DAVIS CUP - SPAIN vs USA

July 21, 2000

Jan Michael Gambill

Q. Jan-Michael, what is the story of the match from your perspective?

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: You guys were watching, weren't you? I mean, it's a tough match. I had a lot of a lot of opportunities. I should have broken him in a couple of those games - Love-40 in the first set there, really no excuses for me not to try something, try to get to the net, put a little pressure on him to win that game. Really no excuse for me not to win that game. He played solid, of course. He had a good serve at 30-40, but I had a few opportunities there to win it. Also in the third set, I had opportunities to win to break him, put a little pressure on him. You never know what's going to happen when pressure's on him. Wasn't able to do it. My service games, I didn't really serve great when it counted. You know, other than that, it was no -- no opportunities on my serve. So, you know, it's just unfortunate.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I have played better than that on clay. I played a great first set. He made some errors; that's the way it goes. I think I returned pretty well the whole day really. I made him play well and made him hit those high balls that would, you know, that won so many matches on clay. It wasn't like I played a bad match really. I'm getting better on the clay. I'm doing better, and it's just still not quite my surface. And it is his surface, so it's tough.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Right now?

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Right now I'm pissed at the world. I mean I didn't want to come here and lose, I don't care who I'm playing; it doesn't matter. It's the opponent on their side of the net, I don't care what surface it is. I was ready to come here and win, and I had opportunities. I'm definitely pissed at myself and at the way -- not necessarily the way that I played. I mean I did play hard and I gave it, you know, 100 percent, and just didn't come up with a win.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, Bud, I think that it feels just about the same. A loss is a loss. It's bigger than a loss because I had my whole country behind me. We actually had good support out there. It was pretty good. The crowd was fine, and it was a good match. So there was no -- certainly no foul play. It was hard-fought, and it was pretty much even for both sides.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, I think you guys will find out tomorrow. I think we have an hour before the match that we can change the team with whoever. And we'll probably discuss it tonight and maybe even tomorrow morning to really find the best team that we, you know, feel would do the best out there.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Thank you. Yeah, I mean that's a nice compliment. I think that I will do well in the future of Davis Cup, and I know I'll be on the team many years to come and I'm going to learn from this. We knew this wasn't going to be an easy tie coming into it. These guys are tough. This is their surface. Any other surface I think we have an advantage. That's the way it is. They certainly had it. It's in their country. The crowd was not hostile. The crowd was not a factor; it was irrelevant to me. I think that's how it always will be, the crowd is not something that will affect me. But Corretja certainly did. He played well.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, it's just real tough for me to go out there and play such long points, you know. I do well when I can really control the points and, you know, I'm getting better at playing longer points. I can have some of those in my matches. But it tends to be when I have real long points, a lot of, lot of long points, it gets a little tougher for me. Just being a little more patient out there, and I guess I need to be even more patient, you know, in looking for the ball that gives me that short ball. And you know, he had some unbelievably good passing shots today. Maybe I could have approached down the middle a few more times. John and I talked about that a little bit. It's still hard for me to actually hit that shot down the middle and come in on that. I always want to go to the corners, but that's what wins on the hardcourt and on grass. And I have been serving well. It just didn't -- had a few bad games out there today. But those same games, I probably would have won on other surfaces. So he made me play long shots.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I mean I can't thank John enough for being the captain. This is a guy I grew up idolizing. He's a hero of mine. I look over to the sideline and there's John McEnroe. I can't ask for a better coach. I can't ask for any greater an honor than playing in front of my country and in front of the guy that, you know, I admire so much. So that being said, I think he's great to have on the sideline. He's very inspirational. He likes to say things, he gets out there and is very involved. And, you know, we couldn't ask for somebody better to have there. So that's great.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I don't know if there's any specific example. John's telling me the things I need to be told out there. He's saying the right thing. Strategy-wise, he's saying you need to penetrate. Just this and that, really. I mean I can't really think of one thing. He knows the things that I do wrong, like when my toss gets low; when I'm not, you know, getting my hips into the serve. And also just a few things. He said a lot of stuff. And, you know, he's out there pulling for us as well, which is the main thing. He wants us to win, which is the main thing for a captain to be. And also, you know, after the match I'm sure we'll talk about it. I'm too pissed off right now to talk about the match. But in the next -- tonight or tomorrow morning, we probably will.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I mean it's a nice compliment. I mean he's a great clay court player, a great champion, he's done well on both clay and hardcourts. That's a nice compliment. I think that my game eventually, in the next couple years, will be a good clay court game and I can do some damage at the French Open and other clay court events. Certainly if I can play him tough, I can play any of the guys out there tough. It could have been better. I could have executed those break points a little bit better. Unfortunately, I didn't.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Hopefully we'll go out there and win the doubles tomorrow, whatever team we use. Physically, I feel well enough that I can play through two matches, even if they both go five sets. I think I can go out there and play. I don't think tiredness is going to be a factor. That's simply not -- the factor will be if we can win it mainly, and I think we're going to pick the best team to go out there and win. Like John said yesterday, this match, if any, we're not the underdogs. We should do well in the doubles. That doesn't mean we're going to win it or anything, it's a very important point tomorrow. But we have a good shot out there.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Of course I'd like to play the doubles. I'm playing good doubles right now, had good results this year, as good results as anybody on the team. For that matter, you know, the Spanish team. So I think I'd be a good choice. But we have a lot of good choices. Chris is playing great doubles. Vince is actually playing great doubles, so is Todd. So it's really up in the air right now.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I think it's hard to judge the feeling of the team right now because I went in there and I really didn't talk to anybody. I'm still really disappointed about the match. And so it's hard for me to judge the feeling of the team. I think if we can go out there and play well tomorrow and win the doubles, then there will be a very optimistic feeling. You never know what can happen; you really don't. So I think that we both tried very hard today, and Todd and I both lost, but we gave it our all. And I think that you can take away something from that. I think you can take some positive away from that. And, you know, know that we can go out there and push and try as hard as we can the rest of this weekend.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, I don't think so. You know, like I said, this has been my best year on clay so far, and I don't know, it wasn't a great year, but it was the best I've had. It was very positive for me. I feel like I certainly have something to prove on the clay, I mean, and prove that I can play with these guys and prove that in the future I'm going to be a force and somebody to be reckoned with on this surface. That's my goal obviously, is to be good on all surfaces. So I was excited to get back on the clay. I was extremely excited to play Davis Cup and I still am excited to be here. It's an honor to play for my country.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I don't think I could have done that. I just played nine straight weeks of tournaments, and playing Wimbledon and getting that far and walking off center court a loser was -- but, you know, I'm excited to have been there twice. And to be in the quarterfinals was emotionally and a little bit -- and physically draining. It felt great to have a little time off, and I think that, you know, we could have maybe been here, you know, a month and still had the same results because these guys are so tough on this dirt.