U.S. OPEN

August 30, 1995

Luke Jensen

LUKE JENSEN: Ronnie Lott. Biggest, baddest football player in the modern day era. Guy hits people for a living.

LUKE JENSEN: Well, actually, it really started out I went to Southern Cal. He was there and when I was being recruited by SC, I really grew up wanting to be a football player; wanting to go to Notre Dame and -- but tennis was what I went for, and, of course, Southern Cal is one of the best tennis schools to go too. I was visiting the top schools at the time SMU, Clemson, UCLA, Pepperdine, and then when I went to SC, after going to all these other schools where they are showing me the tennis program and how great this and that was, I walk into SC. Coach Leach, Rick Leach's father, took me to the Heritage room and showed me the Heisman's and I just happened to run into O.J. Simpson, Ronnie Lott and Marcus Allen. That is when I said, where do I sign. That was it. I went to a SC/UCLA football game. At that time, Ronnie Lott wore black shoes, when they black football Notre Dame too. I started wearing the black shoes on the tennis court because of Ronnie Lott, and just the difference in attitude and I like the way he plays.

LUKE JENSEN: Absolutely. Oh, yeah, everything we wear out there, the first thing -- for instance, we try to -- the ITF and ATP have their own set of guidelines. We have to give everything, approved material, colors, buttons. Ever since we came out with our gasoline mechanic shirts about three years ago, of course, the logo I -- name and number on the back, the ATP allows you to have your own name and any number you want on the back of a jersey or a shirt. But the ITF only will allow you to put a number on the back and you can put your name if it is -- you want to use it as one of your logos, like if I have a Sharp deal or these other deals, so every -- of course, every organization has their own set of rules. I think it is a good idea in the sense where when you watch Ivanisevic or a Vacek, people don't know, just by looking at the scoreboard, who is who. But if you have names and numbers, or you can really recognize who is out there and it becomes more of a novelty item instead of just having a shirt that you can buy at a Foot Locker and Agassi throwing another shirt out into the crowd, what is the difference? If you have an original Agassi jersey with his name on it, there is only so many made; it makes it more valuable. I think.

LUKE JENSEN: Actually, I had been playing good all year. I received some chances, -- I Philadelphia, Memphis I have beaten guys like Jared Palmer, Brian Shelton this year in Tour events. And I lost a close two-set match to Michael Chang in Memphis, and so I was -- first of all, shown I can play their game and second of all, I think really doing a lot of things for the game of tennis for the USTA and whether it is clinics, going out there and being a positive representative for the game, the kids, to the fan. I think just going out to pick up my paycheck acting like a primadonna isn't going to get you anywhere. You have to be a positive role model and I have asked the USTA to that. I am working hard. It is just not something to go out there and pick up some extra money. It is all about getting an opportunity to play and this is our championships and I qualified this year in the Australian Open. So I put in a request and they were able to give it to me.

LUKE JENSEN: Remember, I don't think he was top 10 in the world last year. If you look at what Berasategui was last year, everyone was saying it wasn't very fair that he got to get to the World Championships because he played most of his matches on dirt, and especially during the final fall swing to get into Frankfurt, where he showed up and got smoked by Agassi. After playing on all the dirt matches next year, he has to designate, I think, eight of his tournaments at Super 9 events so he can't just go out and play dirt all the way through. This year, Indian Wells, he won Mexico City -- this is Muster, won Mexico City in altitude on red clay, and I think got to the quarters of Indian Wells beating Michael Chang in a long match. So the guy really is an animal. He is one of the most fit players. He plays full-court press on you, in the sense where I think of an Agassi takes the ball more on the rise, but the way he approaches it, if you isolate on Muster, he is the first one to get off his chair. He tries to keep the points moving all the time. He is not going to take a lot of time between points, so that takes a guy like myself, who wants to take the full 20, 25 seconds to regroup myself; to catch my breath; he is always leaning on you, he is always putting pressure on you, so you tend to play a little quicker, so you don't recover as fast after points and he buries you. When you think of a full-court press in basketball, he is just always pushing to play faster and harder and he moves you all the time. He makes you work for points and he just chews you up and spits you out. He goes "next victim, please."

LUKE JENSEN: If you look at early tapes of Ali, he never sat down in the corner. He'd be dancing and taunting going after guys, and that was how fit he was. And it is very intimidating. I am sitting down and trying to regroup myself and go over notes that I have written down and trying to get ready; all of a sudden this guy, after five seconds, is walking by, you know, and he is still has, you know, that smell of Umag in his breath, and "what is going on here," so -- and, you know, my plan was to attack and keep the points short even when we didn't get into some long rallies. He sets up and uses his forehands; moves you side to side; doesn't really want to knock you off with big win. First he is going to keep you stretched and make you play 15 to 20 ball rallies, and he really -- it is an attitude and it is really the way he enjoys playing. It is very intimidating; especially on clay when you can -- like here I can get some traction out here and run some balls. But on clay, he can go behind you and guys are scared of him. Guys are -- I mean, Agassi is just flat out the best player in the world right now, but there are guys who do not want to go out be against Thomas Muster because physically they are going to breakdown.

LUKE JENSEN: Umag, you know, I don't know. I don't even want to touch that one.

LUKE JENSEN: I think it is really disappointing in a sense where if you talk to Agassi and Sampras and they say whoever wins this Grand Slam out of the -- out of those three players, Sampras Agassi, Muster, and whoever wins this Grand Slam is going to be world No. 1. Now, in my opinion, Thomas Muster doesn't have so many shots at being world No. 1. This is a great opportunity. I think coming here and playing maybe Long Island or playing New Haven or Indianapolis two weeks before and he is very good on this surface, he has had some great results here, quarterfinals. He had a great five set match, I think, with Pete Sampras, one year, and he can play on this surface, but not to come here when it really does being the world's No. 1 player. He can win on this surface, but to go to Umag and play in these tournaments that he is going to win, it just doesn't make any sense to me. I mean, you have a great opportunity to go out there and be the best player in the world for 1995 and to say, well, I played in Umag, and I won in Umag, that makes no sense to me. It's disappointing.

LUKE JENSEN: He just kicked my butt. I am not going to say the guy stinks, but -- I think there is so much depth. I think you really have to have major weapons. Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras have major weapons. There are so many good guys in the draw with big serves, big groundstrokes who can run all day. He is going to have to do a lot more then just hit groundstrokes because there is a lot of guys who can run faster than he can; can serve bigger; can hit better groundstrokes and volleys and believe they can win on this surface against him. Now, if you put some dirt out here; then it is going to be different, but I think it is going to catch up to him in two weeks; not being able to feel the clay under your feet. It is a whole different surface. Think about it, the guy got on an airplane from Umag. It is not a direct flight, Umag to New York - wherever he went, you know, he probably took some mule and got in one of those U.N. things, troop transports, so, you know-- pulled right into New York. But, you know, let us say, he is probably going to have to play tomorrow, I don't know -- did Woodforde win?

LUKE JENSEN: Yeah, Woodforde is going to keep the ball long on him; going to make him work, so I think it is, like I said, it is going to be a long hall. I still like Sampras or Agassi.

LUKE JENSEN: I think as far as what Murph and I do, on-court things or --

LUKE JENSEN: I don't think so. I think -- of course there is some things like Smash Tennis that the ATP is doing. I think you see the game really trying to do more for kids, really Sports Illustrated with that big questionmark on the cover, I think, woke a lot of people up - having the Agassi/Sampras rivalry. A lot of people said this was a joke that I got a wildcard here. I believe I have worked hard enough and I have done a lot of things to deserve this wildcard and I can play at this level, and it was an honor to play him, but I am out there to play my best and have fun out there and players, I mean, I will be on one side of the lockerroom; I will be hearing: "Jensen has got a football jersey on now and Jensen is wearing black shoes," I mean, you hear this in the lockerroom. From these guppies, I mean, these guys who have concaved chests, so they have more, you know, they are so worried about what the Jensens are doing rather than going out and doing something positive for the game. And I am not worried about -- you can't be worried about what other players say. I have more of a positive response from the media; a positive response from the tournament directors, and the fans and as long as I go out there and enjoy what I do and play with a lot of enthusiasm, I have played with jealousy; everyone has. What you have done, when you are coming through, everyone is going to be jealous of you for doing something; being better; being different. As soon as you start listening to those people, you are failing. So...

LUKE JENSEN: I practiced with Chris Evert in 1983. She got to the finals that year; that was pretty good.

LUKE JENSEN: I have had like a little while to prepare for this, the tournament, they have been really good about the schedule. Murphy has had food poisoning last couple of days. We have been able to play Thursday night. I have been coming here early in the morning and late at night and able to get out on the court and playing in the big house and practice.

LUKE JENSEN: I think it is really starting to move forward in the sense that of course, it is great. There is a medium because you are not going to be as fast pace as the Jensens and if we did, we would have lights, lasers, and blimps flying in, and helicopters and the whole thing, but we are not playing in Forest Hills anymore. So I think we are moving in the right direction and I think you see we are doing things -- more things for the kids, more clinics, more things that are exciting, we are not just letting our game get stale or getting -- making it boring. We are trying to do more for the fan; do more for each event and will they ever accept it? You have to -- the way Connors used to approach the game, McEnroe with a lot of intensity and Arthur Ashe with his integrity, I think you go around; you sit in the lockerroom now and it is such -- it is competitive, but a very relaxed atmosphere. I mean, Pete -- there isn't this seeded player -- there used to be a section only for seeded players and that was like the hands off place unless you were one of the chosen ones, one of the high ranked guys. All the other victims were in the back, but now, they have remodelled it this year, and it is one of the nicest lockerrooms in the circuit. Courier is in the back here and Chang is over here and Pete is walking around there, and everyone is saying hi and, you know, Todd Martin is getting one of his Davis Cup warmup jackets signed by all the top players to auction it off for charity, so it is very relaxed. It is not this cut throat attitude and everyone is out there of course trying to do a job here at the U.S. Open, but also it is very -- it is a fun atmosphere. It really is. I think the way these young adults are looking at the game, like I said, with Kids Days, we do Smash Tennis. Nike did a thing with the ATP and Pete Sampras -- Agassi, drove one of those Hummers in Central Park, and Rusedski was there serving bombs. I think those type of things at such major events is going to create tennis into a bigger, bigger sport here in the states.

LUKE JENSEN: Oh, when I was just starting out we used to go to tournaments, I was, I think, ranked No. 3 in northern Michigan. Now that is like up north. I remember going to the big city like Lancing, Michigan and playing these tournaments. I would draw the first seed. My dad would approach me and say these are the guys you want to play; you want to play these guys early in the tournament and you want to take their draw. You want to see where your game is and compare it to those top players and every time I hit a draw I want to play the top seed. I want to play the best that there is, and go for it. I am not -- you can't be afraid of anybody; whether you are a 10 year old or a professional at 29 years old, you want to play the best. I have had a chance now almost to play Agassi in New Haven and the Australian Open. I have fallen short twice, but I want to play him. I want to see what it is like to throw my game out there and watch my serve come back faster than I shot it out.

LUKE JENSEN: Actually, I am very -- I started out pretty tight and settled in okay. I think I definitely need to be more fit. I need to work on my groundstrokes. Really play more singles events. I have to schedule a lot smarter. Right now I have played every single week so far from January 1 starting in Doah going to Jakarta, all around the United States, and Europe, and I think if I sit there and slow down and concentrate and say okay, I want to be in the top 100 by 1996, and really schedule like play some Challengers this fall and really work on my return of serve game and be able to stay in the backcourt with a Thomas Muster and look for my opportunities to get in. I am happy with the way I am serving. Of course, I feel comfortable playing anybody. I have doubles and being on teams with the Davis Cup team as a sparring partner; hanging out with these guys in the lockerroom, they are like friends of mine, so I am not afraid that, ooh, I am playing Thomas Muster; he has 70 million clay court tournaments in a row and I have only played one tournament, period, but I am just out there to try again to build my entire game and keep going. I am 29, but I feel very young. I haven't been beat up so bad, and I have a very positive attitude.

LUKE JENSEN: Oh, yeah. I would be -- I would love to just be to be a singles player. I started out as junior, as one of the top juniors here in the nation and pretty high in the world and really to be able to go out there and win matches and compete, would be a great thrill of mine. I mean, I'd definitely give up everything I have now and go after that. But I think also as a top singles player you have a lot more of an opportunity to be a positive role model to kids in this game. There is only so much I can do; only so much that I can do because we are not on TV that much. We are not -- we are not a top doubles team, but if I was a top singles player, like a Kafelnikov, singles and doubles, you can do so much for this game, so I think the opportunity to win more singles would be a positive for everybody.

LUKE JENSEN: After I beat them up or before I beat them up? Again, you really can't worry about that. I work just as hard as anybody, and I put in twice as much time. In my opinion, this game needs to get more guys like the Jensens or Andre Agassi; not that you have to go out and act differently on the tennis court to get fans, but what about playing more doubles. If you are Thomas Muster, let us go back to the old school when Laver played singles, doubles, and mixed or at least two events at a Grand Slam where top players were better athletes; we always talk about it, they were better. We hit stronger; move faster. Well, then we can played two events, and what about at other tournaments, instead of singles only, let us play singles and doubles and let us do it in golf where you are made to give up two hours or made to do a Pro Am for the tournament director, so can you imagine if you are on Long Island last week; you knew you had 32 of your players from the No. 1 on down are going to do a Pro Am or a kids clinic or go to a hospital for a visit, I mean, those are the type of things that sell this game and that are good for the community and for everyone in general. So when they knock on me for going out and signing autographs and doing good for the game, who are these guys? I mean, they are just -- they think they are somebody. I was in New Haven with Rod Laver and some kid came up to me and asked for my autograph and didn't ask for Rod Laver's. Now, Laver is the greatest player who ever played the game. He will never tell you that. He will say "my record speaks for itself." But one day some kid is going to come up to a new hot shot and not know who I am, and ask for his autograph. So my 15 minutes to contribute to this game is "right now." If I can tell a player, you have got to do more talking to a Kafelnikov who doesn't like to do on-court interviews, after the matches, I mean, having the fans answer -- ask questions to the player two or three questions, after each match, he doesn't like to do it, but it is not twisting an arm. It is part of the game. You are getting paid a lot of money to do nothing. So I think we are trying to treat these primadonnas like they are china. I want to get them out there; get them to do more clinics; play more tennis. If I am a fan right now, I will be hacked off if I paid my money to come to this tournament see Pete Sampras play one match and then a day off and then another match. I want to see him play singles and then a mixed doubles; then a doubles. It is not going to kill anybody. This is the U.S. Open. You should want to play here, but we have allowed a window of opportunity for specialists to come in. That is cutting my job. I think all singles players should be in the doubles. But that means I have to be a better player and get my butt in the singles.

LUKE JENSEN: Well, I think that is where the best 14 in my opinion came into play. Whereas, before clay courters never played the grass and grass courters never played on the clay. Now you are really able to improve your game. I think it is wrong that Thomas Muster didn't go and put his stuff on the grass. And if you are a professional tennis player and especially with him, anybody, to play the Grand Slams is the most -- the best thing you can do in this game, to have the opportunity to step on the grounds at Wimbledon and U.S. Open and Aussie Open and the French, those are our four big kahunas; you should want to play those and prepare your very best, and even though there are downsides to the best of 14, but the upside is you can go there and try your best and not be penalized for it.

LUKE JENSEN: Yeah, I mean, that is sad in my opinion because if you are No. 3 in the world and Thomas Muster is going to look back one day and his grand kids are going to say hey, grandpa, how did you do at Wimbledon; he goes, you know, I didn't play. It is like grand kids are going to say what was wrong with you, what were you taking -- what were you smoking?