TMS - THE ERICSSON OPEN

March 31, 2000

Andre Agassi

ATP: Questions.

ANDRE AGASSI: You know, felt somewhat still beat up from three days in a row that I played in the sun. Body took a bit of a pounding in my last match. I sprained my ligament in the last one, a mild sprain, against Tim. The problem was just my leg was cramping against him, so I wasn't quite aware of the damage to the ligament. I had my calf and whole side of my leg in cramps. I just recovered yesterday. I didn't move around a lot. Kind of surprised me how it felt right from the get. Then pushing off was a big problem. It was getting worse quickly. Then I started really worrying about damage. I knew the only chance I had was just to tape it up. But it wasn't good.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah. I mean, you have no choice really. I mean, it's not a good way for the event to end for me. You know, I was starting to feel better about my game. When you can't move out there in windy conditions, the ball's up and down, you can't even feel good about the way you're striking the ball. It just was, you know, a bad day. Hopefully in a few days it will be stable again and I'll be able to get back out there.

ANDRE AGASSI: Come on. Who the heck knows. You have no chance when you can't -- you have to feel perfect to have a chance out there, you know.

ANDRE AGASSI: I was only thinking about myself out there, to be quite honest.

ANDRE AGASSI: No.

ANDRE AGASSI: No. I mean, you know, you can hope for miracles, but I felt like there was nothing I was able to do from the ground that was going to make an impression on him. I would have had to have hoped that he kind of gave it away a little bit. But he's playing too solid for that. I wasn't pushing off. I wasn't on the serve. I wasn't moving on my own groundies. It's not a fun experience.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, I mean, we just had it looked at more thoroughly. You know, I think it will be all right for that. You know, worst case, maybe even have it taped when I'm playing. But I should be all right for that. Probably take three or four days before I can really move a hundred percent on it. It's still early in the week. I should be all right.

ANDRE AGASSI: That's right.

ANDRE AGASSI: Actually, surprisingly enough, I was a little deceived where the pain was coming from. My whole entire leg was hurting after playing Tim. I was cramping. I just kind of spent the whole day yesterday basically recovering. When I did have a hit, it was only straight back and forth; it wasn't much movement at all. I wasn't really even aware of any potential concern until I started really pushing off today. It was too late to certainly do anything about it. Probably would have been too late yesterday, as well. But it was a bit of a surprise because when I did do it against Tim, you know, I was still able to play. But I guess with the cramps and the fatigue and support, it wasn't there today. It was very weak and vulnerable to some potential damage, real damage.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, I think ultimately you have to kind of ask if you can go out there and give a good effort, you know. That's all you can do. It's not even about winning or losing at that point; it's about your responsibility to the tournament, to just giving it your best. You know, I probably would have gone out there a little more clear, you know, on a game plan, coming in a little bit more, maybe really ripping the ball and trying to keep the points extremely short. I probably would have played a little different tennis. But it caught me by surprise, and I didn't have much of a chance after that.

ANDRE AGASSI: You know, at that point I don't even feel like I was striking the ball well. I probably should have come in more, but, I mean, that's also beating waiting to happen.

ANDRE AGASSI: Doug and the other medical doctor in there, yeah.

ANDRE AGASSI: You know, everybody has the schedule of the tournament to deal with. You can make it a lot easier on yourself by not playing 2 hours and 40 minutes in the middle of the sun. I was pushing hard for a night match tonight, but didn't quite get it. You know, it certainly makes things more difficult. Again, we all have to deal with it. Sometimes it works out well, you know. Sometimes your schedule works out real well. Other times, it can add to the already fatiguing body. There's no question it was a big problem.

ANDRE AGASSI: Guga played well.

ANDRE AGASSI: You saw it out there.

ANDRE AGASSI: No. I mean, he won 3-1. He played well. He was good today. I mean, this isn't about, you know, excuses. I mean, the guy has been playing well. Gustavo has been playing well. He came in today, played solid. I had no ability to do anything about it today. I'm the one that struggled in my last match; wasn't quite up to a hundred percent.

ANDRE AGASSI: Coming along, you know. Never felt like I was hitting the ball great yet, but felt like I was in position to. Today would have been a good test for me because Gustavo is so solid from the baseline, it would have allowed me to really get into a groove with my groundies and given me the opportunity to take that next step in my game. But, you know, when you play Henman and Rafter, guys that don't give you much rhythm, get in, pressure you, it's hard to zero in a hundred percent on your shots. I felt good about where I was going into the match, definitely.

ANDRE AGASSI: It's going to be a real good one, real interesting. I think Pete is going to have to serve real well tonight because Hewitt will certainly put up some serious resistance. I mean, if you had to pick, I'd have to go with 12 Slams, but it's going to be interesting.

ANDRE AGASSI: No, no. Matter of fact, I've kind of been waiting for when he's going to do it. I've always felt good about him, liked his game, thought it was a matter of time.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, I'm going to kind of go home hopefully real soon here and find out how this is doing tomorrow, which will be a good indication of what my plans will be in the next couple days. But I can't imagine it would be more than about Monday probably.

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