Tennis Masters Cup 2001 Final - Sydney
Sebastien Grosjean v. Lleyton Hewitt
Result: 6-3 6-3 6-4 Hewitt
Sunday, 18 November 2001

Interview with Lleyton Hewitt

Q. Lleyton, do you think being number one intimidated your players yesterday and today, your opponents?

A. I don't know about that. You know, I just try to take as much confidence out there as possible and the way that I've been playing over the last few months my confidence is pretty much sky high.

Q. Did being number one help you today, do you think, and your frame of mind?

A. I don't know. In all the finals - I've played six finals this year and I won all six, so it's very hard to say if number one did much today. I felt like I played well, I got on top of him early, got up a few breaks and tried to put the accelerator on from there.

Q. No signs of that injury today. Did you feel completely100 per cent out there?

A. No, not 100 per cent, but it was a big step up from yesterday, that's for sure. I could tell in the warm up this morning when I hit up with Darren that the leg was going to hold up a lot better than yesterday. So I was feeling pretty confident that I was going to be able to go five sets at least.

Q. You were so convincing out there. Do you think it's some sort of psychological blow ahead of next week's Davis Cup final?

A. I don't think so. I feel - I feel good in myself, the way that I'm playing and the way that I'm handling everything at the moment but still, come Davis Cup time, it's a totally different situation. My record in Davis Cup is pretty good at the moment. I would like to keep it going.

Q. You didn't hit too many winners, but you hardly hit any unforced errors either, compared to Grosjean who had about 47 unforced errors. Consistent game all around for you?

A. Pretty similar match to yesterday. I felt like the big thing was going to be sort of the backhand, whose backhand was going to breakdown more, and I felt like my backhand held up reasonably well, both yesterday and today, and I think that was probably the main area. We both play pretty similar games, I would say. I served extremely well today as well which helped.

Q. Lleyton, could you just clarify the injury for me? I've heard various reports of hamstrings and groins, what's the actual injury?

A. It's just a bit of a strained hamstring, really. Don't know why. Don't know why it's feeling so much better today than yesterday, but it's a good sign for the Davis Cup.

Q. Congratulations. Many great champions got title Masters, for example, Stefan Edberg, Pete Sampras could you get the big confidence from this title?

A. For sure. You know, the players that I've beaten this week and the way that I've done it, not dropping a set since I lost my first set against Sebastien on the first night. I was pretty nervous going out the first time. When I settled in and started believing in myself and playing my game and I felt comfortable out there, I went out there and played some of my best tennis that I can play.

Q. Have you played much better than this in your life?

A. No, I've played some - over the last 12 months, I've played some great matches, no doubt about that. Yeah, the match against Agassi the other night was - I felt like I played pretty well, and Ferrero and Grosjean were pretty good matches the last two days. The way that I handled everything, I still think in Brazil, against Guga is probably - still number one.

Q. Before the US Open, what chance would you have given yourself of taking the triple crown: US Open, number one and the Tennis Masters Cup?

A. Not a lot. It's strange how things work out. I went back to a place - I wasn't hitting the ball as well as I would like to be sort of a week before the US Open, but I went back to a place where I had had pretty good success the year before and that gave me a little bit of confidence in myself as soon as I got there. I practised extremely hard the week before. I played practice sets against everyone. I got better and better as the week went on and that gave me a lot of confidence, and then going into the US Open, I felt like I got better and better and come semi and finals time, I played some of my best tennis.

Q. Sort of partly answers my question, but do you think there's some reason why you've gone on this amazing run of results? Incredible.

A. Not really, not that I know of. I felt that it wasn't too faraway breaking through in a big tournament, whether it was a Masters series or a Grand Slam, I wasn't really sure, but obviously the US Open gave me a lot of confidence going into the Davis Cup tie, I played some good matches there, then coming here I had a lot of confidence just the way that I've played in Australia in the past.

Q. Have you had your first drink yet?

A. I had a sip of champagne, that was all.

Q. What do you do with $3 million? That's a fair week's reward, isn't it?

A. It's not bad. Don't know what I'll do with that. Haven't got a house, haven't got a car. I don't know what I'll do.

Q. I'll take it. (John Thirsk).

A. You'll take it? Not the way you've been treating me.

Q. What plans do you have for your week off?

A. I'll take a couple of days off and then start practising on grass. The important thing I can't let it go to my head too much. I got to put my head down and try and finish off the year with a Davis Cup win. It would be a great way to finish the year for me. We're playing on a totally different surface, so the sooner I get on grass, the better.

Q. People today have been saying that by the time you're 25, you will be worth $200 million. What do you think of that?

A. I think they're dreaming. I don't know. I don't think anyone knows the expenses and the costs, the costs to travel around the world week in and week out.

Q. A lot of other stars that earn a lot of money have certain indulgences. Greg Norman with boats and golf courses and so on. Do you have any particular indulgences?

A. No, not really. I'm pretty basic. Don't do a lot, actually, apart from support the Adelaide Crows and play a bit of golf, that's about it.

Q. You won't be rewarding yourself, then?

A. No, I don't think so.

Q. After all the emphasis on you personally, the number one thing this week, do you look forward to being back in a team next week?

A. Yeah, it's going to be great. I love playing Davis Cup. I think - I keep saying about the football, but I grew up and I wanted to play football and that's a team sport and the only opportunity that I get to come together as a team and really show your colours in the locker room, just hang out with the boys, go to dinner, play golf together, is in Davis Cup, and that's why I love Davis Cup so much and I think that's one of the main reasons why I play so well in Davis Cup.

Q. When do you go to Melbourne?

A. Haven't even thought about it.

Q. You will stay here for a day or two, though?

A. Yeah, at least one, two days, maybe.

Q. You say this doesn't have much to do with what's going to happen in the Davis Cup, but with the confidence you've gained, what affect it will have on the French, just looking at you, the new number one, it can't hurt, can it?

A. Can't hurt, but Grosjean is going to be taking a lot of confidence in as well. I know that I've beaten him the last few times, but still he's a hell of a player and grass isn't his favourite surface, but he plays extremely well in Davis Cup for his country and I think he's going to perform pretty well. It's going to be an extremely tough tie to pick, I think.

Q. You love your team sports. What about Tuesday night, the Socceroos? Are you going to relax and watch them?

A. Yeah, if I'm in Melbourne, I will go. I'll just wait and see.

Q: What sort of inspiration do you think you might have provided them over the last week or so?

Don't know. I hope a lot because it's going to be good for those guys to get out there and have another chance, four years ago losing to Iran. I watched their match last week, I think, against France, the friendly, and they played pretty well. Unlucky not to get a penalty.

The Wallabies are pretty happy with you too. Eddie Jones was on the phone about an hour ago, saying at least he can give it back to the French because the Australian Rugby Union side lost to them.

A. Yeah, I saw that result this morning. I didn't want Grosjean to get too confident out there.

Q. Which match this week was most intimidating for you going into it?

A. Yeah, every match was a little bit different, I think. Grosjean was just the first match of the week, the start of the week, then Agassi, I knew that was a big match and he could still make it. Then Pat Rafter was, you know, playing for the number one spot. So every match has been a little bit different, but they've all been extremely tough.

Q. Who are some of the people you've heard from over the past few days since you got to number one? Have you heard from the Prime Minister, the pros, who have been in touch?

A. Yeah, I have received faxes from the Prime Minister. He's a great bloke. Who else? Just all the tennis players, you know, Stoltz, Scotty Draper, friends back in Adelaide, that's about it.

Q. I think on behalf of the media, we would like to thank you for all your efforts this week and congratulations. I don't think you have to skull it in one.

A. No, I won't be doing that.

Tennis Masters Cup 2001 - Sydney

Lleyton Hewitt v. Juan Carlos Ferrero

Result: 6-4 6-3 Hewitt

Saturday, 17 November 2001

Interview with Lleyton Hewitt

Q. Lleyton, you went out there as number one today. Did that give you a different feeling, a little bit of pressure to play like a number one, et cetera? How were you approaching it?

A. Not really. You know, I went out there and I knew I was going to have to play as well as I could play to beat him. He's been getting better and better each match and we play pretty similar games as well. I felt like I hit my backhand really well today and I think that was probably a bit of a telling factor out there.

Q. So how's the injury, the groin?

A. Yeah, it's not too bad, it's a little sore. Really didn't know if I was going to actually be able to play last night and this morning, but I went out there mainly for the crowd who had come to see me play and that and I was just going to take it by ear. You know, the way that I started feeling out there, during the warm up this morning with Darren, it felt pretty ordinary. You know, I didn't give myself that much of a chance of

finishing the match when I went on the court. I got out there and held my first few service games pretty well and just went out there and tried to play attacking tennis and I was able to do that and tried to forget about it and keep working and it obviously paid off.

Q. The obvious question is: what about tomorrow, then? A. See what happens. It's going to be the same drill.

Q. Can you be specific on how it hurts and when it hurts?

A. No, you're not getting that out of me, mate.

Q. Pat Rafter yesterday gave you a free character analysis, calling you a "stubborn little mongrel"?

A. That's nice.

Q. What did you think of that assessment?

A. Yeah, it's nice. I'm sure he was joking.

Q. Was it a fair assessment?

A. I don't know. If that's how he feels, that's how he feels. He's obviously been a great bloke to me. So I wouldn't say that about him.

Q. He said he didn't have any direct advice for you, but would you say you've learnt some things from him over the years?

A. For sure. You know, as I said yesterday, you know, there's very - there's only a few people in the tennis world who have really been able to help me along the way and he's up there at the top of the tree, that's for sure. Guys like, obviously, Darren, Peter Smith, my first coach, Newcombe and Roche, but Pat probably is the only present player who has helped me the most, that's for sure. I couldn't have a much better role model. For me, coming - as I said yesterday, the way that the Davis - the first Davis Cup match that I ever saw him play live was against Pioline, that match, and that really - the way that he took me under his wing after the match. We went down the beach for him to recover and for him to do that with a 14, 15 year old kid, at the time, he's a special guy.

Q. Having already beaten Grosjean on Monday, can you talk about, is it difficult to play the same opponent twice in the same week and how do you look at this final?

A. Yeah, it is difficult. Not too many weeks during the week that you get to play the same guy twice, especially after you've beaten him. It's a tough situation, but it's different and that's why it makes this tournament so unique, that two guys in the same group can still get through to the final and meet each other. We played a tough match on Monday. He was probably a little bit jet-lagged and a little bit down after such a tough week in Paris the week before and he's got better and better as the tournament has gone on, so I'm going to have to play even better than I did Monday night if I'm going to win tomorrow.

Q. When do you get to celebrate with Kim?

A. I don't know. I'll celebrate a little bit after I win here, you know, see what happens tomorrow. If I win or lose, it's no big deal. For me, to win my first Grand Slam this year and to also finish as the world number one and give myself a chance of winning this championship and also giving myself a chance of winning the Davis Cup. If I win here and win the Davis Cup, I couldn't want a much better year, but depending on what happens tomorrow, I'll probably have a few drinks.

Q. She's on a high too at the moment, isn't she?

A. Yeah, she won the Fed Cup, so she's doing all right for herself.

Q. Isn't tomorrow important, though, because it is a chance to score a pretty important psychological edge going into such a big final as that?

A. What, to the Davis Cup final?

Q. Yes.

A. Not really, not for me. It's a totally different surface. A lot of things are going to change come two weeks' time. You know, if we are playing, we're probably going to play in the fourth rubber in Melbourne in the Davis Cup. A lot's going to depend on who is 2-1 up at that stage, whichever team has the bigger edge at that time and whatever tomorrow is going to mean, like I thought Monday's match didn't really mean that much going into the Davis Cup.

Q. Coming back to the injury, when did it start and would you be ready to take a painkiller injection for the final or would you rather be careful for the final?

A. I strained it a little bit against Andre. I obviously had to do a lot of running out there against Andre. I had the day off. I thought it pulled up pretty well, didn't really feel a lot before the warm up when I had to play Pat. Didn't feel it at the start of the match against Pat. Twinged it halfway through the match against Pat, just a little bit, and gradually got worse and worse and I actually hurt it more serving for the match against Pat in the last match. No, I wouldn't take an injection before tomorrow's match. If it doesn't come up right, then it doesn't come up right. I can't do much about that. I'm going to give myself every opportunity with treatment and stuff over the next - what have I got - 18 hours or whatever, before the match. But until that time, I'm just going to give myself every chance to go out there and be 100 per cent. There's a good chance that I'm not going to be 100 per cent, but I'm just going to have to try to fight through it.

Q. When you woke up, did you immediately think, "I'm number one" this morning?

A. Not really. I woke up at 10.30 and I couldn't believe it. You know, hadn't been sleeping that well all the nights during this tournament and then last night, I slept pretty well, so I was pretty happy.

Q. Did Kim call you to congratulate you?

A. Yeah, I spoke to her. Yeah, that was all right. She was pretty happy.

Q. Lleyton, we've lost Pat to Bermuda. How much longer before you decide Australia is too far away when you're on tour?

A. I don't know. I like coming back and watching the footy, even though I only saw one match this year. Who knows? At the moment, Australia is the right place for me to come back. Whether down the track another option pops up, who knows. But at the moment, I still enjoy coming home. I still enjoy coming back and putting my feet up at home and, you know, there's no place for me than coming back to Australia, that's for sure.

Q. A lot has been written about you wearing your cap backwards. Is there really a significance to that? Are you superstitious?

A. Not really, no. I wore it the first time I played in the satellites. I wore it backwards when I felt like it and if the sun was out, I wore it forwards. With that first win against Scott Draper in the first Adelaide tournament, I only wore it backwards that night because I was playing at night under lights. I didn't have sun to worry about. From then on, I just kept doing it through the tournament and I won that tournament. I kept doing it and it feels all right to me.

Q. Are you superstitious?

A. I wouldn't say superstitious. As you saw in Boston, when it was bloody hot, 45 degrees there, I couldn't see into the sun, I had to put it forward. So there are occasions when I do turn it around.

Q. Lleyton, when Ferrero was in here for his press conference, somebody asked him for a tip for tomorrow and he said given your injury and the fact that tomorrow's game goes for five sets, he stuck with Sebastien. Is your injury a concern, considering the game is five sets tomorrow?

A. Probably, maybe a little bit more than if it was three sets, but not a lot, I don't think. If I get myself into the match, it's not going to be a big difference whether it's three or five sets. My stamina is still going to be the same and if the injury does hold up over three sets, I think it can probably hold up over five as well.

Q. You said yesterday you had lived your dream. Are there more dreams?

A. Yeah, go and play footy. Might put myself in the draft. Sounds pretty good to me.

Q. What is the next dream?

A. Play footy.

Q. In tennis?

A. Tennis, I don't know. Haven't had enough time to think about it. Obviously the next one is to try and win the Davis Cup. It hurt a lot last year losing in the final. For what our team has been through this year, obviously what we did in Brazil in the last time against Sweden, against an extremely tough team, it would be nice to finish on a high, winning the Davis Cup. So at the moment that's the next goal.

A. Yes, unbelievable feeling. Definitely hasn't sunk in just yet. It's a little bit like winning the Open, I suppose, and it's a new experience and you've never experienced something like this before. It's strange doing it in the middle of a tournament as well. You know, normally you don't have to worry about coming back and playing the next day. So, you know, I came here with the goal that I was probably going to have to win it if I was going to have number one and couldn't have worked it any better, I think, the way that every match went. I probably couldn't have asked for any better. So, you know, it was nice that it happened tonight. It was also pretty tough having to play against a good mate as well.

A. I gagged a little bit on the first few, went for a big second serve and then hit a short forehand into the top of the net. It was tough. I just want to try and finish it off as quickly as possible and really just try and savour the moment.

A. Yeah, it's going be a lot tougher, that's for sure. As I said, you know, it's not every week that you go through an experience, a high in your career in the middle of a tournament. So if I come down to earth and I play a good match tomorrow, then it will be great. If not, so be it. I've got a big Davis Cup match in a few weeks' time. So for me now, that's the big one.

A. Winning a US Open, finishing the year number one and winning a Davis Cup, sounds pretty good to me.

Q. I guess it's something being world number one that you would have dreamt of as a young kid. What's the feeling like now, the fact that you're made it, and at such a young age?

A. As I said, it hasn't really sunk in yet, but it's something, when I knew that I had to go out there and win tonight because Guga lost earlier today, I started thinking about it a little bit more, just because, you know, when I first picked up a tennis racket and you watched so many of the great players on TV back then, one day you wish that you can win a Grand Slam or you can be number one in the world. They're two dreams that when you're very young and running around on a tennis court, that's all you want to do. I started thinking about when I was in the 14 and under nationals, the 16s, the 18 and under nationals, my whole goal back then or my dreams back then was to some day be in this position, playing for this match. To now have it out the way and say you've been world number one and you've won a Grand Slam, now I can retire with Pat now.

A. I don't think so. I don't think probably anyone thought that. I have said to everyone during the US Open and I'm going to say it again, but Darren and I were working on my game for another three or four years down the track that I would be playing my best tennis on all surfaces and being a threat to be able to win slams and finish the year at one. I think it's come as a shock to most of us.

Q. You just mentioned you might retire very quickly now? Seriously, what do you think are your goals now that you have achieved those dreams you were talking about, being number one and winning a slam?

A. Go and play footy. It's good. I get a second job. I don't know. I haven't even had time to think about it. Obviously, the next few weeks, the Davis Cup is the big thing for me. As I said before, it'd top off a year. Next year, obviously the slams are the big things now for me. I'm going to put more emphasis on the slams and not so much on the smaller tournaments, as I have been trying to do more and more over the last two years, sort of that transition. So hopefully I haven't quite found my right rhythm to do well at the Australian Open to get into that second week and be strong there, but hopefully this year I might find it or next year.

Q. Can you just give us a little sense of what the atmosphere was like out there? From the side, it seemed slightly strange, to say the least?

A. Yeah, it's weird. Obviously it's weird in one way because you're playing a guy who I'm so close to and a guy that I probably, without his help, I may not be out there playing that kind of match for the number one player in the world. It really is a tough situation to be playing your idol, the guy who really made me want to play Davis Cup for Australia. Seeing that first live match against France in White City against Pioline gave me that motivation, that desire to be out here today and be playing Davis Cup. Obviously with the crowd and that, it was unbelievable feeling. You could probably tell, it's tough, who knows if that was going to be Pat's last match in an actual tournament instead of Davis Cup. Who knows? It's an extremely tough situation. But the atmosphere and the crowd turn out was great.

Q. I know it's a question that's always asked, but can you remember exactly what he said when you met at the net at the end?

A. He just said, well done, mate, and you thoroughly deserve it. I really couldn't hear much. It was so loud and people were running out to me. So it was strange.

Q. I know it's only early days, you've only been world number one for an hour or so, but a few players have said that your kind of style of tennis could mean that you could possibly burn out. When you say about cutting down your schedule, is that something that you're acknowledging as well?

A. If I burn out, I burn out. It doesn't really worry me now. You know, I just think, for me, I've got to work on my errors. As a 16 year old coming up, you wanted to try and dominate week in and week out. It's extremely tough to do that. Winning tournaments like Adelaide and Sydney back to back and then going in the Australian Open wasn't the best preparation for me going into the Australian Open, and that's why I've got to start looking at what is the best preparation for me going into the slams. Obviously the US Open, the last two years when I've had my best results, I've taken a week off before I went to Flushing Meadows and I've had time to recover and get the body right, ready to last seven best of five set matches. I felt like I had some tough matches, some long matches in the US Open, but I was still able to bounce back in the quarter, semi-final, I was feeling pretty fresh. So I think if I handle my schedule the way that I should, obviously the big markings are the Davis Cup and the Grand Slams and then I will work everything else around that.

Q. Just on that, a lot of people have compared you with Michael Chang physically and the way you play as well. He had probably quite a very successful career, but perhaps a little protracted as well. Is longevity in the game something that's really a major issue for you in terms of Grand Slam results, trying to emulate someone like, say, Sampras in terms of Grand Slam achievements?

A. It's hard to say. I would love to win some more, that's for sure. But looking at trying to do what Sampras has done, it's a long way. He had to win 13 Grand Slams. It's a big ask. I'll just take it one slam at a time. I feel like I'm getting better and better on all surfaces. In the next few years, I feel like I'm going to be a threat at all Grand Slams. At the moment, I probably still feel like my major slams are obviously the US Open and probably the Australian Open, but I feel like I'm getting better and better on the other slams. but whether I'll be around here in 10 years' time, who knows?

A. Who knows? I'm 20. I've only been on the tour for a couple of years. I'm still a baby.

Q. Lleyton, you're number one now. You have to play the Davis Cup in a couple of weeks. Do you think that's going to be your bigger achievement this year if you win it?

A. It's up there. It's very hard to split becoming world number one, winning your first Grand Slam and winning the Davis Cup. It's a good trifecta to have. I love playing Davis Cup. For me, I've only been in it for - this is my third year and to me three finals in a row, it doesn't get much better. I want to go out there and I'm going to give everything I've got again and I think we've got the team to get over the line. It's very hard to split those three things up, those three achievements, especially in my first time at number one, my first time winning a slam.

Q. We know you played in Nice two years ago, but the fact you didn't win a singles point there, has that been something that's driven you on personally in the past couple of years and now you're so close to having another chance?

A. Not really. I felt like I played a major part in winning the Davis Cup in '99. There's no doubt about that. Obviously, I think the way that we all stood up when people got injured, when our best players got injured, and Wayne and I in Brisbane was the classic example. Last year, you know, one of those matches in Nice was a dead rubber anyway. It's very tough to get up for those matches after you're already got the gold around your neck. I still feel that the desire is there, even in first round ties in Davis Cup. The second round in Brazil, stuff like that. I don't think me personally losing, didn't put any more desire to go out there to win any more Davis Cup matches. Obviously I've got a pretty good record in Davis Cup, but I felt like I gave everything I had in that match against Pioline. He was just too good in Nice.

A. No, I haven't spoken to her, actually. I haven't spoken to anyone. My mate is holding my phone, so he's had all the calls. I've just been getting some treatment.

Q. You're the number one in the world. What makes you the number one in the world? What is it?

A. I don't know. I've been pretty consistent all year with my results. Want to make five semis in the Masters series and now at least another semi here.

A. Being very mentally tough, I think. That's probably my main strength. My quickness around the court. My movement out there. My self belief. My inner self belief out there that I feel that I'm able to match it with any guy on any surface at the moment. It's a nice thing to have in your corner.

Tennis Masters Cup 2001 - Sydney
Lleyton Hewitt v. Andre Agassi
Result: 6-3 6-4 Hewitt
Wednesday, 14 November 2001

Interview with Lleyton Hewitt

Q. How does that win rank for you?
A. It's up there. You know, I felt, I don't know what it looked like from the
sidelines, but it felt pretty good tennis out there tonight. I thought he was
hitting the ball extremely clean right from the start. I didn't quite have my
game right on range at the start, but I think that was due to him being
pretty aggressive and not making any errors, felt like every ball he was
hitting in the middle of the racket and I was under pressure running around
and then I started to find my range and I got back in the match and I was
pretty beat to break back early in the first set.

Q. You mention on court you seem a little sick of the talk of number one.
A. So you're going to bring it up?

Q. Absolutely.
A. Beauty, thank you.

Q. Is it something that you're trying to block out of your mind or is it
something you're just not thinking about?
A. I'm not thinking about it. As I keep saying, if it happens, it happens.
I've still got a lot of time. I've hopefully got a lot of years ahead of me
for it to happen anyway if it didn't for some reason. What I've done over the
last three or four months has been incredible and if I finish the year number
two or three and win a Grand Slam and hopefully win the Davis Cup, I'll take
that any day. It definitely would be a great way to finish off the year,
though, there's no doubt about that.

Q. Andre said he felt your games didn't particularly measure up well. He felt
perhaps you would prefer to play a player who gave you a bit more of a target
than he does and that's why he felt he didn't play particularly well, though
most of us here felt he played pretty well. Do you agree that perhaps you and
he don't quite mix it as well as you do against other players?
A. I thought I hit the ball bloody well out there tonight. Yeah, there's no
doubt that it's a different match up playing him, whereas playing a guy like
Sampras or Rafter, where you're going to get some cheaper points off your
service games, but then on their service games, you're going to have to make
a lot more returns than against Andre because those guys have got a lot
bigger serve and they're serve volleying as well, so it's a totally different
game. For me, my results against those kinds of players, the baseliners and
the serve volleyers in the past have been pretty good against both of them
and I've also lost to some of the top guys in both categories. For me it's
not a huge difference.

Q. Can you remember much about your match in Adelaide against him in '98?
A. Yeah, would you believe - you wouldn't believe after watching tonight's
match that back then, when I was 16, there wasn't one break of serve in two
sets. So that's quite scary when you look at it now, considering that, in my
opinion, he's the best returner in the game and for me, my return of serve is
probably one of my main strengths. So it is quite scary that three years ago,
three or four years ago, that I didn't break serve.

Q. I just wondered - that's interesting - what you felt about actually
playing him, at 16?
A. I was obviously pretty young and didn't - I went out there with nothing to
lose and everything to gain and I was obviously shitting myself going out
there playing Andre Agassi, even though he needed a wild card into that event
the same as me, but he was still Andre Agassi and had won Grand Slams and
been at the top of the tennis world. Tonight it's a totally different
situation. I think both of us are playing a lot better out there tonight than
we played in Adelaide four years ago.

Q. You mentioned Agassi being one of the greatest returners in the game. So
you must be pretty pleased to serve three aces in a row against him tonight?
A. It's big. I've been doing a lot of weights, so it's good.

Q. How long did you have his poster on your wall?
A. I don't know when I first got it. I had a few. I had Andre Agassi's Rock
'n Roll Tennis Camp, or something it was called. It was back when he was
wearing the bike pants under his shorts, so that was a while ago and I had
Stefan Edberg's poster around the place as well. Since I basically started
playing tennis, really.

Q. When did it come down?
A. I've got a feeling one of them's still up in the garage, really do. I'm
pretty sure one of them's still up in the garage.

Q. You've mentioned that your health isn't the best. When you get out there
for a big match like that, does it become mind over matter?
A. You know, there's times after some long points that I'm struggling to suck
it in and just got to take my time and take as much time as I'm allowed out
there and really try and suck it in, get my breath back and get ready for the
next point. Playing a guy like Andre, even Grosjean where the points are a
bit longer, it's been tough the last few days for me. It's something I just
try and push through, though. I've had to put up with it for over a year now,
so I'm trying to deal with as well as possible.

Q. Can you tell us what Andre said at the net at the end?
A. He just said good match and good luck.

Q. With all these big events at the end of the year, do you feel like a uni
kid cramming for exams at the end of the year?
A. I don't know. I would rather be doing what I'm doing, though. You know,
it's obviously a big time of the year and I've played a lot of matches this
year as well, so it gets both mentally and physically draining at the end of
the year and it's great that this year they're at home as well. It's a lot
easier to get up for them. For me, though, to play in an event like this,
it's big and also the Davis Cup final, it doesn't get much bigger than that.
So for me, this year, even though I've started to feel a little bit tired, I
was dragging the chain a little bit in Paris and I think it was pretty good
that I probably did lose early there in the end because I at least got 10 to
12 days where I didn't have to go full out coming into this event.

Q. You've got Pat next. Are you looking forward to that?
A. You can never look forward to it. We're good mates and, yeah, you've just
got to leave that on the side and go out there and play hard and be good
mates afterwards because we've got a huge Davis Cup tie coming up and we both
know that and that's been our goal the whole year round. Originally both our
goals, I know when I've spoken to him, was just for both of us to make the
Masters Cup here, but our real big goal was to win the Davis Cup, so we won't
be letting anything on the court hamper us in the Davis Cup final.

Q. There's a lot of money on the table. Is he open for bribes?
A. I don't think so. We'll go out there and play hard and hopefully - it's a
big match for me to go out there and hopefully I can go 3-0 and really put a
stamp on the number one position in my group and make sure that I'm through
to the semifinals. You know, who knows? There's still probably a chance I can
still miss out on the semifinals if everything mixes the wrong way. So I'll
be going hard.

Q. Lleyton, your games and your skills between the two of you looked very
similar out they're tonight and you beat him at his own game when he was in
pretty good form. Does that send a message to you that, in your future, you
can emulate him by winning Grand Slams on all the surfaces?
A. Yeah, I hope so. That's for sure. He's been great on every surface. I
think back - I'm not sure - '91 maybe he won his first Wimbledon. When he did
- '92. When he won that, you probably wouldn't have picked that his first
Grand Slam title was going to be on grass. I've had good results on all
surfaces. Him and Michael Chang when I was growing up were probably the guys
that I looked up to with my game because I knew I wasn't going to be the
biggest guy around. I had to move extremely quick and I had to have good
returns like those guys did. It definitely gives me confidence for the future
that guys who aren't as big and don't have the biggest games and serves
around are still able to match it with the best players on all surfaces. You
look at Andre on grass, which is probably not his favorite surface, but you
look at him on grass last two years and he's made two semifinals at Wimbledon
and come bloody close to beating Pat on both occasions.

Q. Lleyton, an observation I made is early in the first set, you let out your
first "come on" when you broke back and in the second set, you were fairly
emotionless. Was this a sign of confidence? Did you think you pretty much had
him rattled after you got to a couple of breaks up in the second set?
A. No, not at all. Andre's got such a presence out there. He believes,
doesn't matter what situation it is out there, that he can come back and I
know that out there. He was going hard and you can tell by the last game, I
was 15-40 down in that game as well and even the second game when I was a set
and a break up in the second set and I was 40-0 up that game, he kept
fighting. He wasn't going to give me a cheap game there. So you can never
take your foot off the pedal against Andre out there. Maybe I still felt like
I was pretty pumped up, pretty charged up in the second set as well.

Q. Do you think you're developing a presence out there?
A. Don't know. You'll have to ask the other players. I feel pretty good
within myself.

Q. Sorry to bring this up again, but if you could choose to finish the year
number one or winning this tournament here, what would you take?
A. Tough call. Well, can't I have both? I don't know. You have to give me
time. I'll tell you next time. I would probably say number one, just because
you won a Grand Slam and, you know, to finish number one I think would be a
great feeling to finish the year, but you know also I'd like to win another
big event as well for myself.

A. Yeah, it was good. I got better and better as the match went on. I started a bit shaky, a few nerves out there, I think. Playing in such a big event in your home country, you know, I just didn't have that confidence right from the start on my groundies and got better and better as the match went on and after I lost the first set, normally in big matches, Grand Slams, Davis Cup, et cetera, you get best of five sets, so it doesn't matter that much on the first set, but today I got a bit of a slow start and I thought second set I could have been in trouble.

Q. How did you find the crowd out there? It probably wasn't as full as you may have expected with two Aussies in action on the opening night?

A. It's pretty good. A huge crowd and a huge stadium as well, so it's going to be pretty hard to fill, I think, on a Monday night, but what I hear, the ticket sales have gone pretty well and that's good for tennis and it's good for especially Australian tennis that both Pat and myself were able to make it here.

Q. From memory, I think you won your first match at the Masters Cup last year and then went out by not winning your last two, so there's obviously a long way to go?

A. There is, there's no doubt about that. You can potentially win two matches and still miss out if everything goes the wrong way. So you've got to go out there with the attitude to win every match and give 100 per cent in every match and that's what I'm here to do. So far so good.

Q. Did you learn anything tonight that might prove handy to know in the Davis Cup final?

A. Not really. Best of five sets as I said in Davis Cup and going to be on grass, so going to be a totally different situation. Whether he's going to be down on a little bit more confidence if Pat can beat him as well, who knows, but he's - whether he's a little bit tired tonight or not, you know, after a big week in Paris last week, took a lot out of him, I don't know.

Q. Did you make a conscious effort to be more aggressive at the start of the second set, get in a bit more?

A. Yeah, a little bit. He's extremely quick around the court as well, so it's hard to sneak in now and then. I tried to come in a little bit more on his backhand and I can see he took a racket - a hand off the racket over on that side and he was trying to go for the slice and that makes it a lot easier to put that volley away. I felt like I came in on some big points at the right time, he still hit unbelievable backhand passes past me and that knocks your confidence now and then, but I hung in there and I kept doing it and I was able to, you know, get on to his serve a bit better in the second and third set. I think that was the difference.