IBM/ATP TOUR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

November 16, 1995

Thomas Enqvist

THOMAS ENQVIST: Well, I haven't thought about it too much. I am very excited to beat Michael Chang in two sets to Love. I think I did a very good match. I am hitting the ball very good for the moment. I just came off the court, it is hard to understand.

THOMAS ENQVIST: Very hard to say. I think I did unbelievable good first set. And I didn't miss a shot -- almost a shot and I served well and I was going for the returns and I just hit the ball so well and put a lot of pressure on Michael and he is very, very fast and he gets a lot of balls back that I didn't expect him to get back, so if I am going to beat Michael Chang, I have to play 100% and today I almost played 110%.

THOMAS ENQVIST: I didn't think that much actually. I was just so excited to be here and I won the Stockholm Open the day before I left here. That was a great feeling and that was the tournament that had me think for a long time to play. This just was something special, something extra to compete with the best players in the world. I didn't put any pressure on myself. I just went here, have a lot of fun, and hopefully play good.

THOMAS ENQVIST: I think some. It is good to play a lot of matches just before and obviously when you have won a tournament, you are in really good shape. If I am going to have a chance to play good against these guys, I have to be 100%. I have to be in good shape and just right now, I think I am in the shape of my life.

THOMAS ENQVIST: No, not really one particular idol. I mean, you remember when you were a kid you watch a lot of tennis on TV. I mean, we had four, five, top 10 players almost every week. You could almost watch every week that helped you get interested in the sport and hopefully when the Swedes do well now, like if I do well this week, hopefully, I mean, it can help kids start to play more tennis in Sweden.

THOMAS ENQVIST: To watch?

THOMAS ENQVIST: I think all the players who are here, I mean, are very exciting to watch. The best players in the world are here and if you -- I mean, if you are that high ranked you obviously have something special. It depends. One of the players I like to watch is Michael Chang. I mean, he has always good matches. He give 100% always and he is running up amazing balls and then you can watch Pete Sampras, he looks like so simple when he can play. He can just go out and play well against anybody. It depends. I think every player here is exciting to watch.

THOMAS ENQVIST: It is very important. I think in every sport, football team or whatever, individual sport, if you have one really good player. I mean, that kids kind of look up to and read in the papers; kids look up to watch on TV.

THOMAS ENQVIST: No. I think it is looking pretty good for Swedish players. We have a lot of young players coming up and doing well. I mean, one of them is Magnus Larsson who had been injured for a while, he is coming back and we have a lot of others, young ones, I think can be really good and hopefully we are going to do well next year.

THOMAS ENQVIST: It is hard to say. You are right what you say - you don't have to be a good professional, if you are good juniors, big difference between junior and professional. I have been working very hard and yeah, hard to say, you have to work hard and you have to be -- I mean, professional, and you have to -- I don't know what to say.

THOMAS ENQVIST: No, I think you have to believe in yourself that you can do it and I can't say that I am surprised, but I have never thought that I could be top 50 or top 100 or top 10. I just try to improve. I try to be as good as possible; never put any ranking goals. But you have to believe in yourself and believe that you are going to do well.

THOMAS ENQVIST: Obviously, I have been improving in my game too. I think the big key is that I played a lot of matches this year and I competed against the best players in the world and you learn a lot from them and you learn a lot to play them, I think, and the big key is that I have been playing a lot of matches this year and I have been having some success and your confidence is rising and I think that is a very important thing. If you are young and try to get up, it is important to play a lot of matches and I have done that this year.

THOMAS ENQVIST: Well, a lot of things. We have been working a lot on how to play the points and mentally, thinking on the court. We have been working now for three years, so we like each other and we have a good relationship.

THOMAS ENQVIST: No.

THOMAS ENQVIST: I think-- I mean, every tennis player knows that it is so many good players out on the Tour and I mean, you feel that when you play sometimes you play a guy ranked 70 or 150 and you feel that you can play all right and still lose. So you have to go out on the court and really concentrate on every game and try 100% otherwise. I mean, you are going to get beat, I think. But I think everybody -- if you ask all the tennis players, I think they know that that so many good players out there, but then you think that some players you know suit your game a little bit more than others, but you have respect, I think, for all of them.

THOMAS ENQVIST: No. I don't. I haven't thought about that at all actually. Like I said, I am just so excited to be here and it is a lot of fun. It is also, I think, good for my tennis to be here and compete with the best players in the world. I am going to learn a lot from this week.

THOMAS ENQVIST: Well, I don't know.

THOMAS ENQVIST: When I play this good I promise you I am never going to say a word on the court. I mean, sometimes you lose your temper, and -- but it is one of the things that we have been working on pretty much to try to think more positive on the court even the matches you don't hit the ball like you do today and win matches even if you don't play 100%.

THOMAS ENQVIST: I listen to a lot of music.

THOMAS ENQVIST: U 2 is one of my favorite bands and listen a lot to Pearl Jam and yeah, I listen to a lot -- a lot of music. U 2 is one of my favorites.

THOMAS ENQVIST: Action movies, no particular.

THOMAS ENQVIST: A little bit. But nothing particular.

THOMAS ENQVIST: Yeah. I follow soccer, and ice hockey. Ice hockey is one of my favorite sports I follow that really closely.

THOMAS ENQVIST: I played innebandy. It is on skates, but it is no puck, if you know what I mean.

THOMAS ENQVIST: Well, I think one of the toughest things to do is to maybe my next year to defend all my points and to try to stay up where I am, and I think I mean, it is not easy, but it is easier to be a top 10 player than it is to stay there. I think next year is going to be very tough for me and I really have to work hard to hopefully continue to play good and to stay where I am.

THOMAS ENQVIST: You mean what surface I like best?

THOMAS ENQVIST: This is one of my favorites surfaces, I think, indoor tennis and I like hard court. Hard court and indoor I like best, I think, and grass is probably my worst.

THOMAS ENQVIST: Yeah, I haven't been playing on it too much and like you say, I don't play that much serve and volley and I have pretty long swings in my groundstrokes and it is hard to play my game on grass.

THOMAS ENQVIST: Clay, I mean, I should be doing pretty well on it, I think I have a pretty good clay court game. Haven't been doing that well as a professional on clay, but hopefully I am going to improve there and hopefully I am going to do well.