TMS - THE ERICSSON OPEN

March 28, 2001

Jan Michael Gambill

Q. Tired?

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I am tired. I am dead tired right now.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Oh, I don't think the crowd was against me. We had a lot of Argentinians out there sounded like. I don't know that we had that many. I think it was fine. The crowd was for me. There was a lot of people for him. That is what gets a good tennis match going. It was great. I think that the people were yelling out. It was fantastic. I went to the Miami Heat game last night. I was saying "Boy, I wish tennis was more like this." Today it was. I have no complaints about that. When somebody boo's me when I throw my racket, I love it. I do. I feed off of that when somebody is in my face, I simply feed off of it more. I like it when they cheer for me, but I can't quite get it where some players -- I guess my image is not one of racket throwing yet. When Goran throws it people are like, yeah. When I throw it, people are like: Boo. I guess that is the reaction I am going to get for a while. I am going to enjoy it. Next point they were cheering for me then.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well going into this match I was a little bit at a disadvantage a little bit in that I had never actually seen him play a full match. I'd watch a couple of points. But I really hadn't seen him play a match. My dad went out and watched him yesterday for four games and saw how he was playing. But most of guys on the Tour I know pretty well. Getting out there today he was hitting the ball extremely well; not missing any balls at all. And hitting it up high where I have trouble. He wasn't letting me hit it in my strike zone at all. I was having to resort to topspin balls. It wasn't hurting him. I didn't step up my game and figure out that I had to hit the cord and find out a way to do it until 5-3 in the second set. It was almost in desperation. I found out, wow, this works, I broke him at love there and held on for dear life and came through that. Then I think I broke him five straight times.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I have absolutely lost five to ten miles an hour on average. Today is the worse service day I have had since I can remember. But that is tough for me. There is a lot of wind out there today. I have an arm problem which isn't -- those things together wasn't just helping me out. But that is tennis, that is how it was. It was the same for both guys. Only thing advantage there is that he kicks his serve all the time.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Absolutely maybe the best win because I don't think that I played great tennis and he took me out of my game and I found a way to win. I tried to use every emotion. I tried to use --I tried to have fun out there which I was. It was fun. It was a great battle. I tried hatred. I tried to get the crowd into it. I tried everything and those things together I guess seemed to work.