NEWSWEEK CHAMPIONS CUP

March 8, 1995

Carlos Costa

Q. How big is this win for you?

CARLOS COSTA: Well, I think it is very good because when I lost against Jim in Rome two years ago in final I was -- I think I played very much like he played better than me and when you lose like this, you want to play -- you wish to play against Courier another time because you want to beat him. And I think I played a great match today and beat Courier here in USA is not easy and I am very happy for that.

Q. Was your strategy against him to stay back and wait for him to make mistakes?

CARLOS COSTA: Yeah. The first one was try to win all my service games and just wait and he play with his forehand, wait for his mistake, yeah, because I can do nothing more against him because he is all the time hitting the ball so hard and it is difficult for me because I am playing like on clay court all the time. Topspin is difficult to hit more than him.

Q. What did you do to get ready for this tournament? Your serve seems a lot bigger than it has been.

CARLOS COSTA: Nothing special, just I just play two or three tournaments in indoor courts. I play Davis Cup and maybe when you playing hard courts, you improve a little bit; improve serve; when you go back to the clay court, you are always the same, but I don't know, I practice, practice and nothing special.

Q. At 4-3 how were you able to win that game?

CARLOS COSTA: 4-3 to 5-3?

Q. Yes.

CARLOS COSTA: I think he played all the time forehand, he mistake all the time forehand. He doesn't play. I just put the ball in and he all the time mistake, but I think it was the only game he played like this, but normally you have to run a lot.

Q. Could you feel him getting frustrated by that strategy? He got a code violation at that point.

CARLOS COSTA: No. Because it is a normal reaction. Sometimes the player reacts like that, but after a certain -- very fast he can recover. You start to play relaxed. He can recover really easily from it.

Q. I noticed you limping a little bit when you came in there. Did you stretch a muscle or --

CARLOS COSTA: When I fell down to the ball in the first set, over here (INDICATING LEFT ARM) and here (INDICATING RIGHT SHIN) now because it is cold, it is not the same. When you play, you are hot, warmed up and you are not feeling that.

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