GREAT AMERICAN INSURANCE ATP CHAMPIONSHIP

August 8, 1997

Gustavo Kuerten

MIKI SINGH: First question for Guga.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: I think it was -- it wasn't a good day for me. I didn't play too good. He was pretty solid and he saw that I wasn't hitting so good the ball, so he never make any mistake. And every ball he was fighting a lot, maybe because he lost the last match. And some days it's like this. I couldn't play my best. I think I didn't feel the ball so well. So I just lost control of the match. He start to make my run, my ball was going too short. A lot different for me today.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Yeah. I was trying to sometime -- just trying to do my game and I was making a lot of mistakes. I tried to put more balls on the court, but my balls still not making any thing in his game. So he was controlling. Make me move all the time. And well, I just tried to play, but I couldn't feel so good. Not myself, but I couldn't feel my shots so good. And just I'm thinking maybe that I need to play better.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Well, just in the match. I just start to miss some balls in the beginning. Maybe I lost some confidence there. But during the day I was -- normally I practice, warm up pretty good. But no, it wasn't any problem. Just there on the court, I did not play so good and he's an excellent player for -- I cannot play my best against him.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: No. Just -- well, if he wasn't playing so strong and he was just put the ball wherever he want, so I really had to run them off. I didn't -- well I tried to come back for the match every time, but he didn't give me any chance. And I just went -- it wasn't my day. I think I played pretty well. But physically, mentally I was -- just trying to win all the time, but I couldn't.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: I feel that -- I mean every match is different than the others. So you are just playing his game. He was playing pretty good today, and last time was different situation Montreal was on another court. I was playing in a good day. So things like this, I'm going to play -- I hope I'm going to play him many times. And just the day that I hit the ball well and played pretty good I can beat him. Like I did before, but I know if I don't play too good and I don't maybe play better than I play normally, it's tough to beat him. He's No. 2 in the world, so it's a big challenge to play him.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Yeah. Looking on the week for me, it was great for me to come here. After one final day in Montreal, I hadn't had a match on hardcourt. And this two weeks, for me, it's just great to play two Super 9s, one final and one quarterfinal. It's good I'm improving my rankings. Everything was great except today.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Yeah. They support me a lot, but I couldn't give them.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Yeah. Feeling much better. I always think that I could play well on this court, but I just don't play too much already, so I still have to play more match. But I'm feeling better and better. So I'm thinking I'm the right way practice a lot and play good games. So I hope to maybe one day play like Chang.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: I think just couldn't do my shots. I tried a lot of things and maybe tried to play more balls and I had to run a little bit more. But it's tough to play like that. I was playing different, and if I can go to the court and play the shots that I practice and I've done in all the match before, I was doing much better. The shots that I didn't do today, so that was different for me. But I think there wasn't one thing important, like one serve or one ball especially in the game today that was special.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Yes.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: And then I go to Long Island.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Probably here. Don't know why yet, I don't know where yet. But the probably going close to Long Island and stay there close to the beach. It will be pretty fun, I hope.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Not mine, but I hope to find some there.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: Yeah hurricanes maybe. They say they come there.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: No.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN: First time for a hurricane.