NEWSWEEK CHAMPIONS CUP

March 13, 1998

Andre Agassi

MIKI SINGH: First question for Andre.

ANDRE AGASSI: I had some opportunities there in the first set. I had three breakpoints. Two of them I failed to make the backhand return. Clipped the tape twice. Once you get to a tiebreaker, anything happens. Stayed with it in the second set. Felt like I was breaking him down, 2-1, up a break in the third. I had two double-faults. My racquet felt weird, felt like something was wrong with it, kept on doing this (indicating). Finally, one second serve, as I made contact, the throat cracked, racquet flew out of my hand. That just rattled me. Two double-faults and a couple loose errors, up a break. Went to a new racquet. I don't quite like doing that. I got a little unsettled. I lost my serve. Then he closed it out.

ANDRE AGASSI: No. I played him twice in a row, two weeks in a row now. I know how he plays.

ANDRE AGASSI: United States, absolutely. No question about it. That particular -- he's much better than just saying that. He's a good player.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah. I mean, he was in the Challengers with me over the fall. Saw him play there.

ANDRE AGASSI: I think right now he's playing anywhere from, you know, 8 to 12 tennis right now, somewhere right around 10. He's playing well. You know, -- but he's been playing that well, I think, for a few weeks. Certainly every time I've played him, he's played that well.

ANDRE AGASSI: No, no, definitely not. My best tennis is when I start hurting somebody, I kind of put the squeeze on them. I felt like I let some opportunities go by.

ANDRE AGASSI: I mean, he has a good game. It really -- his only weakness is his speed. If the ball's not in his strike zone, his forehand goes from a great shot to not-so-good-of-a shot. You know, but if he's dictating the play, he plays well.

ANDRE AGASSI: No. I just said, "Well done, it was a great match." That's literally all I said.

ANDRE AGASSI: No, no, no. His forehand is the bigger shot, for sure. But when you get him stretched with one hand, it's not so good.

ANDRE AGASSI: No, his forehand is, his forehand is. It's not easy to get him using the one hand.

ANDRE AGASSI: You know, just Grand Slams are what it's about. I just want to get myself in a position where I'm winning these big tournaments, that's what I want to do. Hopefully, by the time the French Open comes around, I'm a contender.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, yeah. I was disappointed to lose tonight. But, you know, I'm hitting the ball pretty well. You can't win them all, so I have to kind of take the good from it.

ANDRE AGASSI: Definitely.

ANDRE AGASSI: I think, you know, it's not why I have ups and downs, but it is interesting (laughter).

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, I had to help him win this a little bit tonight. I didn't close out my opportunities. That was a problem. Again, that 2-1 game in the third set just rattled me pretty good there. I hit two double-faults with new balls. Something felt a little strange in my racquet. Sure enough, made contact the next serve, it just cracked, pressure, flew out of my hand. I didn't shake it off.

ANDRE AGASSI: I've actually had it before, yeah, when I've hit a shot, it's cracked. But my serve's never quite done it.

ANDRE AGASSI: I definitely think that's the case. I'll look forward to playing him the next time. You know, there was a lot of things I could have done better tonight. Seizing my opportunities is one of them. It's not to take credit away from him. I think he did pretty much everything real well, which he had to. I definitely take it more in stride. It's a lot clearer now. It's easy to see where things fit, the reason for why things happened out there, versus kind of being a little confused as to why you're not playing well, not knowing what you're going to do next.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah. Definitely a little altitude, plus the balls are taking off. The court's jumping pretty good. When you combine the altitude with the ball bouncing off the court, the balls playing quick, it's tough to control it, definitely.

ANDRE AGASSI: No. It's actually slower at night. It is a little tougher to pick up with the lights. It's not ideal. But night tends to slow it down a little bit.

ANDRE AGASSI: Just his supporter. Chiv's supporter.

ANDRE AGASSI: No. Just quantities, watch the quantities.

ANDRE AGASSI: He's spent here pretty good tonight. They come back in the day tomorrow? When is the match?

ANDRE AGASSI: So they're back-to-back, not day and night?

ANDRE AGASSI: You know, I think the little lefty slider and Rios has a good first shot. I mean, if Gambill plays well and controls the match, I can easily see him winning. Kind of giving you a Nick Bollettieri prediction there (laughter). I think Gambill should win, but he's probably pretty spent. I don't think he's going to be as sharp. I'm going to say Rios.

ANDRE AGASSI: He likes hedging both sides and then telling you, "See." I know.

ANDRE AGASSI: You know what it is? It's really not motivated from a point of wanting to diss him. I think he's just a very extreme character who is kind of easy to pick on, I guess. probably should stop here pretty soon. It just comes into my mind, I can't help it.

ANDRE AGASSI: It's what I say behind closed doors, too. I think the little man will win it tomorrow. Not to say anything about the way Gambill is playing. He's playing real well.

ANDRE AGASSI: I told Gully before this week started he should be the second player.

ANDRE AGASSI: In that position, you've got to be willing to make calls on the field and not worry about the upstairs. I don't know. I don't know. I'll leave it in his hands. I think it would be a mistake not to play him. He's young. He's the best hopeful as we look down the next few years. Give him a look now. I think he can surprise. He's cocky enough out there to play well in a Davis Cup situation.

ANDRE AGASSI: You know, winning tournaments is about getting through matches when you're not at your best. Tonight was one of those matches I had to get through. All of a sudden I could play well at the right time. For the most part over the last few weeks, I feel as good if not better.