U.S. OPEN

August 30, 1996

Michael Tebbutt

MICHAEL TEBBUTT: Yeah. I had problems with my toes all year. I have had trouble playing in that whole match. Every time I went to plant, felt a lot of pain. That's part of the reason.

MICHAEL TEBBUTT: Well, I guess he played me pretty smart. Start of the second, instead of giving me room to tee off, he started playing into my body. . I just fell apart basically. I was playing great, concentrating; just went really flat.

MICHAEL TEBBUTT: Yeah. I didn't serve too bad. I mean, I really had trouble moving. I've had trouble with it before, but I've never had this. In a practice, if I've had problems with it, I've felt it. In a match, because you're concentrating, the adrenaline, I guess, you don't feel it as much. Today, I was feeling it a lot. Maybe because I was feeling it so much, I started harping on it. I was thinking about that more than playing. Maybe that had something to do with it.

MICHAEL TEBBUTT: Well, I don't know if it's the shape of my feet or what. Every time I plant my feet, my toe, I had problem with my toenail, kind of ingrown toenail on one of them. It won't go away. I've had problems with it all year. I will get it taken out when I get home.

MICHAEL TEBBUTT: No. I don't know when it happened. At some stage I must have planted really hard, I don't know, felt it then. Concentration went with it.

MICHAEL TEBBUTT: Heading home. I don't know, taking a few weeks off, play doubles here and see how that goes. Got three weeks off at least before I play again.