US OPEN

September 3, 2005

Andre Agassi

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, I went out there and I certainly didn't have my rhythm. I wasn't timing the ball very well. A little bit had to do with the way he was hitting it. When I did time it, he would hit it pretty well anyhow. I was just sort of out of sorts. I wasn't timing it well. I think I was still in the locker room there in the first set. I knew it could only get better from there as far as my standard went. I think he got a little careless early in the second, allowed me to settle in a little bit more. Then the standard started gradually picking up.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, it feels good because I was at a place in my game out there where the standard was really high and I was going to make him earn it one way or the other. I wasn't thinking about saving myself from the fifth. I was thinking about every point. I like when I get that focus. It means I'm really doing my job well usually. At that stage I wasn't thinking about the fifth. I was thinking about every point, which is a good sign.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, we're still a long ways away from it, but, yeah, I was playing after him so it was hard not to take a lot of interest in the match. Try not to watch too closely because you don't want to get sort of emotionally drained watching it, you know, because you got to play right afterwards.

ANDRE AGASSI: Sorry?

ANDRE AGASSI: Has what ever happened?

ANDRE AGASSI: At Davis Cup it's happened a few times. I thought he played a great match. He played smart. He had to execute perfectly and aggressively. It was great to see him play that way. There's nobody that deserves it more after the year he had last year. Just to see him out here, is a great feeling, let alone watching him play so well. He's truly one of the classiest people you'll ever meet.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, my game had to evolve along with the rest of the game. The game's gotten a lot more aggressive than it used to be. But the most that's changed about my game has been, over the years, my training and my decision-making with scheduling. I can't afford just to go play every week as much as you want to at times. You have to make the decision to not play to prepare, to recover or prepare. I had to get smarter with those decisions to help my body and my mind at this stage. It gets harder and harder. So that part's changed.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, I think it's possible to go to it too often, but the good news, when you cross that line and you go to it too often, it means you've really established to the guy that he has to worry about it, which means the second you go back to striking the ball, it's going to be effective against him. But a guy like Berdych, I mean, he stands a good portion behind the baseline because he's such a big guy, he can afford to. Takes big swings at the ball. So my hope was to sort of edge him forward a little bit so that his swings became more risky by getting him close to the baseline. Otherwise he just settles into a nice grove and it seems like he'll never miss. He'll just hammer the ball left and right. It's a one-sided breeze out there, so it really lends for -- when you're on one side of the court, it really lends to using that shot effectively.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, well tennis has gotten deeper and stronger and more international over the last number of years. So to see guys like Robby or James, myself at that matter, still be sort of into the second week, I think it's a good thing for this tournament being here in America. It's a great thing for the sport. I mean, the American market is a big one, and I think James would be a great ambassador of the sport if he steps up and starts playing like he's been playing. That's a great thing for the game.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, the good news in the fourth set was the standard had improved dramatically. It started to become toe-to-toe tennis, which is what I wanted it to be from the first game. He had chances. I had chances. Then he got the break, only for me to play a good game right after that and break him back. So at that stage I just kept making him play a quality match to win this, make him hit every ball, make him push to the very end. When I snuck back in the second set, you feel like you have more life and it gives you an opportunity. I was only looking at it as that. Had we gone five, I would have still been out there with the same mindset.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, there's no question I had unrealized potential for many years early on. I had to learn how to play the game. In my mind, as good a player as Berdych is, he can be a lot better, so he still has a lot to discover himself.

ANDRE AGASSI: In the first or fourth?

ANDRE AGASSI: I was thinking, you know, make him play well to close this set out, and then the worst case you're going to be starting the fifth serving, then go to work again. There's not much more you can do than treat every point with urgency and hope for the best, and that's pretty much what I was doing.

ANDRE AGASSI: We played a few times. He's a talented player with a great flair for the game. He has a big forehand and solid backhand and moves incredibly well. He has a deceptive first serve and it can get very streaky. It's always a tough match when we play, it's always toe-to-toe tennis.

ANDRE AGASSI: I don't know really. I mean, sometimes you prefer contrast, you know. There's a lot to -- playing a guy like Malisse gives me the chance to settle in a little bit earlier because we're going to hit more balls. That's always a bit of a relief when you go on the court. But by the same token, he'll make you work harder for it. Even if you find your range, it's going to take you longer to accomplish the job. You know, other times I've always enjoyed playing a guy like Rafter, or somebody like this, who plays completely, completely different.

ANDRE AGASSI: That's the tag line, and I didn't say it (smiling). Yeah, I mean, I don't know what to really say about that, to be honest. I think that there's a lot of things I've been a part of in the past that have probably changed. But there's a certain -- there are certain parts that have been such an important part of my own evolution, you know, and I'm just not so eager to let that go.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, you know (smiling)... Yeah, I always feel like I'm itching to do something I shouldn't be doing, you know. So I'm not sure what it is. It's a good thing I don't recognize it so well.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, the beginning I, you know, sort of wanted to bring something to the game that would maybe impact those that don't normally watch it, maybe to draw interest to the game, to the fans out there that might not necessarily ever have taken the time to appreciate the sport of tennis. You know, now, I'm at the stage where I've just thought to myself, "If I dress like my wife, maybe I can play like my wife" (laughter). Been working, by the way.

ANDRE AGASSI: No, no. That's like my hair, it's all gone (smiling).

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, no, that's gone. It served a purpose, and hopefully parts of it served good purposes. But, yeah, no, I like to -- I don't like to dwell too much on that.

ANDRE AGASSI: It did. It felt good, you know. It felt good. We were out there for two and a half hours, just over. So that's good news.

ANDRE AGASSI: I think it's one in the same really. I don't think you really inspire and entertain unless to some degree you're competitive and a threat. So, you know, listen, you're discovering this with me. I should say I'm discovering it with you. I don't know what my mindset is. I don't always understand what my motivations are. I know what my responsibilities are, and I know how those responsibilities motivate me, but, you know, I've never been through this before. I've never been 35 years old before. I've never, you know, never played 20 Opens before. This is the first time. So I'm sort of wondering about all that myself, and I have for a number of years now. So while I appreciate the respect of my words and the attention to them, I caution you to take them too literally when it comes to me trying to get a feel for what I'm looking for at this stage of my career, because, you know, I take it one day at a time, you know. I take it -- so it's hard for me to be totally clear myself.

ANDRE AGASSI: No, no, when he's hitting a forehand to the corner and I'm running there knowing I'm not getting it, that gets really old, I assure you (smiling). But, no, I think a perfectly played dropshot is one of the prettiest shots to watch in the game, next to the topspin lob. In order for the dropshot to work, somebody has to be respecting what it is you might do besides that, and you've earned the chance to execute something at that moment that, when it leaves your racquet, you know if you've done it or not. So when you do it well, the second it leaves your racquet you get about a second and a half to be a spectator and watch it.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, I suppose watching her going about her life is the greatest lesson I could learn. I mean, in tennis, when you evolve as a person and you're more disciplined in your life and more commitment and passion and focus and intensity, it all translates into the tennis court, and vice versa. When you start showing more discipline on the court, then your life starts to reflect that. So seeing how Stef went about parts of her career, most of it I wasn't anywhere near seeing close up, but more importantly how she goes about her life. It's pretty clear focus, every day reflecting her values and priorities. So I aspire to that. Tennis is still a big priority for me, so I try to make sure it has its place every day.