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US OPEN

September 4, 2000

Hyung-Taik Lee

U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP, Flushing Meadows, New York

THE MODERATOR: As we did yesterday, if you would please direct your questions obviously in English to our interpreter, Chris, and he will speak to Mr. Lee and get back to you. Questions, please.

Q. What impressed him most about Sampras?

HYUNG-TAIK LEE: I was impressed by his serve. I was impressed by his composure, he's very calm. I was impressed by his volleys.

Q. Can he talk about what he did during the rain delay, and if that made it more difficult for him to stop his momentum.

HYUNG-TAIK LEE: I did a little stretching. I had a little something to eat. But the rain, it kind of disrupted my flow, and it kind of, you know, destroyed my rhythm.

Q. Could we get the name of the interpreter?

THE INTERPRETER: Chris Kim.

Q. What is it again?

THE INTERPRETER: Christian Kim. Standard spelling.

Q. Aren't you also his coach?

HYUNG-TAIK LEE: No, no. (Laughter.)

Q. What's the one best part of coming to the US Open and playing here?

HYUNG-TAIK LEE: It was great to play on such a great court.

Q. Can you ask him if he would have won the first set, does he think he would have won the match?

HYUNG-TAIK LEE: (Laughing.) I don't think that I would have won the whole game, whole tennis match. I don't think I would have won the whole tennis match, but I would have had some momentum behind me and I would have played much better.

Q. Can you talk about that one play at the net, that last point in the first serve where you touched the net, and how that affected your emotions.

HYUNG-TAIK LEE: If I were to win that point, I would have had two more serves and I would have had a chance to win the first set, and obviously after I missed that I was feeling a little down and I lost a lot of momentum. I wasn't myself at the beginning of the second set.

Q. On television, the television commentator said that he will tell his grandchildren years from now that he almost had Sampras 6-6 in the tiebreak, but his foot touched the bottom of the net. Do you think that is true? Do you think that will occur?

HYUNG-TAIK LEE: I think there's a good chance of that happening. In fact, I think I would exaggerate a little bit and say I was winning and I touched the net and I happened to lose.

Q. Did he think at the time it happened that maybe nobody saw it? That he might get away with it?

HYUNG-TAIK LEE: Yes. (Laughter.)

Q. Can he tell us how he will describe his experience here in New York and at the US Open when he goes back home to talk to his friends and family.

HYUNG-TAIK LEE: I'm an athlete, whereas a lot of my friends back home, they're students. So I think I would tell them that I learned a lot about confidence here.

Q. What did he learn about confidence?

HYUNG-TAIK LEE: For example, at first when I would play a ranked player, I would be more concerned with his number and I would be a little afraid and I might consider myself a coward. But after this experience, I feel that I can play anyone on any given day, and I've earned that kind of confidence.

Q. What is Mr. Lee's plan now? Where is he going from here with his tennis?

HYUNG-TAIK LEE: I'm going to go to more tours and more tournaments and hopefully I'll have better ranking so that next year I won't have to go through the qualifying rounds and I will be just able to come here.

Q. Relatives seemed to be holding up signs during the match. Did you know who that was and did you know that beforehand?

HYUNG-TAIK LEE: I wasn't aware of that.

Q. Does he plan to return home now or soon?

HYUNG-TAIK LEE: Yes.

Q. Aside from our dentists, what is the thing that he likes the best about America?

HYUNG-TAIK LEE: Nothing really stands out, but I enjoyed the actual playing of tennis first, going back and forth from the hotel and to the courts.

End of FastScriptsâ€¦

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