DAVIS CUP - BELGIUM vs USA

July 19, 1998

Koen Gonnisen

Q. Did you have any inclination that Jim was going to stop?

CHRISTOPHE VAN GARSSE: No, I had no idea. I was very surprised that he stopped. Maybe I'd do the same, I mean, because he has a tournament next week. He played really tough matches, Friday and yesterday. So, okay, I think he had enough.

CHRISTOPHE VAN GARSSE: That was terrible. But one thing for sure, I told Koen at 2-1, I think, that I was getting better. I was getting used to it. Because normally -- I mean, the heat was unbelievable, but normally I can play with heat. I had humidity. Then the beginning of the second set, it was getting better. I thought I had still a good chance to play a good match against Jim afterwards. But still I was surprised he quit.

CAPTAIN GONNISEN: Yeah, for sure. But I wish the match that Christophe could have finished, that the match was completed, and that we made the point let's say in a normal way. It would have been much better.

CHRISTOPHE VAN GARSSE: It was better 4-1.

CHRISTOPHE VAN GARSSE: You guys have to know, it's not that -- when we started on Friday, I mean, Filip, you don't know Filip as well, but I think we could win here. Okay, Andre was winning two singles, that's for sure. And yesterday in the doubles, we were so close. I think there was a possibility, a realistic possibility, to beat Jim Courier twice here. I hope nobody says I'm crazy. But that's not impossible what I tell you. There was a way to win here, that's for sure.

CHRISTOPHE VAN GARSSE: No, no, no.

CHRISTOPHE VAN GARSSE: Of course, he was completely dead, that's for sure. I mean, nobody -- not a normal human being can play so much matches in two days, Friday, Saturday, then today another match at high level. That's impossible. So Jim was maybe -- today he was maybe at 20%, how you say that? But doesn't matter. Still there was a way to win here, yeah.

CAPTAIN GONNISEN: Well, how would I say? I think, first of all, that the match of yesterday was still in his legs. He's still a young kid. He never played a five-setter before, so he has to get used to it. But I don't think that's the main reason. I think the main reason is he's a very talented boy, but he comes over to me like he has not really a game plan. He's doing a little bit of everything. Even when you're coaching him, you're right there, you ask him to do some things, he's going to do it once or twice and then he's going to do another thing. I think it's just his age. That will get soon better because if you play that way, you lose a lot of matches you could have won. Once he would learn how to stick to a game plan, once you figure out, it can be before the match by speaking with your coach, it can be during the match when you see a weakness, but once you figure that out and you stick to it, normally you have many chances to win a match. Once he's going to learn that, I think he will play much better and will win a lot more matches than right at this moment.

CAPTAIN GONNISEN: I told you yesterday that at 3-0, I mean, it's not over for us. It was over for the States. We are a proud team. We have a very good, how do you say it, atmosphere in the team. We just wanted to fight for the last two points. Because we think it's the first time in history we get there, and we thought it was really important to get the best out of it. Then we had a meeting with all the responsibles on the team, we spoke with the players. We thought it would be best to put on Xavier and Christophe.

CHRISTOPHE VAN GARSSE: We're all very, very big fighters. That's how we get in the quarterfinals. We fight unbelievable. That's the strong -- the most strong point of our team, that we're fighters. I mean we could all go to war, all the four of us, that's for sure. That's why we got in the quarterfinals. That's how we beat France and how we beat the Netherlands. If we're down 3-Love, yesterday we all swore to make 3-2. That is what makes our team the great Davis Cup team, I think. We never give up and we always want to fight. That's our goal. Because still, I mean, it's a cliche, maybe we say it a thousand times, but it stays the same. For such a little country, best eight countries in the world. We were talking in the locker rooms this morning, how many great countries are playing playoffs, and we're in the last eight. I mean, it's a cliche, but it's true. Of course now it's finished, and next year we have to do it again.

CHRISTOPHE VAN GARSSE: Yeah, sure. It's just because we're fighters.