WIMBLEDON

July 3, 2000

Jan Michael Gambill

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Pete's not going to fake an injury. I think a thing that Pete's not going to do is go out there and, you know, act like it's hurt when it doesn't hurt. He's going to give it a hundred percent. Like I said in another interview, even if he had a broken leg, I wouldn't say the match is won. He's going to go out there and play amazing tennis.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, I don't know if I was necessarily ever looking for a streak in general. I was looking for what would make me become a better player, what would carry me to the Top 20 and even further eventually. Those things are fundamentals: being mentally tough when you really need to be, the big points, and also developing some things in my game that I didn't have in the past. Right now I'm serving humongus, serving big second serves as well - I think I hit six or seven second-serve aces. Makes it tough for the guy to know what to do on the return. It's not easy to play against a guy like that. I'm doing a lot of things right and have a lot of confidence out there, which comes from winning the matches.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I didn't get a chance to watch. I was playing at the same time he was. Jonas is a great player, great grasscourt player. Pete must have had a great day.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I'd say I'm one of the luckiest people on earth. I get to go out there in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, play on Centre Court, play Pete Sampras, the King of Wimbledon, the best player to ever play the game. It's extremely exciting. I'm going to go out there and have a lot of fun and I'm going to play great tennis. It's something to look forward to.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: To tell you the truth, there's nothing to be overwhelmed about. I love and enjoy playing in front of a big crowd. I've waited all my life to play on Centre Court Wimbledon. There's really nothing for me to be overwhelmed about. I'm just going to go out there and have a great time. This has turned into a great event for me, a great trip. There's nowhere to go but up from here.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I played Centre Court US Open, as well, which was very special. I think that stadium is even bigger, so there's more people there. The Centre Court out here is more amazing.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: It's really tough to call who's going to win. Certainly on the grass, you know, we don't get to play on it that much. Voltchkov has played great tennis. He had to play incredibly well to beat Ferreira that easily, in straight sets. Byron Black has always played well on the grass. I played him last week in Nottingham, two weeks ago in Nottingham. He beat up on me. I think he's playing well, playing good tennis.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, I don't know if FSX has done that so much. There's been a lot of media about that kind of thing. I recently signed with Ford Modeling Agency to do some extra stuff on the side. I think we might get some good things coming from that. FSX does pretty much sports marketing stuff so far.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Absolutely not. That's something I would do on the side, and it would be -- if anything, it would be a good diversion, you know, to give me a little bit something extra, something different to do. It's healthy to have other things to do, I think. I have a lot of hobbies. That could sort of be sort of a job hobby I think.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, I don't think so. I definitely respect Pete. I think he's a great player, a great person. I'm just going to go out there. On the court, it's completely different, though. I'm not going to see his face out there. I'm just going to play the ball like I have been playing the whole week here, really continue to focus like I have. Today I guess my match was a long match. Sometimes in the rain delays, I have problems. Today I came out and focused well after both rain delays. Played great tennis. I'm going to do the same thing out there whether it be Centre Court against Pete Sampras or Court 13 out here. Whatever, it's going to be one point at a time. That's how I've gotten myself so far.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, a few things turned it around. Like I've said before, it's the confidence, it's the fundamentals, being able to play the big points the right way, being mentally tough out there. I did switch to another racquet earlier in the year. That hurt me a little bit. It was a very good racquet, but it's not good for my groundstrokes. I switched back to my old racquet. That gives me a little more confidence, as well. You know, playing with things the right way feels good.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: No.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I never met either of those girls. That's really funny. I have a girlfriend. No, my girlfriend lives in Connecticut. She's a model, but no.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: No, not a singer.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I think she's been in a couple videos, but she doesn't look anything like those girls.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, I tell you, it's a huge honor for me to always play Davis Cup. I mean, Davis Cup is something I hold very special. Being from the United States, it's very tough to be on the team, you know, because we have Pete, we have Andre, we've had Jimbo Courier in the past playing tennis, Todd Martin, Michael Chang. There's all these players that could play. To be named to the team is huge. A semifinal match, huge match against Spain, we're the underdogs going in there on the clay. It's very exciting. I'm thrilled.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Absolutely.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, I never said that I wasn't going to go to the Olympics, for sure. I said I don't know if I'm even on the team. I'm still an alternate. It's something that -- it's so far ahead that I'm just not going to look that far ahead.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, then I have a month to look at it. You know, I'm still not going to make a decision yet. I still haven't talked to the Olympic Committee. I haven't been able to talk to the USTA about it. I'm still in the dark about that. I would never take the place of Tarango just to spite him. I'm friends with Tarango. We've never had a problem.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, I think - is that what it was, 50 percent? I think I served 34 aces. My second serve was huge today. Got to make sure to hit big second serves because I know Pete is going to want to come to the net, chip and charge, put a lot of pressure on me. I've got to be ready to pass him if he does come in, because I expect him to do that. Basically he's not going -- if I hit those big serves, they're still not going to come back. If I go out there hitting those big serves and playing solid service games, then really focusing on my return, I could go out there and play an unbelievable match and still lose to Pete. I'm just going to have a great time and really focus on the things I need to do. If I somehow get a chance to be able to, you know, win the match or whatever, I'm going to take it still one point at a time. The things I need to do are return well and serve big.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, the big thing for me out there is to not let him actually hit the ace. You know, I'm going to be diving, trying so hard just to get my racquet on the ball, to maybe shank a winner here or there. Then when I do get a solid return, you know, be there. Also be ready for him to hit his huge second serves. He's hitting huge second serves. Be ready for that, know that going into the match, be ready to execute the second serve returns. You can rattle him, but it's not easy.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Than my dad's?

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I think we've done a good job of being friends and have a father-son and a coach-player relationship over the years. I think he's going to be the way he is on the court. He wants me to win every single point, which is hard to do. That's not a problem for me. I don't hear him on the court. I'm just playing -- out there playing. None of that's going to change.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I guess, you mean attack him? Tackle him, you mean?

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I'm always going to be trying to make him run more anyway. If I get in the groundstrokes rallies, that's how I'm going to win the match. He's not going to be staying back very much. He's going to be coming to the net and play the tennis that's carried him so far in this event so many times. If I'm lucky to get him at the baseline running him, that's something I'll definitely work on.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: That's sort of an evil question to ask me. I don't think I'm going to answer that one. I don't think I can really set odds against myself. I like my odds. I like my chances out there in the quarterfinals. I'm really excited to be there. That's all I can say.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: They actually applied no pressure at all. I tried the new racquet because I was so disgusted with my play at the Australian Open. I played some great doubles matches with it. It was a great match for my doubles, but not so good for my singles.