PRESS CONFERENCE HELD AT HILTON HOTEL ON TUESDAY 9 JANUARY 2001

(Players introduced by Tim Watson)
(Colin Stubbs welcomes players)

QUESTION TIME:

STEPHANIE: Mr Rafter, who was your role model when you were younger?

A: First of all, it would have been Bjorn Borg and also John McEnroe. Pat Cash was great to watch. Boris Becker and then these guys. But I'm not allowed to have any more role models; my dad said I'm not allowed any more.

ANDREW: Mr Agassi, how did you get into tennis and were you good as a junior?

ANDRE: My dad started me in tennis and he started me as soon as I could walk basically, and my mum thought I was pretty good so, yeah, I did a lot of playing. Anything you work hard at you can become good at.

Q: Pat, how have you pulled up from the Davis Cup?

PAT:I had a couple of weeks off after the Davis Cup and had a great time on the beach and played a lot of golf and really just chilled out and then I just started hitting balls the end of December, enjoyed my Christmas and then went down to Sydney and hit some balls so back into it straightaway again, unfortunately, it's a very long year and it starts again now but it was a good break.

Q: No signs of cramping or anything else?

PAT: Thank you.

Q: How are you feeling, Pat? There was an article in the paper today saying you said you feel like you are hitting balls better this time of the year than usual.

PAT: Yeah, the year was long and I was always hitting balls last year so I didn't have much of a break and I just felt like I have continued on hitting the ball pretty well; I was hitting the ball pretty well in Spain as well so I was happy with that. Would have been nice if I played a match there. But, yeah, hitting the ball well but hitting the ball and playing the match are two different things so I have got to go out there and try and play well.

Q: Pat, often you like to play a few tournaments before a Grand Slam and obviously you will be playing this week but nothing else. Do you think that will affect you for the Australian Open?

PAT:It is hard to say, I really don't know. I do like to play a lot of tournaments but, as I said, the year was long last year so I don't feel like I have taken that bigger break away from the game, and I'm guaranteed here of three really good and very tough matches so I think that's good preparation as well so that's why I've come here because if I go to Sydney I mainly get one; at least here I know I get three - win, lose or draw.

Q: How much weight have you put on this tournament in the lead up to the Open as far as your form and how you are hitting?

PAT: I think it's always important to win some matches and then to have a little bit of confidence before the Australian Open and this gives you the chance to actually play  you have got three matches to try and win a couple, and I take this very seriously as well. I am out here trying my hardest and trying to get confidence for the Australian Open. Like everyone else here, it is good to get the match practices as well as the match conditions so we get that here.

Q: Are you looking forward to playing at home again? You missed last year and the crowds must be something you are excited about?

PAT: Yeah, I sort of forget what it's like so this year will be good fun. We did come back to play Davis Cup in July, got a bit of a taste for the Australian crowds again but it has been a long time since I played here and I think everyone will agree it's a lot of fun to play here in Australia at the Australian Open - good crowds, good weather and it's a good city - we all love coming here.

Q: Marit, how have you spent your break?

MARIT: It was a very long year so I had to relax a little bit and I'm just trying to play my first tournament before the Australian Open, especially this tournament, because you can see the names here, the guys they are playing great tennis, and it is going to be good preparation for Australia.

Q: Marit, how does it feel to be in this sort of company; you have really come of age with your talents and ability?

MARIT: Actually, sometimes I get scared.

Q: It's all come very quickly for you, do you think that is part of why you feel a bit scared?

MARIT: Because to sit down with guys like Andre, Pete Patrick, Yevgeny, it's tough. You have to be in good shape to beat them.

Q: How important is it for you to get off to a really good start this year knowing the success was so rapid?

MARIT: Just be careful the first two weeks, especially Australia, start well the year and that's it because the year is very long and I think I will be okay. I hope so.

Q: Last time at the Australian Open, it was such a wonderful year but it started in pretty bizarre circumstances.

MARIT: Thank you to remember me.

Q: When you head back, do you have something a little extra that you want to show while you are here given what happened last year or how do you put that in context with what happened last year?

MARIT: I think not many people they know what happened last year really in the court and I'm going to show that actually I am a player and I can play well here in Australia and I'm playing good and I'm happy to come back here again and just to start the year better than last year.

Q: What do you mean most people don't understand what happened last year on the court?

MARIT: I think everybody knows but not the true story. I think it was just small misunderstanding and just the people who where on the court, you can ask them or you can ask the chair umpire but the guy he was too strict with me and that's why I get that fine for $2,000 - more than my prize money.

Q: In what way do you think you were misunderstood last year?

MARIT: Because the guys from the press, I came to the press room and everybody knew what happened but everybody told me a different story and I was shocked. The guys they saw it on (indistinct) after the match what happened, because if you don't really know what happened, just come to ask me, that's it, but don't imagine the stories, don't make the stories from this.

Q: So moving beyond

MARIT: I don't want to talk about it, just because it is not very nice; we're talking about tennis, not about the fines so I'm really sorry about last year and I am trying to be better this year. That's it.

(Nicolas Kiefer arrives)

Q: Pete, can I ask you about the speed of the courts. You have had a hit at Melbourne Park, how does it look?

PETE: Hitting there yesterday just getting off the plane, it felt pretty quick again. Last year I was pretty surprised on how fast the conditions are, obviously with the heat picking speed off the courts, but it seems pretty similar to last year so you'll see a lot of big aces, a lot of big serving again this week.

Q: Do you agree they're the same, Andre?

ANDRE: I didn't hear your question to Pete.

Q: The speed of the court?

ANDRE: Yeah, still feels pretty fast. I would say it's maybe a hair slower than last year but I think if the heat picks up and the court gets played on, it is going to be playing in appearance pretty much like last year.

Q: I guess, Andre, you are looking forward to the tournament, nice to start off exactly like you did last year?

ANDRE: Yeah, very nice.

Q: What about defending the title, do you have any extra pressure or does it make you feel a lot more comfortable going in?

ANDRE: I think ultimately you just want to feel good where you are playing and when you have won somewhere it allows you to feel good on many levels. Obviously you have to like the conditions, you have to like the court to play well to win and you have great memories so any time you have that kind of a special feeling somewhere it tends to help you play better so I'm looking forward to that.

Q: How has your break been, have you had a fairly good break and had some time off?

ANDRE: Yeah, it's been good. It has been a culmination of recovering and getting ready so it's a fine balance and sometimes you have to ask more of yourself at a time when you want to be eating the Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys.

Q: Andre, have you been doing anything different this year in terms of your preparation and physical work this time around?

ANDRE: For me the physical part is a must; I need to stay ready and fit and the tennis is what you spend more time or less time on so it's been a good couple of weeks of work on the court but a long time of working off so to get down there now and play this event is certainly going for all of us.

Q: This is the first time you have come to Melbourne as a 30 year old, how different is it now preparing now from five years ago or earlier in your career?

ANDRE: Well, I think you start to understand your body every year more and things change and ideally you just want to wake up in the morning feeling good and make the adjustments you need to so I think I have it pretty much figured out.

Q: Juan Carlos, I'm just wondering what sort of reception you are expecting from the Australian public?

JUAN CARLOS: For the Australian?

Q: Yes.

JUAN CARLOS: I come here with (indistinct) because I know I play against the Australian people two months ago but I think I am playing good and I'm going to play this tournament with these guys, with these big players, and I think it's good preparation of the Australian Open.

Q: How were the weeks after the Davis Cup, was it easier for you to come back to earth after this?

JUAN CARLOS: Easy for come back here?

Q: No, after Davis Cup it was fantastic for you

JUAN CARLOS: I know. It is difficult now because everybody know in the street, all the bars and difficult for me because it's knew but it's a new life for me and I think it's going to be fun.

Q: Is everything going okay with your girlfriend, Jalena Dokic? We read a lot here about your...

JUAN CARLOS: With Dokic? I can say again, I don't have anything with Dokic, only is my friend, and I don't know why the people in Australia says it is my girlfriend.

Q: Pat and Juan Carlos, Leyton Hewitt suggested this morning that maybe the finals for the Davis Cup for the previous year (indistinct)?

PAT: Well, I agree with that but it's easy for us to say that because we just came off the finals but I'm sure probably the other guys would agree if you did get a bye it probably would be nice to start the year because you do play very long and finish very late last year, it would be nice to have another couple of weeks off after the Australian Open, that we are not going to get. But I still think the whole year is very long anyway; the ATP is now starting to cut back so it's not just a Davis Cup problem, it's not an ITF problem, it's also an ATP problem where we have to cut back the schedule if you want to see these young guys that are starting to come through now, they will just get burnt out.

Q: Do you think one bye would be enough?

PAT: Three would be nice.

Q: Pete, the year itself is getting very long, you've obviously had so much success, do you see perhaps cutting down tournaments to continue physically?

PETE: Yeah, it's a big reason why I didn't play after the Open last year as I wanted a break. I figured I didn't want to the play in the Fall and play in Lisburne and come to Australia, I felt it was too much and the older you get you need your time off and I have been doing this for quite a while. So that's why I decided not to play the Paris Indoor and the Leon and the Stuttgarts just to give myself some time to rest, do some training and get ready for Australia. It is a long year and once you've been doing it for ten years and been pretty much on top of it, it takes its toll so you need time off. The year is very long when you put in ATP championships and Davis Cup finals, I have been there so definitely it can be a burnout and it is important to have your time off if someone like Marit and some of the younger guys want to play for 10, 12 years, the schedule is too much.

Q: Will your schedule get less and less in saying that?

PETE: Yeah. I look at my year this year and I'm not going to play (indistinct) tournaments but I will play enough to obviously play the Slams and some other events that are important so the Fall is really a part of the year that I probably won't be part of after the Open so that's kind of a step in my direction of playing a little bit less.

Q: Pete, this time last year you were chasing Emerson’s record, could you talk about what keeps you going now and the continuing motivation.

PETE: Well, at this point I'm just trying to add on to what I have and I feel like, as far as the pressure, it's levered off and when I came in here last year everybody was talking about the record and breaking it and I came pretty close and then at Wimbledon it all came together trying to add on to the 13 and as older you get it gets more difficult to win majors but I feel like, as far as the pressure, it's a little bit off me.

Q: Do you want success as much as you have in recent years? PETE: Yeah. I mean, I still want to be at the top of the game or somewhere near the top of the game and I want to put myself in a position as far as winning majors and the hunger is still there and I'm still very motivated, but I must admit I am very happy with my career and what I have done so far but I would like to add on to what I have and enjoy these next three, four, five years, however long I decide to play.

Q: A question for Pete and for Andre. Because this tournament doesn't have six weeks like the US Open, Wimbledon, the French on the same surface, have you figured out a routine for getting ready for the Australian Open having a shorter time-frame? Have you figured out a system for playing your best at a shorter time preparation?

PETE:Well, I think playing on rebound ace is a surface that I have been playing on and Andre has been playing on for a number of years so it's not like clay where you don't play much on it and you get into it, everyone's in the same boat; you don't really do much over the holidays, you come down here a week early and get used to the courts, get used to the heat and just go out and play. It's pretty much the way it is for everybody so it's not a huge adjustment.

ANDRE: While I think that there is not a lot of tournaments obviously to get ready for the Australian Open, you are coming off a long year and you're coming off a lot of tennis so the adjustment I think happens a little easier than it might appear just because it's January. It's been less than a month ago we were competing pretty intensely, and the surface itself for me comes easily; you can work the point long or you can end it short, it's up to how you chose to play, and I think those allow for your game to really come alive a lot quicker. Q: Yevgeny, how do you feel starting here as Russian number two after many years of being number one?

YEVGENY: That particular subject doesn't concern me. What concerns me to continue perform here in this place like I have been doing last five years and perhaps add another Australian title to my career would be ideal.

Q: Nicolas, after playing well last week when did you find out you were going to play here and can you tell us a little bit when you arrived and what form you are in?

NICOLAS ESCUDE: I play well last week for the first tournament of the year but I'm very happy to be here to play with all the best players of the world and I think it is the best preparation for the Australian Open in one week.

Q:When did you find out you were going to play here?

NICOLAS ESCUDE: When you mean exactly?

Q: Were you planning a long time ago to play here?

NICOLAS ESCUDE: No, just the Director of the (indistinct) called me the last week and asked me if I want to play this event and I say, okay, for sure.

Q: Pat, could you compare how you feel mentally and physically going into this Open compared to other years when you were sometimes tired?

PAT: I felt good, I feel pretty happy. As I said, I've been hitting the ball pretty well so it puts you in a good frame of mind. Trying to go there and enjoy myself and I'm hitting the ball well and I think I am probably a bit more relaxed. But it's easy to be relaxed two weeks before, a week before the Grand Slam so I guess you have to ask me that question after the Australian Open, mate.

Q: Pete, going back to your Fall and the lack of tennis in it, how different is it now coming into this tournament not having a whole lot of tennis leading up in terms of physically but also mentally having a bit of a break from the game?

PETE: Mentally I am very fresh and I had some time to chill out and do what I wanted to do but from a tennis standpoint, if you saw me play Hewitt I was a bit rusty. It's hard when you don't play for five or six weeks to go out and play at a high level, it takes time, it takes some matches, and this week is a perfect event for me and for all the guys to play three great matches and you're going in there to Australia feeling fresh. It is like a peaking process; you just want to peak four times a year and I think we know the tournament that we want to peak at so after dealing with my schedule over the years you just try to figure out on what the best thing for you to do.

Q: What do you actually do when you are not playing tennis, benefits in getting time to do other stuff in your life?

PETE: Well, I just got married so I'm keeping a lot of time indoor, as newlyweds do.

Q: Having taken the time off

PETE: I'm not finished yet, George.

Q: Sorry.

PETE: Just spending most of my time with working out with (indistinct) Brett Stephens on a lot of training and just chilling out at home, which has been nice having a bit of a normal life just waking up in the same bed and doing what I do.

Q: Having taken the time off in the Fall, in the month of December did you spend more time on the court than you usually do?

PETE: Yeah, I spent a lot of time on the court just practicing four times a week; I don't really practice every day but when I play a lot in the Fall I usually take a lot of December off from hitting but this year, not having played much, I decided I'd keep it going after Lisburne and continue to practice all the way through this week.

Q: Andre, what is your force on the remainder of your career and how far you would like to go?

ANDRE: As far as how long to play?

Q: Yeah, any fresh thoughts?

ANDRE: Well, I think ultimately the one thing that I want to feel every time I play is that if I step up on my game that I can beat the best guys in the world, or that at least there is that window of opportunity because that's what asks you to dig down, that is what it takes to really get the challenge out of the sport and I think that's where the enjoyment falls so I intend to do this as long as I feel like I can give the fans a realistic hope that I might win this match.

Q: Yevgeny, there was a lot of talk in this country in the lead up to the Davis Cup final between Australia and Spain about the antics of Leyton Hewitt, would you mind having to play Leyton in a match in the Australian Open given that he does have a propensity to get the Australian crowd behind him?

YEVGENY: I don't, not at all. I don't mind playing Leyton, day or night, here in Australia or back in Russia. All the problems I had with him I seem to overcome already so don't mind at all.

Q: I am wondering, gentlemen, any of you would have a view on the equal prize money this year for the Australian Open. There was a little bit of comment about it when it was announced. You all comfortable with it? Does anyone disagree? Anyone like to offer a view on it?

ANDRE: Okay.

YEVGENY: Prize money sucks, anyway.

ANDRE: The thing that is most important to remember is you are not talking about human rights and real rights and wrongs in life, you are talking about money and more or less of it, and really it is an individual approach to it and it is a character question. If you are going to step up and want more money then that's, I guess, any one person's particularly right. I can honestly say from this perspective, if any woman or man got paid more than me that would be a lot less of my concerns than to go out there and play the sport so I think to harp on it from a playing perspective or from a writing perspective is really missing what this event is all about.

YEVGENY: Yeah, I think I agree with Andre too. Ultimately we all came here to have a dream to win the Australian Open, perhaps for another time, and although prize money is a concern but it doesn't concern us all that much because it is a major event and we all came here because we wanted to win.

Q: Do you think that all Grand Slams should be equal? Why not make them all equal, it seems reasonable?

ANDRE: Like I said, to really harp on an issue that has nothing to do with real life rights or wrongs but has to do with money and how much you make is a waste of time.

MEDIA RELEASE
Wednesday , January 10, 2001

PAT RAFTER:

A: I feel like I have been out of the spotlight for a while, especially at the Australian Open. I have been in it for the last couple of years and I suppose always Wimbledon there is a chance and I think Leyton probably deals with things pretty well but I don't think you try to put too much pressure on him either. There's 50 guys out there that are very, very good players. But Leyton is definitely one of the top players, that's for sure.

Q: Would you say at this stage you wish you had another week or two to prepare better?

A: No, because I think I would be very tired. I think I have done enough preparation, I have been hitting the ball well, but if I came back from Barcelona and went straight back into the training, I think you would find my shoulder would be sore, probably mentally and physically quite tired as well so I think it is important to have your breaks as well so I think I have done the best preparation under the circumstances for the Australian Open.

Q: What are you going to do between now and tomorrow's match?

A: I'm going back out to hit some more balls later on today and get to the gym and I have got to work hard and hit the ball better.

Q: Do you believe you will be one of the major contenders next week?

A: Like anyone, you need a little bit of luck, you need a reasonable draw, and you need to take in some form and I would like to think that at the end of this week I can take some form into the Australian Open so I think it would be maybe a good question to ask at the end of this week.

Q: Do you feel the Australian Open has been unfinished business over the years?

A: Yeah.

Q: How do you place it in your career goals and how do you feel about it?

A: It means as much to me as any other Grand Slam and we are all here trying to win it, everyone wants to win a Grand Slam; you don't get remembered for what you did in Adelaide or what you did in Sydney, it is what you do at the Australian Open or at the Grand Slams.

Q: Too much pressure?

A: No, probably preparation, a lot of it has to do with it but I still feel like I have had a reasonable preparation for the Australian Open. It is definitely unfinished business.

Q: Do you feel the shoulder at all?

A: No, it is really good. Very, very happy with it. Feeling really strong and I hope to get through this year without any problems.

Q: Does it get harder to get up at the start of every year?

A: I think it is very difficult to begin the year every year, you just come off a good layoff, a lot of guys do, and this hasn't been as long as I usually have had so it probably has not been quite as difficult but you do have to train very hard before a Grand Slam and I have been training pretty hard for about eight or nine days in Sydney.

PAT RAFTER:

Q: On your form today, you don't look like a broken down old crock who is ready to retire.

A: I hit the ball really well and I was very happy. Yesterday I was a little bit rusty and today I knew I had been hitting the ball pretty well; it was a very different type of match than what it was yesterday as well but everything worked pretty well and I think we both hit the ball reasonably well. I'm probably a bit happier than what Pete is.

Q: Can you clarify the retirement business for us?

A: Well, I consider it pretty clear-cut; really what you read this morning was pretty well what I said and what I said is something that I'm looking to try and do properly, slow it down at the end of this year. When I say retirement, it's more probably more slowing down, I guess, is a better word. I'm committing myself for a really good year this year, I'm going to go very, very hard and have a really good year and go hard, that's pretty well what I want to do. I would like to think that maybe I can slow down at the end of this year but as we all know, nothing is definite in this world and you never know. I don't like to see people retire and then they come back out of retirement, I'm not going to be one of these guys, I want to say I'm slowing down, and with a possibility and keeping my door open for maybe playing even next year but at the end of this year I will probably be looking at slowing down.

Q: What about what Pete's done in terms of bringing back the amount of tournaments he's playing and just playing the Slams?

A: Well, I'm someone who needs to work very hard to get where I have to get and I think Pete is someone who is probably more naturally talented in the way that he doesn't need to work as hard, and that's his strength. I know if I want to go through the whole rigmarole again, that's why I'm saying I'm leaving the door open for next year in the sense that I might want to come back, if something happens in my life and I say: hang on, maybe I want to have another shot at it, there is some unfinished business, so I will assess that at the end of year. But I would like to think I can have another really good year, accomplish some of my goals and then hopefully hang it up.

Q: What are the goals that are keeping you there and that might even keep you beyond this year?

A: The goals are sort of personal, I guess. Again, I want to see how I go at the end of the year and assess it.

Q: I know you say you obviously want to keep your options open, but talking on court you were talking about this might be your last Australian Open. On a scale of 10, what are the chances this might be your last Australian Open?

A: Well, the reason I said it is because it is probably high and I would like to announce, if I am thinking of finishing up, I would like to say to the Australian public that I'm doing it here and now instead of going to the end of the year and saying I'm going to slow down, and I don't think I will play the Australian Open next year. I would like to think that the public probably know that this is probably going to be my last one and the last time I might play back here in Australia, but I am also hoping that the Davis Cup will keep me going all year and I can come back and play in December for the finals.

Q: Are you approaching this Open as if it is your last?

A: There is a good chance, yeah. As I said, probably a good chance but again I'm not 100 per cent sure because I don't want to say this is 100 per cent sure, but it is probably better than ...

Q: Have you given yourself a benchmark? If you go out in the first round, will you say: hang on, I want to come back and do this right, or if you get all the way through do you say: I have done it right and I am happy to bow out?

A: Maybe. The end of the year will be a good telling tale for me.

Q: So it is more the Oz Open, you want to see how the year pans out?

A: I think so, yeah. But, as I said, there is more to life than this but I want to give this a really good year and assess it at the end of the year and if I feel like I have worked hard and I have accomplished what I have set out to do and I have decided that that's enough, then that will be enough.

Q: How much did your shoulder injury influence your decision?

A: Right now I don't consider my shoulder an injury any more, I consider it as good and as strong and it will be good for the whole year; I'm very confident about that.

Q: How did you come to this decision? Lying in bed one night?

A: It's something that has been on my mind for quite a while for a couple of years, I think. I have always wanted to slow down and this is very difficult travelling all the time, it is very difficult being in hotels and jumping on another plane and going to another country and going out there and performing day in, day out. Not only is there a lot of pressure and a lot of stress but it is also very tiring and you want to think there is more to life than just tennis.

Q: I thought it might have been after the way you played in the cricket game?

A: There was potential there, wasn't there? Might go and bowl a few leggies down the nets later on this afternoon.

Q: On those stresses and pressures, cast your mind forward a little bit, with Australian tennis where do you see the state of Australian tennis and when you leave the game? You talk about those pressures and the stresses and how would you see someone like Leyton Hewitt, what advice would you give him, that probably he is the next guy in line who is going to start soaking up those pressures?

A: That again, I would want to keep my options open for that matter as well. I never like to leave tennis in Australia like the Davis Cup without a number two player or something like that as well, so I've always got to consider that to an extent. Obviously I have got to think about myself first, I think it's very important, and for someone like Leyton, he has had so much great success and so much fame at such a young age and who knows what he wants to do? I don't know how he wants to deal with it but this kid can deal with anything; I've seen what he has gone through in the Davis Cup, I have seen how he has dealt with the press and the pressures they have put on and the negative publicity that he has got, and the way he goes out onto the court and deals with it and plays great so I think he is a sort of kid that can handle anything that is thrown his way.

Q: How do you see the state of Australian tennis at the moment? Right now, do you think it is a good time or a safe time to be leaving it or do you feel like it's still a little bit sorting yourself out at the moment?

A: It would be still good to see some young guys coming through but we do have a good knack of producing our players some time a little bit later on as well as at an early age. We have had Cash, we have had Hewitt coming through at a great young age and we've had the later generation like myself, so there is always potential for something like that to come through so you'd never say this is the way it is going to be for the next ten years.

Q: (indistinct).

A: At this stage all I'm thinking about is this year and giving it my best shot and I really don't know what I would like to do, if I do happen to do it.

Q: Had you won the Davis Cup, would you have brought this decision forward?

A: No, not at all. This was always going to be a very good year for me and a year that I have committed to and a year that I want to get something out of as well.

Q: Have you had any reaction from other players this morning to the headlines in the paper or even Sampras on the court, did he say anything about it?

A: They sort of come in the locker room this morning, big smiley faces, what in the hell is going on? Why are the press asking me about your retirement? And you're just a young fellow, how old are you? So a bit of a giggle and that sort of thing in the locker room but all the tennis players understand that certain guys go when they want to go and there is no right or wrong age or right or wrong reason for people leaving the game. It is just a personal thing.

Q: Is there any fear in the back of your mind that you might get down the track and think why did I do it, or you will really miss it?

A: That is what a lot of people I know are going to say that to me; this is a short career and you should be getting out of it what you can and I've thought about that as well and at the end of the day this is my decision, it is my life, and I felt like I've accomplished a hell of a lot as well and it is a stage of my life that I'm looking to go on for the next stage. So if peoples' opinions are their opinions and are not necessarily in the best interest of what I feel, and I hope I'm smart enough to be able to make my own decisions.

Q: Going into an Australian Open thinking that it is going to be your last, what do you expect will be the effect on yourself, on your tennis, on the emotions?

A: Again, I will be going out there just sort of trying my best and doing my best and I don't feel any pressures, I don't feel any relief, I won't feel anything like that. I'm out there knowing that this is a whole year thing, it is not just the Australian Open thing. I don't know, I don't think it will be any different. I woke up this morning to a whole lot of sensational headlines, and the TV and that and I went out and played my match. It is in the back of my mind, people yelling things out and people saying things, but had no effect on my performance today and I don't expect there to be any effect on my performance at the Australian Open.

Q: (indistinct).

A: It would be great to finish my career in Australia; that would be a great highlight to do that, but I'm just trying to let people know that it may happen now, there is that possibility.

Q: Were you surprised by the reaction in the media and the headlines?

A: Well, I sort of didn't want it to come out like I am definitely retiring; I wanted it to come out like this could be my last year so I want the public to know that this may be my last Australian Open, there is nothing definite. I am heading down that track, as I said, but it's not definite and I want people to know that.

Q: Patrick, it is interesting this morning various people contacted your family to get their reaction and they were complete in the dark. It is a very personal private decision not discussing it with your mum and your sister?

A: They know now.

Q: What about discussing it with John Fitzgerald and John Newcombe, did think play a big role in perhaps persuading you to keep your options open?

A: I have had a lot more contact with John Newcombe obviously, and he has been aware of my thoughts and he really thinks I have got two really good years in me, this year and next year, and that's the way he views it and I know John Fitzgerald wants me to stick around for a little bit as well; obviously in the best interests of the Australian Davis Cup team. As I said, it is not their decision, it is really my decision.

Q: You weren't at odds with them, they persuaded you to stay and you wanted to go?

A: No, there might be differences and little discrepancies in what we say but there is no problem or animosity between us over any decision because they know what a tennis life is like.

Q: Family is pretty important to you. Do we get a sense that maybe you want to start a family and being a professional tennis player on the circuit, on the grind, is no way to be a father, particularly in the early years; are we reading too much?

A: I know where you are coming from but that's probably a little bit further down the track than what I'm looking at. Step down a couple of...

Q: Meet the right girl first, okay.

A: I have been seeing my same girlfriend now for over three years.

Q: She is the right girl.

Q: Speaking of down the track, regardless of when you retire, can you see yourself playing a role in the Davis Cup in the future?

A: Mate, early days. I don't even know what I'm doing next year.

Q: Is it true that you haven't scheduled anything after the US, apart from Davis Cup if Australia gets there again? No tournaments?

A: That option is left open. I can still commit to tournaments later on, for the end of the year, and obviously Davis Cup will really dictate on what I do for the end of the year and if tournaments want me to go there as well. I really don't know how I want to finish the year off.

Q: God forbid in the next few months your shoulder plays up or the knee gets sore, would you fight back?

A: It is a bloody good question. I don't know.

Q: When the inevitable comes, and you finally do say this is the time, you have talked about various life goals that you want to pursue. You have named environmental interests, business interests, you want to put something back into tennis. Can you talk about some of those interests, where will you focus?

A: I don't know, mate, really. To be honest, I feel like I can focus on all those sort of things. I can put my piece in for a lot of those things. I'm someone who doesn't want to be tied down, I'm not one of these guys who have done a nine to five job all my life so I wouldn't know what it would be like.

Q: You have made a commitment to Cherish the Children.

A: Of course, it is my charity.

Q: What role would you play in that after tennis?

A: I have to talk to my mum and sister to see where I fit in.

Q: You have called them today?

A: No. I'm scared to.

Q: Will that surprise them, your decision?

A : I guess it has.

Q: You said it's something you have thought about for a couple of years, in the back of your mind.

A: Yeah, I have always dropped hints every now and then but they obviously haven't listened.

Q: Is there anyone you have discussed this with, anyone close?

A: Not really, no. My brother's a bit shocked, my manager as well.

Q: He is out of work.

Q: Does the reaction today make you a bit nervous about the day you actually do announce it?

A: A little bit, I guess. I'm not someone who wants to shed a tear over it. It is always very emotional when you see people do it but I don't know. I guess when the day comes it could be tough. It's been my life.

Q: (indistinct) away from the seniors tour, do you see yourself making a clean break when you go?

A: She will be clean mate, don't you worry. Thank you very much.