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U.S. OPEN


September 7, 1994


Steffi Graf


NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

Q. What's the hurry, Steffi; less than an hour each of your matches?

STEFFI GRAF: Well, I'm not really in a hurry, but I guess I've been playing well.

Q. Are you on cruise control?

STEFFI GRAF: You're shooting at me now. Right now, I mean, I'm just feeling really happy about the way things are going, really, every match. I've been playing some good tennis. My serve is working very well, and the last two matches, my concentration was right on; so everything has been working well.

Q. Coetzer said you're probably maybe better than you were when you were on that real big streak earlier in the year when you beat her and at Indian Wells; do you feel that you're playing better than that or just as well?

STEFFI GRAF: I think, what I've been doing well the last few matches, I was playing tactically very well. I mean, I'm not trying to go for every shot and I am selecting my shots well and, I think also the thing is that really my serve has been very consistent this week and, it's doing a lot of damage and, so, I feel right now in the matches that I've had, I think I played similar to the beginning of the year, yeah.

Q. Have you felt challenged at all yet, even in any one particular round?

STEFFI GRAF: It's difficult to say. The results have been that clear and things have been going so quick, I don't think-- that's difficult to say, not maybe as much as I thought it would be.

Q. Steffi, does being mad at your back help you to be inspired, like, you had the injury--

STEFFI GRAF: I'm not mad at my injury. I'm not excited about it being there, but I'm not that mad about it. I'm just -- I think I accepted it more than I have in the last few weeks and I'm trying to work around it as well as I can.

Q. Is there any part of your game which is not yet as good as you'd like it to be?

STEFFI GRAF: No. I don't think so.

Q. Steffi, if you do have a tough match in the semis, is that something you feel you're ready for?

STEFFI GRAF: Sorry.

Q. If you have a tough round next match in the semis, do you feel that's something you'll be ready for?

STEFFI GRAF: Yeah, I definitely think so. I've had a lot of close matches and the weeks before I had two good tournaments, I played top players and played well and I've been in close situations, so I haven't been in it these past couple days. I don't think it's going to be too difficult, so I think I'm up to the challenge, yeah.

Q. Can you address Mary Pierce's game and Jana Novotna's game, how you would approach each one?

STEFFI GRAF: Hopefully, I approach them the way I have been approaching them the last few matches. It is necessary from the beginning to be patient against either one, on the other hand, trying also in a certain way to be the aggressor during the points. I think that is what I've been doing well and I think there's necessary against either one.

Q. Steffi, did you know about this IMG Women's Tour?

STEFFI GRAF: Thanks for calling. Yeah, I knew about it, yes.

Q. Would you support a separate tour?

STEFFI GRAF: No, I don't.

Q. Were you surprised -- how did you find out about it; were you surprised? When did you find out about the it?

STEFFI GRAF: Probably earlier than you knew. I think actually a lot of top players found out today, didn't know about it and still don't know what's going on, but I met a good source, so I kind of knew very early and I knew what was going on and I've been told what's -- what could happen the next few days, but the council really stood up to it, I think, very well and just pushed it down. I think that was a big step for the players to take.

Q. Why do you not support it?

STEFFI GRAF: I just think that there have been political moves in there that weren't right, and just didn't agree with them.

Q. Do you think in theory, Steffi, that it is a good idea for an agency to run a professional tennis tour?

STEFFI GRAF: I think it's very difficult because one agency doesn't have all the players, which makes the others jealous and that's going to definitely-- going to give troubles to the other people and I don't think it is a right step.

Q. You said you have to be a certain way to be aggressive in the point against either one, what is that way?

STEFFI GRAF: What's that way?

Q. Yeah.

STEFFI GRAF: Just waiting for the right chance to go for it and even maybe sometimes to come in. Against either one, I will have to take chances at coming in a few times when I need to and that's what I meant. Taking the possibility and doing something during the point -- right from the beginning.

Q. Do you think we'll ever see a time when the women's tour is similar to the men's tour in that you'll have almost all the top seeds knocked out of a Grand Slam tournament like the men at this tournament, where most of the seeds have gone out?

STEFFI GRAF: I don't know. I'm sorry, I don't have one of these glass things to look in. I have no idea.

Q. If you were to play Pierce, is there anything special about playing Pierce; people are calling her up and coming, the next star and so forth, especially when she beat you in Paris, is there anything special about playing her more than other players?

STEFFI GRAF: No, what I see she's one of the players who has the most talent of all of them and definitely one of the few players that have the chance to be really at the top and I respect her and her tennis. That's the way I think about it.

End of FastScripts....

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