EUROCARD OPEN

October 31, 1998

Richard Krajicek

Q. A satisfying win wasn't it, Richard, for you?

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Yeah, very. I thought Pete was playing good tennis. I was playing good tennis. I thought Pete was playing good tennis, especially in the first set and, yeah, it was a little bit discouraging at the end of the first set I was playing some very good returns, good points he came up with some great half volleys and volleys to hold relatively easy at the end. Then he didn't give me a chance in the tiebreaker. After playing a pretty good set, I am a set down and that can be a little bit discouraging. Until 5-4, yeah, I was just hanging in there. And suddenly I come up with a couple of good passing shots, but he also gives me a couple of points, I am right back in the match. Then I was just waiting for the break in the third whoever is going to make the first break, which didn't happen, then it was a very close tiebreaker, very tight points and I think the point at 2-All where I probably shouldn't have won the point, that was probably the key to win the tiebreaker, to win the match.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Today, I don't know really. I was just hanging in there maybe because I was ahead of -- that I have beaten him a couple of times, kept my morale up during the match. Maybe if this would have been the same against Goran, I would have gotten a little more discouraged maybe. Normally, I always try to attack him, not let him attack me. As soon as he starts dominating play then you are lost. But today, I didn't really get the chance because he was serve and volleying all the time and it was just a quick point from both sides. But other times when I play, him I always try to come in also when he is serving. But today, I was just trying to hold my service games and just trying to hang in there.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Yeah, well, I hope he was always trying to beat me. But today he was, yeah, he wanted to win badly. This could have, with Rafter hasn't won too many times last couple of weeks, and Marcelo pulled out, yeah, he could have really closed the gap and gone ahead if he would have won here. I think he is still a little bit behind Marcelo, and he is going to have a little bit, I don't know, tough time, but now he is going to go into next week with equal points and I think he wanted to be ahead next week and just finish the job off maybe in Paris by just winning this week and winning Paris and not even having to worry about the Masters how he does there. It is a nice feeling. He was, I think he really wanted to win. I thought he was really playing well until that game at 5-4 in the second set.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Well, I think -- actually you should ask him, he is No. 8. I think he feels breath a little bit now in his neck, I mean, warmth-wise, not smell-wise, and I think it is nice that - like I said, I was No. 10, but I was so far off No. 8 that I didn't try to think of it. Now suddenly it is a possibility. I still have to win a couple of matches, I mean, winning tomorrow is, of course, a lot easier, I mean, that is only one match compared to what I have to do next week. If I don't win tomorrow, then I have to win probably another four matches. So tomorrow is a very important match. But finally, I have a realistic shot of making Masters. That adds a little bit extra to the matches for me.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Yeah, I think it is a good surface. I mean, because it is indoors, it is always - you always maybe have to favor it a little bit the serve and volleys, the big servers, because there is no sun, no wind and it is really easy to concentrate on your serve and volley game, on your own service gave. Still I think it is the best surface. I said at the beginning of the week in a way I thought it was very tough. I had to work much harder, but for tennis, I think it is good. We had this surface also at the Sydney indoors tournament; don't exist anymore, but they were always good matches okay, yesterday and today against Goran, against Pete, yeah, we are big servers so you have to expect the points are still going to be short. But tomorrow, it is going to be, I think, it is going to be a completely different match and the baseliner has got much more chance of beating the serve and volleyer than maybe before.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: No.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Well, for starters I think you should be director of ATP and we should work on those rankings then and then maybe we can work something out. I mean, I always have to play my best tennis to beat him and I think the strength of Pete Sampras is that he just has so many gears. He doesn't -- I mean, 80% or I don't know, 78% of the matches he wins, he doesn't have to go full speed and, yeah, somehow his game suits me. But there is a lot of guys that he beats that I don't beat and he is just -- he is just a great player. It gives me confidence that I can beat him. That means that I have potential of doing more than No. 5 what I have done, but yeah, this is not my last event. I am still not retired, so, I hope the next couple of years I am going to work hard and I give myself the opportunity of bettering my No. 5 position I have had and my one Grand Slam and, yeah, that is the goal for next couple of years. But I know tennis-wise I can do it and I hope I can also produce it with results over the next one to two years.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Just a little bit stiffness at the end there of the match. When you change over you sit a little bit and there is no movement; then it stiffens up a little bit. Then when you get up the first couple of steps, it is a little bit stiff, but then once I reach the baseline, then it is okay again. Yeah, I haven't had to let one ball go, let's put it that way. And I think that is the most important thing. So far so good.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: I don't know if my daughter will understand the game of tennis. I mean, I don't know if she will be - if I will play so long that she will understand. I don't know when they do start understanding, but it will be interesting when she sees me play a little bit. I don't think it is going to be too long; if you know what I mean. She won't see me too many times playing tennis that she understands what the old man is doing, I think.

RICHARD KRAJICEK: Well, I mean, of course there is for me less pressure than for him. And I don't know if I really play without fear. I am just trying to play my game and maybe I play just a little bit more loose than against other players maybe he means it like that. Also, I mean, his return of serve is maybe not as great as maybe the guys I am playing tomorrow. Sometimes when a guy is returning very good, then maybe I have a tough time of changing my game plan and I think that is the big difference with Pete. If he has a feeling guy is returning well, he has a bigger baseline game to back his serve and volley game up with. So I think -- I just somehow like to play him and, yeah, his game suits me somehow. Maybe I play -- I am for sure playing more loose than I would play against somebody who is maybe a different kind of player and also who is maybe ranked of course lower, but that is the problem with being No. 1. You get a lot of free matches, a lot of locker room matches, before you basically step out on the court, that the guy doesn't believe he is going to win, but there is also going to be some players and I think I am a little bit in that group who step on the court enjoying playing him and like, okay, show me, you know, I feel good, I think I can beat you, and let's play. So, yeah, I am one of the few players maybe that maybe have the feeling that when they step on the court always that they can beat him. Maybe there is a couple -- there are a couple of matches also in the tournament of maybe in a year that he has when he steps on the court he basically won the match. So yeah, the positive and negative of being No. 1, I guess.