and talk about things about next week, and I think I am going to play not a lot this year and start to play again next year to prepare for the tournaments.

BORIS BECKER: There has-- no decision has been taken so far, but if we sit down and talk about what happened today, saying it was good or bad, it is only-- then we can decide whether there will be a team, Nick and Boris, existing in the future. No decision has been made so far.

BORIS BECKER: First, of course, the baby has got to be born, and so then we can make the decision. It depends on how is Barbara, and we will tell you after, and of course we still have some weeks to think about it and to decide and, anyway, I'd like to say don't worry about this.

BORIS BECKER: No, I am disappointed because I wanted to play good tennis here. I trained and I played exhibition matches before, and I am very disappointed.