US OPEN

September 3, 1998

Andre Agassi

Q. Were you just trying to give us an interesting day?

ANDRE AGASSI: No, no. That was last thing on my mind.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, when he broke my serve finally, I hit a few doublefaults, and I made a couple of careless errors -- kind of broke myself there early in the third, or -- and you know, then we played some good tennis to 4-5 where I stepped it up a little bit, got the break back, which I held to 6-5. I felt like that was an opportunity to really start hitting my shots. Then we get into the tiebreaker, and, you know, he played a good breaker up until towards the end there at 6-All. I had a second serve that was short, and I kind of didn't move my feet on a forehand. I ended up losing the tiebreaker. Then at -- that was at 5-All -- I'm sorry -- 6-All. I switched sides and we had this rally and I didn't hit a forehand that I had an opportunity to hit. Then he hit a winner on that and held out. I was real frustrated at myself for a period of the fourth set for not executing my shots in that tiebreaker, and I lost my serve early. He played well in the fourth. I just had to turn it around there at the end.

ANDRE AGASSI: In hindsight it certainly was a turning point because if somebody gives him a break in the fifth, it doesn't matter if it is 1-0 or 5-4, it is a break of serve and that is a huge advantage in the first set. I hit a good serve out wide to the backhand there and, you know, just felt like I told myself at that point, just execute your shots and keep moving your feet and, you know, you should be all right here. Sure enough, he started making some errors. I don't know if he was getting tired or what, but he started making a lot more other remembers and I just took advantage of that.

ANDRE AGASSI: I mean, I first prefer to get through it. If you are still in the tournament good things can happen. But I would -- I don't mind it being this way. It wasn't a tremendously fatiguing match, which normally five-setters you worry about just playing too much. So in that respect, I think it was certainly a wake-up call of sorts for me to be up two sets and not to close it out and to find myself in a three-hour battle. So I think that is only going to help me.

ANDRE AGASSI: No, I just played a loose game to lose my serve. It was like he hadn't really done much damage on my serve and I just got careless. I hit two doublefaults and made a couple of errors and I lost my serve. Then he won a close set. I mean, I think the fourth set was more of a -- of careless tennis. I was really frustrated with myself for letting it get to the fourth. And that certainly, you can't afford to have that happen. You have got to forget about it, move on or else you are going to be in the fifth set.

ANDRE AGASSI: Formful?

ANDRE AGASSI: What exactly do you mean by formful?

ANDRE AGASSI: Petr Korda lost.

ANDRE AGASSI: No, I mean, good seedings, I guess. I don't know. The guys are playing well.

ANDRE AGASSI: It sure did. That is certainly one of your biggest fears saying good-bye to your loved ones, to go on a trip and not return. I think anybody can identify with that. It happened to Rostagno. I know one time he actually got off a plane. He was supposed to continue through Mexico city to L.A. He actually got off the plane and decided to play a satellite, 11 minutes after take off it blew; that was it. He got off the plane; he was actually supposed to stay on it. So there have been -- and when you travel the world like we do, I mean, you are bound to have your share of travel difficulties, but you certainly pray to God that nobody has to ever go through that.

ANDRE AGASSI: You know, nothing that I can say -- to the point of us losing our lives, no. I mean, I have been very uncomfortable before, pretty scared at times, but --

ANDRE AGASSI: In some respects, yes. I mean, considering where I have been over the last year and a half, prior to this year, absolutely, I consider it a good year. But my Grand Slam results have been lacking. I think that is just more reflection of me not being in the competitive arena there for a year and a half or more. So I normally would not consider this a good year losing out early of the Slams. But considering where I have been and where I want to go, this year has certainly served its purpose, every bit of it so far. It only can get better.

ANDRE AGASSI: I am playing definitely better now than I have been playing all year, and I feel it progressively getting more and more. I will have to play my best tennis at the right time and it most likely will have to be that much if that match happens. But, yes, I think I can do that, absolutely.

ANDRE AGASSI: At times I am every bit, if not better. But it is about consistency and really -- things you fix in your game making sure they stay fixed. So if you are struggling with your serve and then you figure out your serve, then you serve well for a few tournaments. That is what I am used to doing. But I have been a little up and down, tweaking -- tweaking the idiosyncracies of my game, and I feel like I am considering ways of tennis that I am still capable of playing, but certainly I have gotten myself in a position where I can still get the job done and that makes me feel good to know that I am here, thinking I can win if I play well at the right time. So that is important. But I am still far from my best tennis. I don't mean my past, I mean, what I can play.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, I think a lot of times my ball toss tends to get low, and it tends to get low because I go from working a point to trying to get some free points and that is more of a mentality. It is more of a physical commitment. When I am playing my best tennis, I really want to pay the price at every point and I want my opponent to pay the price on every point. When I am not playing my best tennis I am trying to go for a lot of cheap points and my ball toss drops and so it is a work ethic and the focus at the crucial times of the match. Hitting the kick serve in the good first set on good point.

ANDRE AGASSI: No, no. Not my way, the players way. And it is a player's way, mind you. I don't go out on the limb when it comes to Davis Cup. I talk about things that every player who I know who I have played with feels the same way. I have always shown a strong support for Davis Cup. It has always been very important to me and year after year it never ceases to amaze me. What decisions get made without the players input? To be quite honest, I am very, very tired of it, very frustrated by it, and have no interest in playing the rest of the year.

ANDRE AGASSI: It depends if they are still as expensive as they always are when they sell them. They sell three-day tickets. Probably not if they are expensive.

ANDRE AGASSI: Captain selection. Nothing against Gully, I mean, the players need to be able to say, not just give our opinion, I mean, I went through this when we went from Tom Gorman to Gully. But, you know, it is your captain and the players should pick their captain.

ANDRE AGASSI: I would be speculating beyond the obvious which is the desire for USTA to run it the way they want to run it. I think there is probably a lot of fear factors giving up the reigns. That is why John didn't get the job. Here is a guy who has -- who has done as much for Davis Cup as anybody and he didn't get the job because he is going to speak his mind. They'd rather have somebody down there where they know they are going to be, you know, where they can pull some strings and that is what they have. They definitely have that.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, sure it bothers me. It bothers me a lot. Doesn't surprise me. Doesn't surprise me at all. Michael is a good guy in many ways, but I absolutely disagree with the way he has handled himself towards Davis Cup. I think it is not right. I think it is horrible for the game. And I think it shows a lack of respect.

ANDRE AGASSI: I would certainly, certainly consider him, but I would have to think about it. I'd want to think about it. But he would be one person that's name should go on the list, no question.

ANDRE AGASSI: You know, we still have a good chance, still have a good chance. But it seems like it is getting less and less, and whenever that momentum changes, it is hard to stop it. There is going to be a guy playing there that hasn't played before and we have got to ask Todd to come through with three points and that is asking a lot under any conditions.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yes.

ANDRE AGASSI: To be quite honest, I am choosing this stage of my career not to think about it. I mean, to give what I have given to it and then to see that as we get down to the home stretch, you know, that we don't have any say so in where we play, and we have to end up reading about it, I mean, it is not like I haven't been vocal, not like I haven't expressed it a thousand times through the media and also directly. I mean, I talked about this directly with Tom in Indianapolis, it is just -- it is not right. It is just not right.

ANDRE AGASSI: It certainly doesn't seem like it. You know, I thought I had some good points, but apparently they don't think so.

ANDRE AGASSI: Absolutely. I mean, first of all, nothing I have said here I wouldn't say without Gully. I would say it if Gully was here. There is two sides to that. There is first and foremost which is the charity, the foundation that I have and establishing the arena that I didn't have the say. So when I didn't have the arena, let us start with that. We get the arena certain days and we get talent on certain days and that is the only way it is going to happen. Even with that being the case, I was very willing to play in San Diego, very willing to play on the West Coast. I was very willing to spend the whole week with the team, play Friday, come back, not be there Saturday evening and then be back in pocket for Sunday. I mean, we could have played in Vegas, we could have easily played in Vegas, give me three phone calls, I will get it done. But, so I mean, you know, at this stage of my life I know what I can and cannot handle. And the Davis Cup has been important to me and my foundation is important to me and it was all workable, very workable.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, I mean, if it is not Gully's decision, then what is his job? What is his job? I mean, I wouldn't want to --

ANDRE AGASSI: I am sure that is why they picked it. The whole point is that the captain needs to have certain responsibilities and looking out for the team doesn't start and end with the tennis that happens that week. It starts with talking to the team and having the team make decisions that are -- that are directly related to our ability to win. Where we play? What surface we play on? I mean, they are all important. If Gully doesn't have the power to make that decision or to step up and say these are the terms of the next tie, then I wouldn't want his job.

ANDRE AGASSI: If we lose?

ANDRE AGASSI: No, we lost to Paraguay, it didn't change anything. We lost to Australia first round, it didn't change anything. We lost to Germany in the relegation match and went down to the second, you know, group and it didn't change anything. We got more money. I guess that is -- I guess they value that, but we don't play for the money.

ANDRE AGASSI: No. No.

ANDRE AGASSI: If it was in my backyard I wouldn't walk out the back door.

ANDRE AGASSI: I have heard a lot of apologies in the last number of years, including the recent one and I mean, apologies are great, I mean, I am the first one to say, hey, if you are really sorry about something -- but be sorry enough to change things.

ANDRE AGASSI: No.

ANDRE AGASSI: If we don't have the choice to play where we play -- let's all play by the same rules. Every other country plays wherever they want to play, and if it is our say so, it is our right in Davis Cup, home court advantage, to play where we want, and that is the rules. Change the rules, that is fine. But don't tell me that is the rule and then tell me I can't have it that way.

ANDRE AGASSI: Then, you know, he should have a problem with that. I don't know what the terms of his situation was. This one is very clear. I could play if we played in the west coast.