US OPEN

August 28, 2001

Jan Michael Gambill

MODERATOR: Questions for Jan-Michael.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I think I knew I had to go out there and I think I was trying to get off the court as quick as I could, if I could. That isn't always the way it can happen. I knew I needed to return really well, which is something I think I did very well today, really got on his serve well. Knowing that my arm was hurting me, I just wanted to get out of there as quickly as I could. I served pretty good for having some problems and not being able to play the last two weeks.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I guess I have some inflammation of the infraspinatus.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Back here (pointing behind the back). It hits a nerve, goes down my arm. It's pretty painful. I pulled out of the last two events and was a little bit disappointed I had to do that. But, you know, I knew in preparation for the US Open, which is the most important tournament of the summer, our Grand Slam, I wanted to play well, I needed to do it. I still have some problems, but I've been working hard. I think with one more day off, I'll play Thursday, I can go out there and play another great match.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I started out with a two-handed forehand when I started playing. I was just too tall and skinny to hit the ball hard like I wanted to, which is fun. I hit the ball hard now, but it's always been fun as a kid to hit the ball hard, even if I missed it long or whatever. I couldn't do it one-handed. Gave me that disguise which a lot of people don't have. When I turn my shoulders, it's pretty hard to see where I'm going to hit the ball.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Absolutely not. The problem was in a match, I played Henman in the quarterfinals of Cincinnati. I felt something happen there. You know, just happens. We play a lot of matches.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, today I was, yeah, absolutely. I think one of the things that I do very, very well always is place my serve. I have the most aces on the tour. I don't have the biggest serve on the tour. That's got to say something. So I do have good placement. But I knew I had to have even better placement today and use that spin serve, which was actually going pretty slow out wide. It was getting by him, throwing him off with it. If that works, great. I need it to work when I can't bring out the big gun.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I could do without seeing Chris Woodruff jumping at my returns and getting them all back, especially when I can't serve them huge.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I think Anna Kournikova is definitely in a different league than me. I think she's the best looking athlete ever. I think I've had some opportunities, and I think some opportunities will still keep coming through that. You know, my main focus is my tennis. I'm playing better and better, at least on the hard courts. I just want to keep that in my focus. I like to work at other things, but it's so difficult to really have the time.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: The hardest thing is when you start doing a lot better, then people are asking more and more of your time. I've always been and continue to be kind of a yes man. I like to do things. I like to try to promote tournaments and help out where I can, try different things. Sometimes it does get in the way of the tennis. I need to find out when I need to say no, just focus on the tennis.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I don't know if "pretty difficult" describes it. I think it's the hardest - by far - quarter of the draw. That's what a Grand Slam is all about. I'm not looking forward. I only know that actually because my dad told me who is in that quarter. I don't look at the draw.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I don't even know who I play next round. We'll go talk about it. It won't be till Thursday anyway. I'm just going to take it one match at a time. That's how I play my best tennis.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I think it's very important to have those rivalries. I think you can look at the best rivalry we have right now, Agassi and Sampras. When they play, everybody is so excited to go out and watch. They played so many times. One guy wins one time, the next guy wins the next time. That's been great, especially for American tennis. I would love to have a rivalry with Andy. He's my good friend. On the court, it would be fun for us to go out and play in big tournaments, further in the rounds, keep having a chance to play each other. I think that would be great for American tennis.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: No, I think it would be great. Andy and I are going to remain friends no matter what happens on the court. We have enough respect for each other on the court and off the court that nothing would ever come between us. At the same time I think it would be just good for our tennis. I would thrive in an environment like that because if he's out there beating me up, or vice versa, I think we're both going to get better for us. I think it would be better for our game and, like I said, American tennis.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I think that Andy is a smart guy. I think that he learns every day. I think in my opinion he's mature beyond his years, both on the court and off the court. He knows how to deal with press already. I think he speaks very well. I think he's a gentleman. Those things said, I think he's going to be a true champion.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I think the tennis just kind of rolls like that a little bit, definitely. Michael Chang was the best quicker than the other guys. He was better than Andre and Pete and Jim at first. They sort of caught up to him. But he always played great tennis. Like I said, those guys -- it wasn't really a rivalry. Well, there was a rivalry actually between them all. They all wanted to be better than the other one, I think, at least in their own minds. Maybe they never came out and said that. It was healthy for the game. It's healthy to have that kind of environment.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I don't know if I need to catch back up to him. I mean, I don't feel like I'm in direct competition with the guy. He's my friend. I'd like -- I want to keep getting better myself. But it's good for the game. It was good for me to have a guy, he's playing great. Definitely it can help.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, it is a singular sport. It's difficult. It's very difficult to really help an individual succeed. I think through the USTA or whatever the Federation is, to really say, "This is our guy, he's going to do it." With a team, you can help so many others. Yeah, I mean, when you see these guys moving along, it's sort of like they're not a team, but they are a team at the same time. There are American guys that are doing so well. They're getting a little older, which really doesn't mean anything. Andre said it very well last night. He said those are just statistics. It's an individual sport. They're not going to be ready to go until they're ready to go I don't think.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Patrick and I talk about it all the time. I'd like to think that I'm going to be on that team. You know, with all things considered, you never know till it comes out in the papers, when he really makes an announcement. You know, he's been a great help as a Davis Cup coach and as a friend, really coming to all our practices, a lot of practices, getting to know the guys who could be on the team very well, taking time that a lot of the other coaches or captains may not have as much. I'm impressed with Patrick McEnroe. I think he's going to make a great captain for years to come.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, I think it's pretty important. But I'm going to focus on the US Open first. When it's over, I'll focus on Davis Cup.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, it's funny. It's a funny injury. Yesterday it felt great. I came out and I was serving big in practice and it didn't hurt at all. I came out today and, "Gee, this really hurts today. Why?" I wasn't that nervous. I couldn't figure out why that would be. When it starts hitting that nerve, one day I sleep on it a little bit wrong, whatever, it could hurt worse the next day. Maybe tomorrow, the rest of the time, it will be gone. You never know.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: The only time it's affected the other strokes is last week in Long Island. It's harder hitting my groundstrokes. I've taken all the precautions, doing the physical therapy, really making a major effort to get rid of it. So I don't think it's really affecting the other strokes, no, not at this time.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I think we could promote it a little bit better. It's very difficult, at least the past few years we haven't had Pete and Andre play. The people want to come out and see. They have to understand that they're not going to play. Hopefully they're going to want to come out and watch Andy and myself play, whoever we have in the doubles. Maybe we could promote it a little bit better. Billboards, that kind of thing. That does help. That's really my only suggestion, TV, that kind of thing, letting people know how important, first of all, it is to the American tennis players, just getting the word out really.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: It feels a lot better than having -- at least the curse is gone. It's tough, you know. I actually thought about it before my match. "Gee, let's get through this one."

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I'm going to go out, like I said, and take it one match at a time. I think I'm a threat to anybody on the hard courts, definitely. I have as good a hard court record as the guys out here, better than most actually. On the hard, I think I can win against anybody. Let's just take my next round first.