ROGERS MASTERS

August 8, 2005

Philip Bester

PHILIP BESTER: It was fun. It was very, very good learning experience. It was a very good learning experience, and I'm very happy I got the opportunity to play here. I went out there and did my best. Like I said, it was fun. I really enjoyed being out there.

PHILIP BESTER: Yeah, well, like I said, it was very -- it got close in some situations. I was struggling a lot with my nerves. I was trying to control my breathing, just staying calm out there, which is very hard. But in general, yeah, it was very close. It was only one break. I unfortunately got broken early. From then on, it was hard to break back with my returning game not being at a hundred percent. That's what affected me.

PHILIP BESTER: In October.

PHILIP BESTER: Yeah, it's very exciting. As soon as I found out that I was getting the wildcard into the main draw, right away my heart rate went from 90 to 220, and I started preparing right from that minute. Just I couldn't -- it was hard to sleep last night. Just the excitement, adrenaline. It's very, very exciting to be here.

PHILIP BESTER: In Florida, at Bollettieri's academy.

PHILIP BESTER: Well, I think the biggest thing is making the transition from being a junior to going into the pros because, you know, you're playing with guys that have a lot of experience and have been in situations that you've never been in. So it's just going to be a matter of time after many tournaments, many matches, different situations. So I'm just going to have to, you know, learn to adapt to the environment of getting used to playing in these big tournaments and being around the locker room with the pros and everything. I would say that it's a matter of getting used to, adapting to the environment, gaining experience playing.

PHILIP BESTER: Well, nothing really went through my mind that much. In general, I wasn't a hundred percent out there today. I didn't feel like I was on top of things with my timing, my shot selection and decisions. But that came with being nervous, trying to control the way I was feeling out there. But, you know, I missed that. I mean, I'm sure I was going to make it. Later I realized I got a little too overexcited with the chance. It shot through my head that this is a ball to break him and get back into this set. Like I said, it's going to come with experience to know how to handle those situations.

PHILIP BESTER: Yeah, it wasn't my intention. But that's just how it came out. I'm going to have to learn to control my hand when I hit it.

PHILIP BESTER: Yeah. It had to do with my feet not moving. When you set your feet too early, you leave it to your upper body, you're not in full control. That's why my balls were hitting people like in the 30th row up there, so (smiling). It happens.

PHILIP BESTER: Yeah. My game plan going into this match was definitely to take away his game, which was baseline. With me, you know, being very aggressive and coming to the net a lot, I felt that I had a pretty good chance today. I tried using a few different tactics, whether it was coming in, surprising him off of just any ball or trying some chips and charges. It was hard in the sense that I tried many things and they weren't working because I couldn't control my nerves out there, so...

PHILIP BESTER: Experience-wise or?

PHILIP BESTER: Well, to be honest, this is my first press conference. It's the first time I've walked off the court and had a chaperone. He's doing everything that I want to do. It's exciting. I think once you get used to it, it's like when you're a baby, you learn how to walk, you don't really notice it any more, right, you just walk. I think it has a lot to do with everything you do, whether it's things in life or specifically being a tennis player. Like I said, a few more of these tournaments and I'll be used to doing it all.

PHILIP BESTER: It feels good that I didn't go out there and get blown off the court. I actually did pick up my first ATP points two weeks ago at a challenger here in Montreal, up in Granby. I knew I was coming out against a guy top 50, and that he wasn't there luckily; he made it there. He's been to the Grand Slams, he's played against the big guys. I went out there with everything to win and nothing to lose basically.

PHILIP BESTER: Vancouver.

PHILIP BESTER: Yeah.

PHILIP BESTER: I'm going to fly back to Florida for two weeks and train a little bit at the academy, and then I'm going to fly back here to play the ITF 1 tournament Repentigny, which is a warm-up tournament before the US Open. Then I'm going to head to play junior US Open. After that, I think most likely Davis Cup. I'll come for the Davis Cup in Toronto. Then some futures in Montreal, Toronto. My schedule hasn't really been arranged yet. It's pretty much in the process of being made now. Those are the biggest events, the ones in Canada.

PHILIP BESTER: 6'1".

PHILIP BESTER: My dad's about 6'3".

PHILIP BESTER: No (smiling).