THE LIPTON CHAMPIONSHIPS

March 22, 1998

Andre Agassi

GREG SHARKO: Andre improves his ATP best record to 21 and 3 on the season. He has now won 15 of 16 matches in the U.S. He will take on the winner of Cedric Pioline and Alberto Costa.

ANDRE AGASSI: Hitting them or returning them?

ANDRE AGASSI: Did you think I was missing them or wasn't doing enough?

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, yeah. I unloaded A few times. I was actually surprised that his serve -- the second serve was like it was in the '60s.

ANDRE AGASSI: And sometimes, you know, you expect -- like I knew the second serve hurt him on the second, but I wasn't expecting it to be that slow. And so it leaves you in kind of a precarious position. Then you have to really commit if you want to hurt him on it and step inside the court. And I just -- you know, I didn't make that adjustment. I felt like my feet got a little stuck there. I guess it was just a little disbelief that he was hitting them that slow. But managed to get it done at the right time.

ANDRE AGASSI: The bottom of my other shoe, we had a long point, it slid and wore out the rubber there and it tore open.

ANDRE AGASSI: These are great shoes. (laughter).

ANDRE AGASSI: I felt like he was hitting the ball real well. I was just kind of playing solid. I feel like I certainly could have, you know, stepped up and tried to take it to him a little bit more there. I had the opportunity to early in the second set, but I think to his credit, he was hustling hard and playing well. It is not -- even though I am playing well these days, you can't expect just to "routine" guys. The idea is to win matches when you are not playing, you know, great tennis. I was just playing solid inside myself and 6-4, 7-5, move on, and I am pleased.

ANDRE AGASSI: Oh, yeah. No, no, he is -- he's been around the Tour a while. Classic journeyman who literally gets through it and plays better against better players. I think Vince sometimes might not play well when he is playing guys that he should beat. But he is playing Rafter, I knew that was a tough matchup for Rafter because Rafter didn't have a great return, and Vince has, you know, a good return. So, it is tough. Rafter is going to have to hold. And just certain matchups are tougher than others. Today was going to be a question of who was going to take control of the point. And Vince came out there knowing that he was going to have to pull the trigger on some shots, and he was playing well.

ANDRE AGASSI: I think what I need to do is win a big one. I need to win this tournament. And I can say that winning one tournament of big stature, beating some top guys, that I will go on feeling like I am right on the verge and better than I have ever been.

ANDRE AGASSI: No. Maybe Norm. Norm was struggling a little bit out there today, I think. There was a few tight ones, but, you know.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah. I was -- you know, I was shocked at a few of the calls. It is nothing short of, you know, just what happens out there. I remain respectful.

ANDRE AGASSI: Again, it is like I just disagree with the format altogether. I mean, there is one person sitting in the middle of the court up high, you know, shouldn't overrule. Just shouldn't, because even if you think you see it clearly, there is just too many close calls to put yourself in that position. And, you know, there is some bad ones that he didn't rule. All of a sudden, first one he overruled I felt was off the back of the line.

ANDRE AGASSI: No. I mean, it depends on who you are playing. Vince has a much better backhand than his forehand, not to mention he doesn't move that well. So if you can stretch him off the court, hit a good shot to the open court, you are in great position.

ANDRE AGASSI: Only as difficult as it was important. And it was very important to me. So it wasn't a problem. It was just -- you know, just a question of the clock, setting up your plan that works with the timeframe to be ready for Australia without burning yourself out or putting yourself in a position where you cannot succeed, because you are asking yourself to do too much too soon. So the plan had to work for me. After I set the plan up, it was just a question of implementing it, and I didn't struggle with that one at all.

ANDRE AGASSI: Don't know yet. Don't know. Much depends on, you know, the French Open too. If I need rest for a full two weeks, that would be nice.

ANDRE AGASSI: No, that would not be sorted out either.

ANDRE AGASSI: No, I don't like that.

ANDRE AGASSI: It is hard court. Hard court is nice. We are here in the States. What are they going to, play green clay?

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah. I mean -- Americans can't build red clay. I have never seen a good one anywhere in the States. And green clay is, in my opinion, not really a surface. I mean, even serve and volleys can play on green clay, and you can hit through the court and it actually it is actually more of a hinderance to baseliners, like the Spanish players, who like to run down balls. It is tough to run down balls on green clay because it is real slippery and it still actually plays pretty quick. So I think that would be a step down. And, this is a beautiful court and we have, you know, Palm Springs, Key Biscayne back-to-back; that would be terrible to go hard court to clay. There is plenty of time to get ready for the French.

ANDRE AGASSI: You know, I mean, I don't know. It is tough to say. I think there are some upsides and some downsides. I thought Palm Springs worked pretty smoothly. But, they did start a little bit differently; didn't they?

ANDRE AGASSI: I don't know. I would have to think about that before I just popped off.

ANDRE AGASSI: I don't know, the women's when Steffi is playing.

ANDRE AGASSI: I haven't seen Monica play and I know she is going through a tremendous amount right now. So, hopefully, you know, that it would -- the match will be reflective of how good Monica has been. And if that is not the case, it will be sad to watch a young person become even more of a star because they beat somebody who is far from their best. So, hopefully Monica will play well. Then I'd love to see that. I don't know, I haven't seen her play.

ANDRE AGASSI: No, I am not familiar with that at all. I am not.

ANDRE AGASSI: I mean, I think to be in the record books on any level is a step in the right direction. It would be -- Davis Cup is a great part of my career that I would actually look forward to in accomplishing something on an all-time level. But, you know, I've got to win a couple of matches to do that, and in the next tie. Can't win a couple of matches if I go there and lose. So, it is -- again, it is like talking about the finals when you are playing first round. You can't do it.

ANDRE AGASSI: I would be willing to cook dinner and make margaritas for everybody ( laughter).

ANDRE AGASSI: Honestly, at this point in time the team has been picked and I am proud of the team, and that is it. It is time to go get the job done. The decision has been made. And I was very clear going into it what I thought. I played Gambill three weeks in a row, but, you know, Jim is a veteran, he has been out there. He is going to go out there and, you know, be dependable and you know what you are going to get with him. I still think we will get the job done.

ANDRE AGASSI: You know, it was a little colder today, so my racket tension was a little bit tighter than I would have preferred. When it is hotter, you are looser. So I wasn't getting as much length on some of my shots; having to swing pretty big to get some decent depth. So that was a little bit of adjustment.

ANDRE AGASSI: No. I mean -- no. I have played him a couple of times. He is pretty -- he is predictable when you play these guys like I am. I mean, I don't go out there -- some days go better than others. He played well today. I was expecting him to.

ANDRE AGASSI: This is a great tournament. I look forward to this tournament every year, definitely.