US OPEN

August 27, 2002

Jan Michael Gambill

Q. Why five retiring so far in the men's matches?

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: It can happen for a number of reasons. Has there been anybody retiring for cramps yet?

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: If it's not cramps, it's not very humid out there, so I would assume it's not cramps. You know, we're -- US Open is at a string -- the end of a lot of events for guys. Many guys have been trying to either peak here or get a lot of tournaments in. This is the last one. Just get injured, you know. It was the opposite for me last year. I was injured last year for three months. It's very difficult. I feel for these guys.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Absolutely. I can't speak for them. Never can speak for somebody else. But for myself, I came in here knowing I was injured, knowing I couldn't play very many matches, forced myself to play, and it was the wrong thing for me to do. It injured me worse for the rest of the year. It's hard to say, "Hey, let's not play the US Open."

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: It seems like everybody -- I can't say everybody. But a certain number of guys.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: It's tough. We play a lot of matches. If you're lucky enough to play a lot of matches, you hope you are, then the chances are higher and higher that you're going to get a little bit of injuries here and there. You know, you've just got to make the best of it when you're playing. My goal on the court when I'm not injured, you know, I talk with my dad and say, "I want to play the best tennis I possibly can on the court, do the things right that I practice on when I'm not injured." When you're injured, you're out. It's unfortunate. You're wishing you were back in there.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: That's something I'm very looking forward to. I feel like in this match out there, while we were playing, I felt I played a very good match. I've been really working on my serve, changing my toss. My motion feels better than it has all year. It's just something I've been actually toying with the last week. That being said, you know, my serve drives my game pretty much. I feel like I'm doing the things that I need to do pretty well. So, yeah, it will be a great match. I'm looking forward to it.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I have a history of very, very hard and tough defeats against him. Three years ago here I was up a break in the fifth set, 40-15. Other two matches that I played against him have been tiebreakers in the third. I've had match points in each of those matches. You know, it could be, you know, me winning all three. I think we've only played three times, three or four times. They've all been very close and very hard matches. It's something I look forward to, yeah. Another opportunity to take him on.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, there was one in France that was just unfortunate. Went for a big serve, maybe I should have kicked it in. I had match point in the tiebreaker in the third set. Actually, it was in the second set. I lost to him in Long Island. Kind of the same thing happened. Then here I missed an easy volley. You know, the match is that close, you look at the after-match stats, you see both guys had almost the same number of points. One point here or there is what really changes the outcome of it. That's what makes tennis so fun and interesting at the same time.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I think that the best groundstrokes that I ever faced is Andre Agassi, bar none. Nobody controls points like he does, against me at least. I like to think it's difficult for guys when I'm playing well to control the points against me. Andre seems to make it look pretty easy out there, running me around the court. Forehand-wise, yeah, Moya has a big one. He misses a few more than Andre does, I think, a little more erratic, but he's got big shots.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Andre is the only guy that can play inside the baseline like that. He plays inside the baseline, fields balls. I actually watched my final from LA yesterday just to, you know, get a feel for my game. I thought I was playing pretty good tennis over there, what I was doing wrong. I'm watching him. Sometimes it's almost like he hits under-spin on some of those balls that he kind of short-hops. They're into the corner, you're running again.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: Well, because I think he's smarter than everybody else on the court. He's a better tactician. You watch his eyes. He's always thinking about something. I was watching him. Actually, that's part of the reason I returned very well today, I was thinking, "Why is he returning so well on the court?" I was watching him closely. I obviously look up to Andre - I have for a long time. He's a good guy to emulate. I was trying to think of how I could implement that in my game.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: To tell you the truth, absolutely. You know, the second set especially. First set was unfortunate. I got broken too early, too fast. In that second set, 4-All, I mean, it's back even again. Actually, I missed a couple serves. It was pretty close. If I had been better with my serve, it gets to 5-4. I played a great game to break him. I never had breakpoint during that set. You never know what can happen. I think I could have had a chance in the second set, at least.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I'm looking for a place over there actually. It's going to be a second residence. For a while it was going to be my first residence. Now it's going to be a second. I'm actually building my house in Spokane that I always planned on. I'm definitely going to be in Hawaii quite a bit. There's actually one right now I'm trying to close on.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: No, the Big Island, Kona.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I love Hawaii because it's the best place on earth, for me at least. Nothing excites me more than being outside on the beach, enjoying myself. People are so laid back. They're just not uptight. I really like that kind of people, the whole flavor of it, the feel of it when you're over there. It's very relaxing. You step off the plane, it smells different. It smells great. It's a feeling that you have to feel to believe. Why wouldn't I want to be over there a lot? It makes me feel good. I practice well over there.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: I'm affiliated with the Wai Kaloa Hilton (phonetic) on the Big Island.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: We have over 80 lakes within an hour of my house. In the summer, Spokane is a great place. It's a good place.

JAN-MICHAEL GAMBILL: A log cabin is in Spokane. Something real Hawaiian, real easy.