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U.S. OPEN

August 31, 1994

Kevin Ullyet

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

Q. Kevin, what was your thoughts when you first saw the draw, and how does it feel now?

KEVIN ULLYET: Well, it's hard to explain the feeling you feel, but of a -- maybe I would have liked to play him later on in the tournament, maybe win a few rounds, but I was excited. You don't get chances like this too often in your lifetime.

Q. What were your impressions of the way he moved on the court today?

KEVIN ULLYET: He moved pretty good. I couldn't -- I haven't played him before, so I don't know how quick he actually moves, but I didn't see much trouble that he was having.

Q. Did you try to move him around?

KEVIN ULLYET: I tried to as best as I could, but there's only a certain amount you can do on the level that he's playing.

Q. Was there any point in the match that you saw something that you can do that will work?

KEVIN ULLYET: What I was trying to do is get in on his backhand because I have a friend, couple guys that played him before, that's how they beat him and so that's what I was trying to do. And I couldn't do it enough, just to try to pressurize him. He was giving much of a serve and I didn't serve well enough to put pressure on him.

Q. Anyone in particular you say that helped you with that advice, like when you said you have a friend?

KEVIN ULLYET: Yes. Grant Stafford played him a couple years, he helped me out.

Q. How about the time you broke his serve, did you do anything different?

KEVIN ULLYET: I just put a -- played a couple balls, put them in play. He made a couple unforced errors, that was it. He gave me a doublefault as well.

Q. If you played him 20 times, how many times did you beat him?

KEVIN ULLYET: I don't want to answer that one.

Q. Who was the highest-ranked player you have played prior to this?

KEVIN ULLYET: I played Volkov last year who was ranked 15.

Q. And here also?

KEVIN ULLYET: Yes, I played him here.

Q. Was there an element of awe playing against him?

KEVIN ULLYET: Definitely. There's nothing he hasn't done in men's tennis. It's like -- he's basically a legend already at such a young age.

Q. Did you stand at the baseline at any time after you had broken him and said, "I broke Pete Sampras' serve"?

KEVIN ULLYET: No.

Q. There was no joy in that, other than competitively?

KEVIN ULLYET: Yeah.

Q. How about when you aced him a couple of times.

KEVIN ULLYET: I aced him a couple times.

Q. Did you think, "I aced Pete Sampras"?

KEVIN ULLYET: No. Tell you the truth, no, because I know I can pull out a few aces every now and then.

Q. Do you now look at him as able to totally dominate men's tennis? Do you think he can be somebody that the whole tour looks at as basically unbeatable?

KEVIN ULLYET: To an extent, but there's too many good players that can give a lot of trouble. They beat -- there are so many guys in the top 10, 20 or 15 that can beat him.

Q. Are you going to be part of the Davis Cup team, the next one playing against India?

KEVIN ULLYET: No, it's Wayne Ferreira and Ondruska and Danie Visser.

Q. Did you get a chance to talk to Sampras at all? Did you have a chance to chat two sentences worth?

KEVIN ULLYET: No.

Q. At the end, at the net, nice match?

KEVIN ULLYET: That's about it.

Q. Can you compare your imagination of what this match was going to be as you thought about it in the days leading up to it to what it actually was?

KEVIN ULLYET: Yeah, I knew there would be -- I knew I would be nervous. I knew there would be a lot of people that would come out to see him because of what he's been doing in the past. And I was a little disappointed. I thought I could have played better, that I was going to play better than I did.

Q. Did he play as well as you expected him to play?

KEVIN ULLYET: Yes, I kind of expected him to play -- he's the best player in the world and he keeps his game on a higher level most of the time.

Q. When you went through this process in your mind, what was your ultimate; win the first two sets or win a set or --

KEVIN ULLYET: I wanted to go out there, just play one point at a time and try to hang with him, try and stay on level turns with serving, and hold serves and maybe get a few chances. And I lost my serve early in every set, so I kind of had my back against the wall all the time. I didn't get my nose out in front to have a chance of winning a set.

Q. If he were to play this game that you saw today consistently for two weeks, would he win here? Is his game right now in the first round better than everybody elses?

KEVIN ULLYET: I haven't seen everyone else playing, but he's looking pretty sharp and he's serving well, and I think he's hitting a really heavy serve. I think the guys are going to find it tougher to beat him in these two weeks, even though he hasn't played a match in six weeks.

Q. Who serves better out of anybody you played with; anybody?

KEVIN ULLYET: No.

Q. You said you were disappointed in your own performance, but is that due to nerves or was it due to the pressure that he was putting on you?

KEVIN ULLYET: A little bit of both because the ball is coming at a slightly quicker speed than what I've been playing in my career, last year or two.

Q. Next time you play Sampras, is there anything different you'd like to do?

KEVIN ULLYET: Well, definitely, I'd like to serve better. My serve will be on a better level than it is now. So, stick with him and serve.

Q. You mentioned the strategy of coming in on his backhand as the weakness to attack, but in terms of any vulnerability on his part, how slender a thread is there to cling to for most players?

KEVIN ULLYET: What, that he's -- coming in on his backhand?

Q. Right.

KEVIN ULLYET: It is not really a weakness that he has. His backhand is not bad, but that's probably the smallest chance you have, just to keep pressure on his backhand.

Q. In what way did this match make you better?

KEVIN ULLYET: It will help me in the future if I play another big match like this on Stadium Court or someone big. I think I will be a little more relaxed after having played this one. I'll be able to go out there a little easier and it will be a little better.

Q. What is your rank?

KEVIN ULLYET: It's 200.

Q. Even?

KEVIN ULLYET: Yes.

Q. 206?

KEVIN ULLYET: Something like that.

End of FastScripts...

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