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U.S. OPEN


August 29, 1996


Thomas Muster


NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

Q. Are you pleased with that performance today?

THOMAS MUSTER: I think I played all right. I served pretty good. I had to do what I expected. I think I played a good match, good performance. Every time I needed to be aggressive, I was aggressive. I think it was a good match.

Q. Is your mind set in the early rounds here to get it over with and get off the court? Yesterday or the day before you talked about the grind here, how it physically breaks you down. What's your mind set in the early rounds?

THOMAS MUSTER: In a Grand Slam, you get over in three sets, you're very lucky and very happy. Obviously many times when I play a Slam, I play like that in the first rounds. You don't really want to play in the heat five sets or something like that. You want to keep your energy as long as possible alive.

Q. Are you looking forward to maybe getting to play on the stadium court at some stage?

THOMAS MUSTER: I feel comfortable in the grandstand. I don't need to be in the stadium.

Q. When you come here, you know you're going to hear all this criticism. So today there was this large contingent of Austrians in the stands. Did you hear them? It was a large, boisterous group.

THOMAS MUSTER: Great. I had supporters out there. From your country, they support you, come here to watch. I think it's very nice. Years ago there was nobody, a few Austrians here. Now tennis is very popular in our country. People have high expectations, so they come and watch.

Q. Thomas, the New York Times had an editorial this morning about the whole seeding controversy. Now that you have your first match under your belt, any thoughts on that? Do you still feel the same way you did?

THOMAS MUSTER: I don't want to comment anymore. It was embarrassing enough anyway.

Q. Did you know that that group was going to be here today? Had they been in contact with you at all so you were surprised to see them?

THOMAS MUSTER: Many times I play all over the world, Austrians come because they're all over the world and they come in and watch. Like I said, there's a high interest of tennis. They like to come and support. It's very nice.

Q. How much of a change in level are you going to have to make in playing Bruguera?

THOMAS MUSTER: If I serve well and play progressive enough, can I win. If I don't, he's going to win. I've had decent results against him in the past years. It's okay.

Q. Do you expect it to be like a claycourt match because clay is the best surface for both of you?

THOMAS MUSTER: No. I don't think they're going to put clay down for us.

Q. I didn't mean that.

THOMAS MUSTER: No.

Q. Are you at all surprised, I know you like playing in the grandstand, but are you surprised they don't put you in the stadium court, No. 3 seed in the tournament?

THOMAS MUSTER: I don't care.

Q. Doesn't bother you?

THOMAS MUSTER: No.

Q. Did your opponent today do anything to challenge you at all or are you going --

THOMAS MUSTER: You'll have to ask him, if he tried something to challenge me.

Q. Did you feel challenged?

THOMAS MUSTER: Well, of course. If it's not that way, we'd have a walk in the park. A tennis match is decided by points.

Q. Are there things you worry about your opponent doing during a match that bother you?

THOMAS MUSTER: Excuse me?

Q. Are there things that you worry your opponents will do during a match that will bother you? Are there things you have to prepare particularly for?

THOMAS MUSTER: No. As long as they don't undress (laughter).

Q. When you're returning serve, Thomas, when do you decide to stay a couple of feet behind the baseline when they're hitting the first big balls in, then when do you decide to step up and take the first serve earlier?

THOMAS MUSTER: You make the decision -- depends what you want to do in the point, if you want to be aggressive or play back. Just depends on the situation, the score, many things.

Q. Towards the end of the match, he hit -- you went back a couple of feet, in the last game or so, and he aced you. Were you deciding at that point in the match all you wanted to do was get the ball back in and start to rally with him?

THOMAS MUSTER: If you think so much, asking me all these questions, if I have to think of all of this, I don't play, I sit down and think about it. You have hundredths of a second to make a decision. You don't do that. It's all theories, but theories don't work on the court. That's the problem.

Q. What is it you like about the grandstand court?

THOMAS MUSTER: Because I think the stars should play on the center courts and the not so good players should play here. That's it. That's where I like to play.

End of FastScripts...

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