WIMBLEDON

June 24, 2003

Andre Agassi

MODERATOR: Good afternoon everyone. Andre Agassi for you.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah. I tell you, just getting through the first one is the highest priority. I did that today. But I came up against a guy that was actually putting up some good resistance out there. I thought Jamie played well, I thought he served well, in the third set especially. Certainly put me to the test in. In the fourth, I got more comfortable.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, looks can be deceiving (smiling).

ANDRE AGASSI: I feel like I'm always worried. I always play with a sense of urgency. You know, so little determines a match with grass, let alone a set. You're always on edge until you have the match put away.

ANDRE AGASSI: I was on Centre Court. Yeah, felt good, similar to what I remember it being last year.

ANDRE AGASSI: Than last year?

ANDRE AGASSI: I played two matches last year, so I can say that, my memory, it feels about the same as last year.

ANDRE AGASSI: These days, you never know sort of what guys are feeling out there, and everybody has nicks and sort of things that are needling them out there with their body. Sometimes it allows you to say, "I can't move as well, so I'm going to hit out on my shots and take my chances." And I felt like that's what he did. Sort of rebounding from the 6-Love set was more impressive to me because I felt I was in good control of the match at that point. Then he just stepped it up right from the get-go and really deserved that third set. He could have won it on a couple different occasions.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, I'm confident I can get to the second round. You know, for me it's always one at a time. Every player's different, every situation is. So you've got to improve as you go along, and that's what I'm hoping to do.

ANDRE AGASSI: I felt good today. I mean, I felt like I sort of was doing everything I was asking of myself out there. And when I had to make some adjustments, I felt like I was quick to do so, and that felt comfortable.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, for me at this stage of my career, it's quite a feeling to be out there. You know, you never really know how many chances you're ever going to get again. I just feel like, as I get older, I have more sort of capacity to embrace those moments. It's just sort of a little thing I do to show my thanks.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, I'm sort of torn on it a bit. You know, I mean, I certainly can understand the decision to not want attention brought to you. But with that being said, it was a nice tradition that I enjoyed. So I'm a little disappointed.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, I mean, how often do you get a chance to bow to somebody? Not very often (smiling).

ANDRE AGASSI: No (laughter).

ANDRE AGASSI: I've thought about a lot of things here, but not missing him. No, in seriousness, there's sort of something always missing when somebody has done so well at one event for so long. I think he'll be missed here for a long time if he doesn't come back. But time moves on, and I suppose it's inevitable for all of us.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, well, he's a long ways away in the draw for me. You know, every match, you can always say it's a cliche, "Take one match at a time," but that's a perfect example of why it's not a cliche. There's nobody out there that understands that any better than Lleyton does.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah.

ANDRE AGASSI: Oh, that's going to be certainly an interesting match, to say the least. Yeah, I really believe it's 50/50 call to be quite honest. It's not one you can make a prediction on. It's really who's going to be better on the day. I mean, Greg definitely has a game to give Roddick lots of problems, and certainly with the way Roddick's been playing, he has the game to give Greg lots of problems. Whoever executes better, I'm certainly not saying anything that's new news to anybody, but it's going to be an enjoyable match to watch.

ANDRE AGASSI: '87, the closest I got to Centre Court was Court 2.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, I think really over the years, whether they've just improved how they take care of them, the courts are absolutely perfect. When a grass court is perfect, it plays sort of truer, it gives a baseliner a chance to play baseline tennis. Balls are heavier, so if you do come to net, you have to make sure you're really hitting a good volley or else the ball sort of sits there, and you actually lose the advantage if you're not hitting your volleys with conviction. It used to be that you could just come in, get your racquet on the ball, hit it anywhere, and the guy on the baseline was going to have the problems. But it's a bit different now. But you can still come forward, and you can still play the typical grass court tennis. But it does allow for the opportunity of a baseliner to make it through.

ANDRE AGASSI: I can't say that the court itself is much slower. For me, again, if a court plays perfect, you get better hits at the ball. So guys can have more confidence from the baseline. The courts are in better condition now than they've ever been. But I notice it more in the balls than I do with the court.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, certainly not through the US Open. I mean, I got my schedule pretty well set for the rest of the year. Yeah, I guess anything's possible. Part of the world I would always enjoy experiencing.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, I have actually been asked to play. I haven't taken it up, the opportunity, because of the scheduling of my events, how I go about preparing for where I want to be at my best.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, certainly there's a lot of support for Jamie today - understandably so. When you've been doing this for 17 years, you get used to that. You get sort of ready for that. I've been real privileged with the amount of support I've received, especially here, through the years. To see somebody else be cheered on, it's the right thing.

ANDRE AGASSI: First of all, to be No. 1 now, to me, is a phenomenal accomplishment at this age. You know, it's over 52 weeks. You don't have to just play well , you have to play well and a lot, and that's not so easy for me anymore. I have to really pick and choose and make sure I'm looking out after my body and my mind. To sort of accomplish it now means a lot to me. And I don't know how much longer, I really don't. I don't think I'll know before I'm there.

ANDRE AGASSI: I actually haven't even looked at it.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, obviously the guys that are playing on opposite days you know are on the other side. Outside who's in the locker room the days of the matches, or the matches on the board, I wouldn't know who I'm playing or what. I sort of take one at a time. It's sort of my commitment to not overlook anybody.

ANDRE AGASSI: I think I've probably gotten more that way. A lot depends on sort of how I'm feeling and where my focus is. Just sometimes it really helps me to deal with one at a time.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, you know, listen, I mean, it would be -- there's no question that discussions are going on. The specifics of it, to be quite honest for me, aren't something that I would prefer to sort of talk about in Wimbledon's backyard. I mean, I have too much respect for these championships. I can see the game of tennis benefitting from a lot of changes, to be quite honest. But I sort of come down on it in choosing not to talk about it in Wimbledon's backyard. These championships are incredible, and we're all privileged and honored to be here.

ANDRE AGASSI: Sorry?

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, you know, when I was young, I think I just enjoyed the winning, and that was it. Hated everything else: the losing, the traveling, all that. And I think at this stage of my career, I sort of have an appreciation for the experience of it. Win or lose, I think I'm more sort of connected to the battle out there on the court and the challenges inside myself.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, tennis is a great sport for a lot of reasons. I mean, for me, the best sort of part of it is it's one on one, and it's a sport where what I do affects what you do, and what you do affects what I do. It's also a sport where you just can't run out the clock. You've got to find a way to win the match. It's athletically and physically demanding - some surfaces a lot more than others. It's phenomenally demanding mentally. It asks everything of the body and mind. Those are challenges and discoveries that you get to have when you're out there.

ANDRE AGASSI: I don't know. Every time I sort of find myself thinking about after tennis, I feel like I have some time to go work on my game (smiling). For what I'm doing right now, it requires all of me. What happens later, I'll have to wait and find out.