U.S. OPEN

September 9, 1993

Wally Masur

WALLY MASUR: Good, yes, Bud, what am I doing here? I will ask you that you answer that for me.

WALLY MASUR: How old are you, Bud?

WALLY MASUR: Well, what keeps me going is the fact that I am still improving. If I wasn't still improving, I would have quit this game. I am getting better and that is only through hard work; no secrets. Today I played well, and I did mix-- played a smart game. I was aware that you can't play this guy to much straight up and down because he is a good at hitting the ball. I confused him pretty much with my serve. I thought I served particularly well.

WALLY MASUR: It is one thing to figure out what you are going to do and it is another thing to execute it. Today even though it was little breezy, tough serving down one end, I couldn't serve any better than I did today and that was probably the key.

WALLY MASUR: I was barely serving two balls in the same place, and like I say, that is a great tactic, but it is another thing to execute it. Some days you try it, you serve 15 double faults. But today my serve was key and I backed it up early with some sharp volleys, I think for both of us, to play in the quarterfinals of the Open was -- it is a new experience for both of us. I think I settled down a bit earlier than he did. That was really important, because to win that first set I felt really comfortable after that first set. I felt really comfortable out there and the crowd got a little bigger. I was feeling good. He obviously hadn't found his feet yet. I believe he started to play some of his natural game probably midway through that third set.

WALLY MASUR: What I had to deal with, which is great, I mean I have had an open draw, everything has opened up for me. Part of-- the hard thing about that is you know you can win it and you can't be afraid to lose matches like that. Sometimes when you are playing a guy like Becker or Wilander in the past or these guys, you don't have any -- you really got nothing to lose, it is an easier situation going into the match. But I believe today there was a chance for both of us to make -- it was fifty-fifty chance for both of us, I thought. It was just whoever settled down earliest and who played better tennis.

WALLY MASUR: These things are cyclical. Obviously things are going well for me, but what could have gone wrong to go down 5-Love did. Fortunately, everything went right from that moment on. But that, I mean, doublefault on match point, I like my chances from where I was. I mean, he might have won that point. I liked my chances at that stage.

WALLY MASUR: Tell you the truth at that point I really don't know what I was thinking because it was really going to hurt me to lose to a young Australian, and I was taking that loss pretty personally, and I got just fired up. And tell you the truth, I don't think I had any thoughts for about seven games. I think my mind was a void which was a.... I couldn't tell you what I was thinking. I just couldn't.

WALLY MASUR: Yeah, I made the finals-- semifinals Australia Open in '87. That was a great thrill for me to do it at home on grass, I feel like I am probably more accomplished grass courter than I am hardcourter. I am happy to have made the semis, but I don't want to stop there. I believe that if I can play like I am playing, I don't want to limit my expectations, but it obviously feels very good to have come so far.

WALLY MASUR: I describe myself as -- well, I am old, but I am not that old. I am 30, but it is increasingly becoming a young man's game. But I will tell you what I have done in the last two years is I worked very hard off the court on my fitness. I worked hard on the court with my coach, Gavin Hopper. He is also my fitness coach. I know I am in great shape. So age, in that respect, doesn't come in. I am no slower, that is not going to be my problem. Motivation is not my problem because Gavin brought a few new ideas and bringing those new ideas has kept exciting for me, I feel like I am still improving. Obviously, when I get out there these days, there is not a lot happening which hasn't happened to it me before which is a good situation to be in.

WALLY MASUR: Yeah, I lost to Courier there a few years ago. I made a couple of double matches there.

WALLY MASUR: Yeah, I don't mind it now. Yeah.

WALLY MASUR: I really just sort of had mixed emotions, but I haven't really given it any thought. It happened and I can't try to explain it or -- I just said it was just a weird night. I can't sum it up.

WALLY MASUR: Well, I was brought up playing a lot of tennis on grass. And I believe today that the work that I have done on just slightly modifying my groundstrokes and becoming safer and a little bit more aggressive from the baseline helped me today and it has helped me all week. I think I have always been an accomplished serve volleyer. I think the work that I have done on my groundstrokes and return is paying dividends now.

WALLY MASUR: I am not a power tennis player. I don't hit the ball incredibly hard. I don't serve 125 and crack my forehand. I do play tennis whether it is on grass, clay, I had to construct a point and I usually have to get 2, 3 shots to win a point. That is probably because I was brought up maybe playing with a wooden racket. I am not sure. That is how I was just brought up playing. These days, some of the guys, they are not -- they don't construct points because they don't have too. They have got the ability to virtually win it from anywhere in the court.

WALLY MASUR: Yeah, other night too when I was playing the crowd got behind me. I have had a good feeling here. The New York crowd is a vocal crowd. It is great when they are on your side.

WALLY MASUR: Is that tonight?

RICHARD FINN: Tonight.

WALLY MASUR: Medvedev hasn't lost on hard courts for a few weeks now. I think he probably is going in as the favorite. But I believe Pioline, I believe Pioline is going to be a top 10 player. I believe he has got the athleticism and the game to do it. I just don't know whether he will do it this week, or when he will do it. It is going to be a very close match. Probably Medvedev has been the favorite.

WALLY MASUR: My prospects are good.

WALLY MASUR: Either of them.

WALLY MASUR: Well, I have lost to both of them, so I don't know. I am not sure.

WALLY MASUR: Yeah, everything is going wrong. That was the worst. I didn't hit any part of the strings; dropped about a foot inside the baseline and set up set point and from 2 sets to love, I didn't feel like I could lose from that points.

WALLY MASUR: Definitely probably-- with my stroke production and tactically, yeah, but otherwise, no.

WALLY MASUR: I have played a lot of Grand Slams over the years obviously. I have made the fourth round Wimbledon three times. I've made the quarters Australia, semis Australia. I have never done particularly well here. I have always been in situation where I can't get past Sampras, or Becker. 95% percent of the time, that is what has happened to me. But I hadn't played anyone ranked higher than me this tournament which is a strange set of circumstances. Pleasing thing is that I have-- the opportunity is there and I played well enough; I was fit enough and I was playing IN the right emotional state to win all those matches.

WALLY MASUR: I think it was just a fortuitous moment that it was just a set of circumstances whereupon I met Gavin and decided to travel with him, and I think a lot of guys at 28 have different priorities; have families; couple of children; their priorities changed. My priorities changed towards focusing more on my tennis at that age.

RICHARD FINN: Maybe you might give US some background on the coach. What did he do how did you meet him?

WALLY MASUR: Gavin Hopper is an Australian; played a lot of junior tennis. Coached tennis in Australia for quite awhile. He is also an exercise physiologist, qualified Ph.D., got a few letters after his name. He worked with Australia world football team as fitness advisor. He coached Mark Kratzmann, top Australian junior on the tour for a while. Had good results for him couple of years. That is how I met him. I have been working with Gavin since 90, late 90.

WALLY MASUR: No. No.

WALLY MASUR: Well, I don't want to get too involved. It was a long story. My personal life changed. The situation in my personal life changed and I just made a commitment. It was two ways to go. I made a commitment to my tennis.

WALLY MASUR: Well, it is football season right now, and it is kind of the equivalent of your. Playoffs we have a couple of codes for (sic) football, and 99% of the population are football mads (sic). I don't know what impact it will have but we have got a good history, good tennis tradition back home, and you know, I am sure that I am getting some good coverage back there.

WALLY MASUR: I was 8 and I think my parents just wanted me to get me out of their hair; took me to a local coach on the weekends. I got to say, his name was Charlie Hollis. He coached Rod Laver, very interesting man. He was about 70 years old when he started coaching me. He was a character from-- he was from another era, and he taught me to love this game; coached me 'till I was about 17. He was in his '80s; could barely see. Coached me 'till I was about 17. I have got a lot to thank him for; not only for teaching me tennis but to teaching me to appreciate this game.

WALLY MASUR: Yeah, my parents -- he was coaching at the biggest club in Kamber (Phonetic) where I grew up. My parents just dumped me there with a racket one morning.

WALLY MASUR: Yeah, I have beaten a lot of good players over five sets. Admittedly most of the time it has been on grass, but I have respect for Pioline and Medvedev, but I am ranked 23 and in the men's game, there is a lot-- quite a lot of parity between, say, the top 10 and the top 30; as this tournament has displayed. Parity of men's tennis is great. Look, I am not in awe of anybody that is left in this tournament.

WALLY MASUR: I am very-- the great thing Australians, we stick together very much, the players on tour, and Fred Stolle, Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, I've hit with them, they are all really good friends of mine and they are all very supportive of what the younger guys are trying to do and at any given time they are willing to hit with us; give us pointers. I hadn't bumped into any of them in the last few days but I know when I see them that they will be full of advice and help.

WALLY MASUR: Look, we are small country and I feel that is our strength, especially in Davis Cup play. We have really stuck together, and we-- the Aussie guys are my best friends on the tour. We stick together throughout the year. A lot of the times we organize our schedule so that we wind up travelling together. That is a really healthy situation. There is no egos get in the way.