TMS - THE ERICSSON OPEN

March 27, 2001

Jan Michael Gambill

THE MODERATOR: Jan-Michael advances to his first quarterfinal here at the Ericsson Open.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Second.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Yep.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: (Laughing.) Oh, the injury. I'm sorry. You know, it's just something I got to deal with. I have an arm problem, and it's just not seeming to go away. Every time I go to the U2 concert and come back and play the next day though, I play great tennis. So I wish they were playing again tomorrow night. But I think that, you know, I came out there and played as solid as a match as I possibly could have, didn't make a lot of errors and put a lot of pressure on Jonas out there. I returned all his serves, a lot of serves, served fairly well. I'm happy with the match, definitely.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, I think that this streak is different in that -- well, certainly, and this is far many more events that I've been playing well in. In '99 I had, what, three, four events that I played some good tennis in and I came here to the Lipton and lost to Mark Woodforde and didn't really give him a good match there. That was a bad match. I feel like I've matured a lot. I'm playing 100 percent smarter tennis, it's a lot less streaky. I think it's tougher for guys to beat me out there, and I am much more well-rounded. Back then, I had the big groundies and a big serve and that's how I won. And if I got in some trouble, that's how I lost. Now, I have the big serve and the big groundies and I have some pretty good - damn good - volleys out there right now. So I think that I'm not losing for the same reasons and I'm winning for different ones.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I went to both the concerts here and really enjoyed it. Geez, I mean, what a legendary group. I mean, you got four guys making music that's just incredible and with so few instruments. I mean, it's just incredible. I was just in awe both times. Got the CD in the car playing, I'm actually just singing the song the whole match. So I was really enjoying their music a lot.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I didn't get backstage, and really that's not really something I would be interested in doing at a concert. You know, if I was able to meet Bono on somewhere like at a tennis event, something besides somewhere away from that, that would be fun to do talk to a guy like that. But they got -- that's like me playing right before a match, coming out and talking to somebody. They got to do what they got to do, and I wouldn't really want to interrupt them or bother them before a concert. It's just too big a deal for them.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, I don't know if I was necessarily surprised. I think that, you know, everybody in here knows that Andy Roddick is playing great tennis. He's just going to get better with confidence. He's improving his volleys as well and rounding out his game, and he's obviously got one of the biggest serves in the Tour. And, you know, I mean, Pete can't win every single match he plays, you know. He's still the greatest player to ever play the game in my mind. There's no question. But Andy played a good match there and kept on top of him when he had his chances. I was proud of the way Andy played.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: You look at Andre Agassi right now and I think that he - and he has said himself - he's in the best shape he's been in in his life and he's playing the best tennis he's ever played. How old is he? He's 29, 30 years old.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: My sports heroes are 38 and 39 years old, Karl Malone and John Stockton, playing some damn good basketball. So I don't think that 30 years old is old even by tennis standards, and Andre Agassi is one of the most talented players that the game's ever seen and he continues to amaze everybody out there, including myself.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I started hitting one-handed returns probably last year, maybe the beginning of last year because I just finally figured out that, "Hey, first of all, I can hit this one-hander as good as most of the guys out here. I've been working on it just as hard as my two-hander. I'm just getting hurt too badly with the wide serve, down the middle serve, I'm not quick enough, nobody's quick enough to get there with the two-hander, especially when I have to switch my grip." So I've been hitting it about one year, two years.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I've been doing it for two years in matches but I was trying it before that. And it took a lot because I just didn't have the feel. I didn't have that feel of hitting that one-hander hard. I could do it out of the corner because the ball's not coming as hard as the serve. But I was, you know, kind of flicking it. On the return you got to be solid. It took a while. It took actually doubles, which helped me a lot, having to hit into that one area, you know, having lesser court to hit into. Now when I'm playing singles, I'm having a huge amount of court to hit into. I feel like that shot's really evolved a lot.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Andy, when he was little, just loved to play the game. He would stay out there and ask people to play and anybody to play, and my brother and I and him would go out and hit. You know, just a smiling kid who enjoyed tennis and to this day still loves to play the game. And, you know, I thought that, "Geez, he's got the right attitude" at that time. You know, and he had a brother who was playing some real good tennis in the Juniors back then to look up to and emulate, and I think that he did a damn good job. He's playing some great tennis right now.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: There's zero chance that I could have made that play even six months ago. I think that I've developed -- in practice -- I've been in practice, actually this winter I went out and I started hitting some drop shots from the baseline. I said, "You know, there's something in my game that I'm still missing. I'm still missing that feel up at the net on the volleys. I've got the technique down, but I still don't feel like I can hit on that backhand side. I don't feel like I have what it takes to be a great volleyer yet." I started hitting drop shots from the baseline, drop shots from the net, getting a little feel out there and I mean, it's come a thousand percent. I mean I've developed hands at the net that I simply didn't think I had.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, the run, I think I've gotten quicker. I got to that ball. But still, to make the shot, I had to hit, you know, get way under it. I felt like if I got to this, I'm going to make it.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I might have made it, but I don't think I could have executed the shot, not that low. I anticipated that shot, he hit a good shot, but I got there and, you know, it was my opportunity.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, thank you. (Smiling) That's a huge compliment. I think that I have a very long stride and once I get -- once -- after that first step I'm very -- pretty quick, actually. You know, people see me out there lumbering in the past, my first step, my first two steps weren't quick enough. I've worked on that. You could work on things physically, but you also have to work on things up here, (pointing to his head.) I'm doing it quicker and better than I have in the past because I'm thinking smarter.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Actually it's quite a big hurdle to come from practice and, myself included, I'm one of those guys who in practice in the past did play exceptional. I'm like, "Geez, I'm playing this well against these guys. I'm killing these guys in practice then coming out in matches and I'm just not doing it. I get nervous or whatever it is." First of all, I'm more relaxed on the court. That's helped a lot just to be more with it. Not putting as much emphasis on winning this match. This is -- not saying this match is so important and instead going out there and playing it point by point and just trying to play smart tennis, take it a little slower, give myself some more time. I think that's how I've been able to transverse from playing well in practice to also playing well in the matches.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, I think you can look at it that way. That sometimes happens to guy, but also when you have those big wins, in the past when I've had the big wins, I've been fired up and actually played better each match. When I won Scottsdale, I had three huge wins there that year. And when I -- Indian Wells, that first time, when I had a bunch of good wins in a row. You know, when you think about -- I mean, the best thing you can do is to go out there and play the ball, play it point by point and forget who you just beat and who you're playing against. And the next round, you play the ball again. That's how, right now, that's what I'm doing. I go out and I say, "This is what this guy does the best. This is his game plan." But I don't care if I'm playing Andre or Gustavo or whoever it is on the other side of the court. What matters is what I do and how I counter what they do. And so when you think of it that way, I think that the next match doesn't mean so much. You know, you can go out and play the same tennis.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, I wasn't quite in the same position when I was 18. I wasn't playing as good as tennis as Andy. I started playing better when I was 19, 20. I think I had those results when I was 19 and a half, 20 years old. He's starting a little younger but it's still the same thing. It's up to him. I think that, you know, I just spoke to Andy. I think that he has the right attitude right now. He's going out into the match and he's just going to, you know, give it his all. He's not really worried about what his position in the tournament is, or, you know, how far he can make it in this tournament and get up in the rankings. What he's happy about right now was - his one goal was making it into the French Open, which I think he's done. I'm happy for him and proud of him there. Besides that, he goes out and plays a solid match against Andy. You know, and may the better man win.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, I'm not so sure. I'm not a very good basketball player, if you say that, but I have never played much basketball unfortunately. I think that I have the build that definitely could play a lot of other sports. I don't see -- I would never count myself out of - had I had the right training in any one sport - out of being very good at those sports. I pick up, you know, sports pretty well. I play a lot of volleyball, play pretty well at that.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I picked up golf, actually, in one year. I'm actually decent. Sometimes. (Smiling).

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Oh, absolutely. I didn't have that natural talent maybe, but I do -- I mean, there aren't that many guys who could hit the forehand like I do either, though. That probably comes from just a lot of practice. I have had to practice harder than other guys. There are also guys that have zero chance of playing a game like hockey or football. They just don't have the bodies. They just aren't big enough. You can compare it either way, they may have more natural talent, but I think I would be better at those sports than a lot of the other guys out here.