DAVIS CUP - USA Vs. ITALY

September 27, 1998

Justin Gimelstob

Q. Frustrating day?

JUSTIN GIMELSTOB: Yeah, a little bit frustrating. It was good to get out there and play some of the -- I hit some good shots and I think, you know, as I said, Davis Cup will bring out the things that you need to work on. His experience showed. He is very experienced, very crafty; knows how to play the game. And he did interesting things with the ball, moved it around the court, passed well, defended well, and the court plays not -- there could not be a 1% better court for them. It is the perfect court for them. I mean, you know, I am hitting the ball pretty hard and it is just -- there is just no way it should keep coming back like that. I mean, I think that is what you have seen all week is they are just on the ball and hitting hard and attacking defending, and they are playing great. You have got to hand it to them. They were moving really well hitting; good defensive shots, passing well, returning well, but it is a perfect court for them.

JUSTIN GIMELSTOB: There is a Challenger in Europe at the -- last year at the end of the year so probably about a year ago. Tournament in France, it is a Challenger, and it is really slow. That it is pretty similar to that.

JUSTIN GIMELSTOB: It is just -- it is not frustrat -- yeah, it is frustrating. I mean, they are playing well, playing the points well, and it is just a shame that their strengths match up on the court. They are playing well and they are executing the shots well. It is just -- it is a little frustrating, but hats off to them, they played a great tie.

JUSTIN GIMELSTOB: Well, I mean, physically, my mobility and my balance gets picked on a little bit on the slower court. I am not -- I need too keep my feet underneath me and keep my center of balance longer so guys can't jerk me around the court and hit behind me and get away with shots that they shouldn't be on the offensive on or would win against other players. Just more consistency, more understanding of the right shots to play at the right time.

JUSTIN GIMELSTOB: Yeah, I think there are different definitions of success. I competed hard and I gave it my best shot. Inexperience definitely showed and it was a tough pill to swallow to have to, you know, have it happen in that kind of circumstance, but I find I felt that the weekend was very successful. I learned a lot. I competed as hard as I could. So in that regard it was successful. We didn't get the points that we needed to win, but I will come stronger next time.

JUSTIN GIMELSTOB: I have learned that -- a lot of -- I continue to learn what I need to do to get better. Just the experience of having it under my belt will surely help me in normal ATP matches and future Davis Cup experiences. Yeah, so those are important intangibles.

JUSTIN GIMELSTOB: Yeah, I am just saying, yeah, we are playing -- it is great to how much they support the Packers, but they were crazy out there. They should have shut the door or what. I was having a good time and it was just me being me.

JUSTIN GIMELSTOB: They could have just -- not that I know how to act appropriately, maybe if they could have, then it would have been better.

JUSTIN GIMELSTOB: Well, I am going to L.A. tomorrow and I am going to practice there a couple days. Then I am going to head off to Asia and play a couple of tournaments in Asia finish off the year in Europe.

JUSTIN GIMELSTOB: Quite the contrary. I don't think anything will sour me on Davis Cup. I think it will test my resilience possibly, but it won't sour me. There is nothing -- my desire to represent my country and the pride that I feel in doing so, my desire to do so, will always be strong. I think it is challenging and it creates situations that are difficult, but those difficult situations are the reason why I compete because the challenges and overcoming those, that is what trying to be great is all about. Since the pressure is not going to be any greater than it is in Davis Cup, it is nice to confront that and to see to try and, you know, see what you are up against, try and meet it.

JUSTIN GIMELSTOB: I think different people have different priorities. I mean, it just a different mindset. I think I can't speak for my other guys. I think I am not in their position at this point, so it is tough to say. Personally, I can't. But different people have different views on it. I am also 21 years old and have attention deficit disorder so I can't sit still and I will play every week and I will -- I just never want to stop going. I don't know what it feels like to be 27 and, you know, have one hundred million miles on your body. But this is -- definitely changes need to be made. We are the only sport that goes year-round. I mean, it is tough. It is tough on us. We are travel -- we are an international sport that travels year-round. We get very few breaks; then some of the breaks we get, Davis Cup is thrown in there, so it is a tough schedule, but I would say personally I would sacrifice some of the other tournaments, but that is just me.

JUSTIN GIMELSTOB: -- But I also don't get paid like $100,000 to play those other tournaments so it is tough.

JUSTIN GIMELSTOB: Yeah, I don't know all the political ramifications and all the inner goings-on of the schedule and commitments of the countries and the growth of the monetary demands, gains in other countries that don't have the other tournaments like the US Open or the big tournaments to support it, so it is tough to say. Ideally, yeah it would be great to fit it into a schedule that is perfect for the players and, you know, great for the game, but I don't know what that is. I don't -- -- they pay other people to make the decisions, but I think that, ideally for the players it would be less frequent and more meaningful. That is just not the way it is.