NEWSWEEK CHAMPIONS CUP

March 8, 1995

Andre Agassi

ANDRE AGASSI: Good start for me today. I felt like I was hitting the ball well. Nice to be back on the hard courts again.

Q. Do you feel very confident now after the Australian Open? I mean, you have had a great run already this year.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, I have never started off the year this strong, and I just feel like -- just feel good hitting the ball well. I am looking forward to each match and so that is a good feeling. It is nice.

Q. Andre, are you well aware that if you win this tournament and Pete bows out the next round or two that you would be No. 1?

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, so I hear, yeah.

Q. Any thoughts on that?

ANDRE AGASSI: No. I mean, not really. You know, I want to play the best tennis in the world every time I am on the court, few guys hope for that. If it happens this week or next week, or whatever, I mean, or never, it is like, you just you stick to your game plan and hope for the best, but it is always going to happen if I keep executing what I have been doing.

Q. What is more important for you playing the best tennis that you are capable of playing or being No. 1?

ANDRE AGASSI: I would have to say playing the best I can, simply because I don't want to be No. 1 if I don't deserve it.

Q. Andre, they said you were ranked 31 this time last year. That is a pretty fantastic year you have had to date. How do you describe the way things have gone for you.

ANDRE AGASSI: Really, it is not even fair to say that because it is like the first 5-6 months I really didn't do much excluding a finals performance in Key Biscayne, really, since Toronto which was in the middle of the summer, you know, it has turned around just before Toronto. I was in the mid 20s, and or high 20s and that was, you know, six or seven months ago. So it has been quite incredible for me.

Q. Would you say a lot this relates to Brad or how ....

ANDRE AGASSI: Brad's direction has helped tremendously, but you can't say that he has done it for me, I mean, I have got to be willing to go out there and work on my game and do things. I'd overcome a lot of personal, you know- how you want to call it - struggles that I would have on the court, but I think Brad has helped direct me in a very positive direction and it has worked out great. We are having a great time.

Q. Andre, players don't frequently feel sympathy or too much empathy for players across the net, but when you play someone like Mats who was so hot for so long, what are your sensations or sentiments when you see him struggling a little bit?

ANDRE AGASSI: You know, you try not to spend too much time thinking about it is. I mean, there is two sides to it. He was a great player and you are beating him handily, and there is that side to it. But the other side to it is he is a great player and he knows how to win. And so don't give him a chance. And so also there is the respect side to it too, so I mean, Mats is fine. He doesn't have to worry about being embarrassed out there. I was hitting the ball really strong; he had chances to go 3-0 in the second set and that could potentially make it a different set. A lot closer certainly, so I was just, you know, continuing to try to work on my game and wasn't worried about him.

Q. Andre, since you have got respect for the man, could you talk about what it means to see Boris in the top three in the world?

ANDRE AGASSI: I think for tennis's sake, it is a great thing, I mean, it is like, Pete, myself and Boris, to be in the top 3 is, I think, really good for the game. I think Boris is an exciting player who has offered a lot to the game and he has gone through a few years, I think where he has kind of resented being the kind of person that everybody kind of looks towards at tournaments -- I think now he doesn't have to worry about that. There are a few guys that are carrying that kind of weight. I think that has made him a lot more relaxed. He seems to be playing his best tennis yet.

Q. Do you guys approach this tournament any differently because it's a Super 9 from maybe a San Jose or anything like that; do you feel pressure with such big names -- you wouldn't, perhaps there is an extra buzz?

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, I think the extra buzz is the fact that there is 14 of the top 16 players in the world here. You know, you can be playing in a public park somewhere with 14 of the 16 best players and the intensity just rises, so I think that, that is what it is attributed to. The draws are difficult draws and you are playing these guys early.

Q. Andre, with the hot weather, how does it feel better having less hair?

ANDRE AGASSI: Not quite sure, you know, I haven't quite figured it out. I still have not gotten out of the habit of pulling the pony tail that doesn't exist.

Q. Do you feel the extra limelight and do you enjoy it with sort of the way you have come through the last year; do you feel the media may be chasing you around more or is it just the same?

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, it feels like the demands -- a lot more demands on my time, but you just -- I just try keep a balance. If I keep a balance, I don't experience too much difference.

Q. Any discussions at this point about the Davis Cup?

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, we have had some discussions and we are still discussing.

Q. How much longer can the discussions go on?

ANDRE AGASSI: Hopefully, not as long as the baseball discussions.

Q. It is a matter of scheduling or, you know, service change. That sort of thing?

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, it is a difficult thing as I am sure you know, I mean, to go from Scottsdale, Palm Springs, Key Biscayne, Davis Cup, four days off, get to Tokyo, that is difficult. It is difficult for me to go these next three weeks; Davis Cup -- ending it with Davis Cup with the intensity of having a few days off and then go to fast outdoor in Tokyo. It is a rough thing, and we are just -- we are talking on lot of different levels. I don't really feel like at this point I should say much more than that, but hopefully, by next week, we should have a good idea of what is going to happen.

Q. Andre, you seem really fit. Are you doing anything special now for your conditioning?

ANDRE AGASSI: Trying to stay away from that buffet table. No, I have been working hard, you know, my same program I have been doing now for over a year, since I lost 18 pounds or so back in '93 U.S. Open; and just maintained a high level of weight training and cardiovascular training, so you got to maintain it else you really fall behind.

Q. Do you think tennis should have an off-season?

ANDRE AGASSI: Yes. I do. I feel like one of greatest things about, you know, NBA or NHL or NFL, it is like there is a time period where you don't have it. So it is an exciting thing to look forward to, and, you know, I think it will enhance the tennis. I think it will give the public a sense of excitement to look forward to it. But it is a difficult thing for the public to understand. It is all year-round and they don't know why the rankings are the way they are, and I mean I can't tell you how many times people just told me on the street that they thought I was No. 1 because I beat Pete in the finals of Australia, so it is a weird thing that people have a hard time understanding. I think that with an off-season, it would be a good step in the right direction.

Q. Do you feel that you could beat anybody now when you walk on-court?

ANDRE AGASSI: Yes.

Q. Did you feel that way this time last year?

ANDRE AGASSI: No. I mean, this time last year was an accomplishment for me to go out there and just really play good tennis. I mean, I felt like I was trying to find my way out there on the court. I had a crazy match here last year with Santoro that it was --- just it was strange, he was playing 30 -- literally 15 to 30 feet behind the baseline at times and I wasn't sure what to do, so it just was a lot of time off last '93 and I feel like it took me awhile to kind of get my game to where I felt like I wanted it to be and then after doing well in the summer in US Open and over the fall, I feel like down in Australia perfect example of me playing with the belief that I can win every match.

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