WIMBLEDON

June 24, 2002

Andre Agassi

MODERATOR: Good afternoon. Andre for you.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, pretty special, pretty special. It was a big honor today. I can't even imagine what all needs to be considered in making the adjustment. But it was very special for me. The court was playing beautifully. Just felt great being out there.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, it's different conditions now, you know, going out there in the place of somebody versus earning that honor. But, yeah, it does feel great. Every time I'm on the court, it feels like it brings back a lot of memories.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, I thought we were going to have a moment of silence for him or something, all kind of just get still. But it's too bad because that is a special part of winning, you know, coming back. The year after I won, I was injured, was struggling, didn't play the French. Probably in hindsight shouldn't have even attempted to play here. But just couldn't help wanting to go out there and experience defending, that feeling of walking out there at that designated time, which was 2:00 then.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, felt great. You can only expect so much in your first match. You want to make sure you're dealing with everybody you need to be, addressing your opponent the right way, making sure you're not giving up any loose shots or points. I felt like I took care of business nicely from the start and felt very comfortable. That's always an added bonus, to feel comfortable that soon.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, I don't know how many there were, to be honest.

ANDRE AGASSI: Wow, serving big (laughter). Yeah, sometimes I can get streaky with my first serve. But I don't count on those aces. I'm looking to move the ball around, I'm looking to take care of my serve. Hitting aces certainly makes things a lot easier.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, you know, we had just gone to new balls. Sorry, that was the 5-4 game. I don't know. I just hit a couple double-faults, one good shot by him, a forehand error, the next thing I know, the game is over. It can go that way pretty quickly on grass. That's why you have to make sure you take care of every game.

ANDRE AGASSI: No.

ANDRE AGASSI: I don't serve and volley.

ANDRE AGASSI: If I hit a serve and the ball is sitting up there, all I have to do is run in and make contact, it's different. But, yeah, for me that's not the best chance of me winning the point. It's really not even necessary for me to mix it up that way. Every point is important to me, especially these days. I need to give myself the best look. If I just commit to serve-volleying, I'm hoping for a lot to go right.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, it's the first shot. A first shot is key on grass. If you can take control of a point, it's hard for somebody to turn that around. Ball stays low, the court really works for you when you're in the offensive position.

ANDRE AGASSI: It's special for a lot of reasons. I think this is certainly the greatest tournament in the world. If you could only win one, you'd be crazy not to pick this one. On top of that, it's just a big accomplishment for me to still be out here contending 10 years later. 1992 was in the middle of my career, at least I thought. So that's very special for me, too, to have that many chances and experiences out there on Centre Court and play Wimbledon.

ANDRE AGASSI: I haven't really studied it. It's not something I make too much of a habit of doing. I'm focused on the next person. But to be honest, every year it looks more and more stacked to me. The older I get, the better everybody else gets, it seems. So I need to really take care of myself and think about what I need to do just for the next go.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, I mean, we have to go out there and tee them up. I think on paper it's one thing, but it's why you've got to go play because you've got to leave room for the intangible of the competitor spirit. Who would have thought Goran, after all those years, being ranked 125 in the world, could have ever pulled off that fairytale? But that's why we play. I think there's less grass court, traditional grass court players, now than there used to be. But if anything, that opens up the possibility of somebody getting through that might not normally have, if they're playing serve-volleyers on a regular basis. Once you're in into the second week, the court starts playing different, starts bouncing up a lot more, a lot can happen.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, I think that's the key, is avoiding injury. As to why I avoid injury, I'd just be giving you really theories. I don't know. I've been pretty lucky, too. My body hasn't taken the same punishment in certain respects as other players. You know, I've trained a lot over my career with weights. I feel like a lot of the important parts of your body - the back, the knees, the shoulders - I've protected them pretty good with my strength training. But being healthy is the key.

ANDRE AGASSI: Depends. If he's as quick as his mom, a two-handed backhand, because he can get there and hit it. If he's not as quick, you have to make adjustments. One-hander's better for those who aren't as fast.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yes, it's a huge compliment to me that anybody would use me as any inspiration at all for anything. I take that as a great compliment. I think we're all out there trying to do the same things, working hard. You know, there's a lot of athletes that are playing some of their best -- at the top of their level in their mid 30s. Tennis, it's not usual because it's a year-round sport. Your body takes a beating. It's hard to keep yourself healthy. It's even hard to keep yourself healthy inside one year, let alone 16, 20 years. So as long as I'm out there doing it, I can see why somebody would say, "Well, maybe I can." But that's just the thing, you've got to go out there and do it. There's no shortcuts. You have to really want it, too.

ANDRE AGASSI: I suppose it's not easy to do. It's not easy to win any of these. You know, everybody's so good in their own right, in their own strengths. You are always playing the best in their best environment at some point or another. So it's just hard to do. It's hard to play the best clay-courters on clay and the grass courters on grass, the hard courters at the US Open. I mean, this isn't easy to do it once. So to be fortunate enough to have won all of them is something I never could have dreamed of.

ANDRE AGASSI: I suppose it could be towards the end. You know, is it's all about playing your best tennis at the most important times. If you've done something before, it does help a lot with the nerves at some of those crucial times that you can let your game come out. But that's a long ways away. I mean, the last two matches, the tournament could be four guys that have never been past the quarters. Have to wait and see.

ANDRE AGASSI: You seem to know more than I do.

ANDRE AGASSI: No, that's not true. Again, if that was true, Steff hasn't told me yet.