GREAT AMERICAN INSURANCE ATP CHAMPIONSHIP

August 7, 1996

Cristiano Caratti

CRISTIANO CARATTI: Well, almost every day the same. It is very hot. The problem maybe is that I play qualification and I have three matches more than him. Anyway, I think I tried to do my best and it is difficult in these kind of conditions.

CRISTIANO CARATTI: Until that moment I was feeling tired, but then I just was thinking, okay, that is it, I am just trying to play my best and tried to keep working on the return and the serve, that is it. I was feeling better at the end. But, you know, it is up and down. It can happen that you feel good and after two, three games, you feel very bad, because it is very, very hot and humid.

CRISTIANO CARATTI: No, I didn't see him -- I didn't know if he was more tired than me. I was just thinking about trying to push and trying to take it all for my best. I am sure that he was tired because everybody gets tired with this weather.

CRISTIANO CARATTI: They know more him than me, I suppose. It is okay. The crowd was good. It is normal that this happen and -- I am happy about that.

CRISTIANO CARATTI: No, you just try to hit well. You just try to drink a lot before the match and drink during the match; take some minerals, but when you are out there you have to play every point because it is very tough and very competitive, the match, now, against everybody, so you cannot just save the energy for some points or some of the others.

CRISTIANO CARATTI: Yes. I was already in that kind of position. I played two times against Connors, so that is the worst thing you can have happen to you. So, no, it is okay. I mean, I like the way that the American people support some players, like Connors or some other guys like Stefan today. It is bad when they start to say to you something bad, but this never happens in the States, so it is good.

CRISTIANO CARATTI: No. No. I never think about that. It is -- I was just trying to concentrate on the game. It is already very difficult to concentrate with this heat and against Stefan Edberg so if you already think about how the game is going, you don't think anymore about the people.

CRISTIANO CARATTI: Sometimes, yes. During the match was one of the things I think most.

CRISTIANO CARATTI: Stay in the swimming pool, maybe just relax with a Coke, cold Coke. But that is what I like to do. I like to compete and sometimes it happens that you have to play with these conditions.

CRISTIANO CARATTI: Well, it is difficult. You start with Washington. This year was okay, Washington, but normally the hottest tournament during the year, so you have to be in good shape and to be prepared to play all the summer in the States. Almost everywhere the summer is hot. Sometimes it gets very hot in the Australian Open, but I think the toughest here is in the States because every week is very tough.

CRISTIANO CARATTI: Yes. Sometimes happen. But you just got to try to do your best. Nothing you can do. You have to know that sometimes some balls you can't catch it because it is too hot.

CRISTIANO CARATTI: That is right. So you just have to know that before you get in on the court because if you try to push you harder and harder, and you try to think negative and say, okay, I can't get it and why I didn't get it, it is going to be tough because you put too much pressure on you. You just have to know that it happens, that sometimes the balls are easy, but you made some mistakes because it is too hot.

CRISTIANO CARATTI: Well, I think that players that are playing more with the physical power, you know, like Thomas Muster, that like to play a lot. He likes to play a lot. I think he likes to play with these conditions because he makes you run a lot of times before to win a point. So a kind of player like him can get good chance with these conditions. It is tough for them too, but about the game, the game is better for them.

CRISTIANO CARATTI: I like these kind of conditions, but if it's if it's cold sometimes it is better.

CRISTIANO CARATTI: Well, it is very good to beat a player like Stefan in a -- tournament in a big tournament like this one. I already beat some other players with a good ranking, so I don't think -- I am confident. I am happy about that, but I am trying to get concentrate on the game; not on the guy that you beat because when I play qualification I was down 6-1, 5-All, 15-40 and in the last round. I think now everybody play very good, so you just have to be focused and try to play your game. Sometimes it is good. Sometimes it is bad. That is the way.

CRISTIANO CARATTI: He is going to be tough. I don't want to think about that now. I think I am too tired.

CRISTIANO CARATTI: What, sorry?

CRISTIANO CARATTI: Yes, I am going to play Indianapolis and then I think I am in qualification at the U.S. Open, so I don't think I can play Long Island because the week of Long Island, the qualification starts in U.S. Open. For tomorrow's match, Chang is going to be one of the players that likes maybe the heat because he makes you play a lot of balls, so we will see. It is going to be a tough match, for sure.

CRISTIANO CARATTI: Well, that that is the way of the game. When we get in on the court we were me and him and we try both we try to beat the other one. I think he was one of the best competitors in tennis, ever, so I don't think that if he lose against me something going to change for him. So he knows that when he gets on the court and he tries to play against everybody, he can win and he can lose. That is the game.

End of FastScripts….