after A. AGASSI / R. Ginepri (SF) - 網球

Saturday, September 10, 2005

A. AGASSI/R. Ginepri
6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3


THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Tough time with the first serve during portions of this match.
I was curious, A, how you were able to overcome it, and,
B, what was the problem today?

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, yeah, no question. Well, I think a couple things.
I think, first of all, playing at night, then two days off,
it's a whole different rhythm, having the two days off.
It's a whole different set of -- whole different environment,
playing the day versus night. So I think also, too,
the way Robby returns, you know, he stands way inside
the baseline. He gives you what seems to be big holes out there,
and he sort of teases you to hit the spot. And if you
start pressing a little bit, you can get into trouble
because he puts a lot of pressure on your second serve.
Eventually I started to relax more on the serve.
But the match was a bit patchy, but it was a function of
who was going to string those points together at the right time
in each set.


Q. Considering the three five-setters, considering where you were
ten weeks ago, the opportunity to go out there and play in this final,
what does it mean to you?

ANDRE AGASSI: How do you find words for what this means? This has been
some of the greatest memories I've ever had on a tennis court.
I'll have these memories with me the rest of my life. I mean,
you know, to be in the finals at age 35 just means
you're going to have to put up with me a lot longer (smiling).


Q. Did you request the earlier match? Are you just happy it worked out
that way? Can you bring us through how this worked.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, well, I certainly requested -- everybody puts in
their request for what they want. You know, with
-- it's a good decision, actually. I mean, I think that
two Americans playing, you know, I think it does help to
play the first match. You know what time you're getting
out there, you don't get so emotionally involved in
the other match. I mean, had we played after that,
you sit there and you watch it, it's hard not to care,
but you guys are distracting me from that now, which is nice.

And then, you know, that couple extra hours helps a lot.
Plus, too, psychologically, if you're out there in the fifth set
and the guy you're playing, the winner of, is sitting there
waiting, that's also a factor. I was fortunate to get that today.


Q. You've had three consecutive five-setters. How do you feel physically
and mentally going into the final?

ANDRE AGASSI: You know, I felt decent out there in the fifth. I mean,
there was nothing to speak of that was of any concern.
I stepped up when I needed to. The fifth set was the best set
of tennis the whole match, so that's also a good sign. You know,
I feel pretty good now. I mean, 24 hours is not a lot of time.
It's not an ideal situation, to play three five-setters
going into the finals, especially here. This is one of
the reasons why this is the most difficult tournament to win.
But it's a great problem to have, you know. I mean, listen,
I'd sign up for that any day, to have a chance in the finals,
regardless of today. But it's not ideal.


Q. If you could write the script for the semifinal match that's takes place
right now, would it read something like, "Extremely long,
exhausting five-set thriller, Hewitt takes it in the fifth-set tiebreaker"?

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, and then,
"Stubs his toe on the way out of the stadium" (laughter).


Q. Tomorrow, against a tremendous player like Lleyton or
the most dominant player in tennis, is the key going to be strokes,
legs, your mind or heart?

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, you're going to need all of them to win tomorrow,
regardless of which one of these guys it is, especially if
it's Roger. I mean, it's going to need to be everything.
I mean, this is the finals. The best are left so...


Q. You feel you have lots left in the tank and can bring it?

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, I might surprise you a little bit.
I might surprise you (smiling). I feel good.
I'm certainly going to be looking forward to it.
Mentally, you know, just being out there is going to
take care of that. And physically, I'll be able to
make somebody earn it, that's for sure.


Q. It seems that age is always an issue in sport. It seems then in tennis
the age of the players are decreasing. What kind of advantage does it
give to you, to be older?

ANDRE AGASSI: Oh, yeah, I don't know if there's much of an advantage.
You get to a point of sort of diminishing returns.
It's great to have the experience, but, you know...


Q. Maybe tactics on the court?

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, I think you always learn how to be better.
So everybody gets better by the year. More years are better,
but you have to physically be healthy, you have to be
moving well so you can decide what you're going to do, you know.


Q. Maybe focus, too?

ANDRE AGASSI: Sorry?


Q. The focus.

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, a lot of guys are focused. Nadal is 19 years old
and you won't find anybody more focused than that.


Q. What do you remember about 1986 here?

ANDRE AGASSI: Oh, just first-round loss to Jeremy Bates, four sets.


Q. Do you remember coming in? What were your impressions, your first US Open?

ANDRE AGASSI: It just was very distracting for me, you know.
Being in the city and then coming out to play the match,
I couldn't believe how quick the match went.
It was probably close to three hours, but it just felt like
it flew by. Almost like the first Davis Cup match I ever played.


Q. Aside from Robby's physical arsenals, his forehand, serve,
ability to cover the court, in your opinion, could you assess
the intelligence he has on the court at age 22.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, he's come a long ways. You know, if anything,
I used to say that he was irresponsible with his talent
because he would pull triggers that, you know,
that he should have showed more discipline on. But now,
you really see his patience, his thought process out there.
He's taking calculated risks, you know, and he knows
when to lay off the ball, when to work it, when to step up
and take a chance. He's playing a lot smarter,
which doesn't give you those free points that make the
difference. At the end of every set, it used to be his downfall.
I played him three tough sets here last year,
but just a few bad decisions sets things away.
Now he's not giving you those.


Q. During the fifth set, what mental adjustment did you make?

ANDRE AGASSI: No, I just tried to keep working and just, you know,
just keep executing. You want to step up.
You want to hit your shots. You want to, you know,
hope the ball bounces your way, really. I mean,
I got that break, which was key. I played a good game
to break him there. Great service game straight after that
to consolidate, 5-2. Made him work to hold serve, 5-3,
then served a good game out so...


Q. Do you think respect of the opponent or respect of you matters
in the fifth set against young players? (我很確定這個問題幾年前就問過:PPP)

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, I mean, respect isn't something you demand,
it's something you earn, you know. My goal is to earn
the respect in the fifth set and from my opponent,
and that's a daily effort.


Q. What do you admire most about Federer's game? And if he is the opponent
tomorrow, what's your perspective on the challenge that he presents
for you that maybe nobody else does at this stage?

ANDRE AGASSI: Well, the challenge is real simple, you know.
Most people have weaknesses and most people only have
one great shot. I mean, Federer doesn't have weaknesses
and has a few great shots. So that equates to a problem
(laughter). I mean, I could lie, I could say something else,
but...But he's earned that respect. That means you go out
in the match and you address it with urgency and
you have to play well, you know. He's not the first guy
to make you feel that way, but he's certainly the guy
that's doing it better than anybody now.


Q. Do you know what it takes to beat him? Is it a matter of executing it?
Or are you still looking for answers?

ANDRE AGASSI: You hit it in that corner and that corner and that corner
and that corner over and over again, and you beat him.
But you got to do it.

I mean, listen, there's no weakness to speak of, but it is
-- sports is a function of executing, you know.
The guy plays great defense, plays great offense.
He has a great hold game and he has a great break game.
You play a bad match against Pete, you lose 6-4, 7-5.
You play a good match against Pete, you lose 6-4, 7-5.
You play a good match against Federer, you lose 6-4, 7-5.
You play a bad match against Federer, you lose 1 and 1.


Q. I believe you said you continue playing for the competition itself,
your love of the game. You have not been fixated on the end result,
the trophies and adding to the titles. Now that you're this close
to that possibility, is it important to not think about the title?
Does your motivation change at all, mindset?

ANDRE AGASSI: Winning is a by-product of doing a lot of things right.
That's decision-making, scheduling, training, preparation,
fitness, all of that. And it's also about, you know,
every point inside a match. So for me tomorrow,
it's not going to be about the trophy until I'm holding it.
It's about, "What am I doing the first point, second point?"
It's a challenge and overcoming all the obstacles
that are required to get through a match. Certainly winning
is something you always want and always strive for.
But you can't lose sight of the Xs and Os and the execution
of every shot.


Q. Three years ago Sampras won this tournament and then
we never saw him again, as you remember the final.
Would you rather tomorrow win and say bye-bye to all of us,
or lose and play all next year?

ANDRE AGASSI: (Smiling). I'd rather win and play all next year (laughter).


Q. Too easy.

ANDRE AGASSI: That's what I'd like to do.


Q. If you should be really honest, what do you think your chances
are tomorrow if you're playing Federer in the final?

ANDRE AGASSI: I mean, you could ask any sports bookie and they're going to
tell you what the odds are. But for me, it's about
keeping my head down and focusing on the things that I do well
and things that have gotten me here. You know,
making him do everything he does as good as he can.
So I don't know what my chances are, we'll find out tomorrow.
We're only 24 hours away from that.


Q. If you play at your top level, the level you played in the fifth set
today, the match against Blake, can you push him?

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, well, we'll find out. I certainly hope so.
I will certainly hope so.


Q. When you get the shot, are you in a lot of pain,
do you try to avoid that, you push it back, and then you get the shot
and is there a process where you just start feeling better and better
and better? When you take your Cortisone shot?

ANDRE AGASSI: Oh, oh, the shot, okay.


Q. I mean, obviously, nobody really likes to get those shots.

ANDRE AGASSI: No, they're not fun.


Q. But can you just talk about the progression.

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, it's nine minutes of agony, and then when you're done
there's a numbing agent so immediately you're going to
feel better, immediately you're going to have no feeling
but you've got to resist the temptation of continuing on it
for a few days. Then when you start up again,
there's a dramatic difference. You can tell right away, you know.
It could last a few days, it could last a few weeks.
In my case the first one lasted three months.
The next one only lasted a few weeks. Then this one's lasted
since just after LA, so we're going on, I don't know
how many weeks that is, maybe six weeks, yeah. Six weeks now.
So I think it varies depending on exactly how close they get,
depending on how you're impinging it, the wear and tear on it.
Yes, right after the injection it always feels great.
Sometimes for a very short period of time.
Ideally you want to be able to get a few months out of it.


Q. Right now there is no problem?

ANDRE AGASSI: Cool-down I feel it. Cool-down. Again, I know this process
all too well. I feel it on cool-downs and then that pain
increases, and then that pain gets to a point where I start to
feel it on the court, and then once I'm feeling it on the court,
it escalates very quickly because it's irritated,
it's telling you it's irritated and you're continually
doing something to it. So it's a process that you can't
guarantee how long that's going to take. But once I feel it
on the court, it is a quick escalation.


Q. In the early '90s, did you imagine you'd be doing this in 2005
or sitting on an island with a frozen drink?

ANDRE AGASSI: No. No, I did the island/frozen drink thing in '97,
so... (laughter). So that was out of my system.
No, I never thought I would be doing this.


Q. Have you been able to sit back and smell the roses at all during this run,
or is it just all about winning that next match and the next one?

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, it's -- that's a great question, Peter,
because I really feel like I've taken this in, you know.
I haven't sort of stressed myself out with all the preparation
that does go into it. I haven't ignored it. But through it,
I've enjoyed being in the city with my children and wife
and seeing some shows and taking in some good dinners.
You know, I feel very removed from the pressure of it all,
or from, you know, the demands of it all.
I think that's allowed me to enjoy it even more.


Q. Do you take pleasure in defying what most people think of
a 35-year-old athlete should be doing?

ANDRE AGASSI: You know, I don't know what that would be. I tell you
what I do take pleasure in is accomplishing things
that I question myself. That's what I take pleasure in.
You know, I've been asked for a long time now well,
"When are you going to stop? When are you going to stop?"
Had I stopped, I wouldn't be here, you know. So for me,
it's about pushing yourself and pushing yourself,
and I know there comes a time and a place when you have to
decide that that's it. I don't know when that's going to be,
and I certainly don't even know, you know, what the reasons
are going to be for that. But, you know, I need to work,
and this is my work. This is what I do. I'm a tennis player,
and I'll do it as hard as I can as long as I can,
from how I see it right now.


Q. Speaking of fitness, you're an inspiration to all of us older people.
I just wanted to know a little bit about your fitness regimen.

ANDRE AGASSI: I wouldn't know how to answer that, you know. It's been,
you know, 35 years, my strength coach, Gil, has studied
and become the greatest at what it is he does.
And all his knowledge has led to a series of decisions
over the last, you know, 20 years that have kept me able to
do this, you know. So to say I could write down
on a piece of paper what my routine is, it wouldn't be
worth the paper it's written on. It's not about a routine,
it's about a way of life, it's about a commitment,
it's about knowing where to push yourself and
when to cut yourself slack, you know. And if you miscalculate
those decisions, you're in a crash course
-- you have a recipe for disaster. There's nothing worse
than somebody who has the heart and the mind to
accomplish great things physically, but don't have a plan
that works for them so they never see the results.
Then you see others that get the results but it leads them
right into a brick wall where they burn out and crash, you know.
I mean, both those are, you know -- both of those are crimes,
you know. When you have somebody that wants to do it,
you need somebody that can help make those decisions
that leads you down that road, and that's what Gil's done for me.


Q. The other night, James said it was the most fun he had losing a tennis
match. Robby today did not seem to be having that kind of fun.
When you look at both of these players, you're talking about
smelling the roses, do you want to give them some advice about
taking the time and smelling the roses?

ANDRE AGASSI: Not -- I wouldn't make the assumption that I do it better
than them, to be honest, you know. I really wouldn't.
Especially James. I mean, here's a guy that every time
I see him, I aspire to his perspective on life that, you know
-- I've never seen him -- I've never seen him not rise above --


Q. I was referring to Robby, I'm sorry.

ANDRE AGASSI: I couldn't speak to Robby either. The standard of the match
that was played today was more patchy than James. I mean,
there's a lot to be said for a match where two guys feel
they've played as well as they can and it was what it was.
But, yeah, I wouldn't -- I couldn't assume that it's lost
on Robby. I mean, he's a guy that has had a great summer
and he's looked like he's found something he can rely on now
from here on in.


Q. Correct me if I'm wrong, the last time you were in the final here
was against Pete. Obviously the crowd there was split 50/50 that day.
Tomorrow, no matter who you play, they're pretty much all going to be
rooting for you. How much will that help, particularly with how much
they've been behind you and carried you along throughout the tournament?

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, well, that's going to help a lot. It's brought me
this far and it's helped me get through three five-setters.
You know, it's invaluable, sometimes, what the crowd
can offer to you as far as inspiration and motivation
to just reach a little deeper. So, you know,
it's going to be a great day. It's a lot to feel good about,
and certainly a lot to look forward to.


Q. Like you say, you've zoned a little bit out of your career at times.
When did you fully become comfortable with saying, "I'm a tennis player,
that's what I do."

ANDRE AGASSI: When I was 141 in the world. Just check dates for that.
I think it's somewhere at the end of '97, is that right?


Q. What have you been told about how much Cortisone your body can take?
The fact that you have to go through that, how does that enhance feelings
that you're on borrowed time?

ANDRE AGASSI: Yeah, in this particular case, the doctor is comfortable
with four injections a year. Because we're not injecting
tendon or joints, you know, this is a nerve that's
through bone so there's not a lot of deterioration
or downside that happens as a result of it. It's not a way
to live as a way of life, but if I didn't thrash myself around
on the tennis court with 22-year-olds... (laughter)...
I wouldn't need it, period. I mean, I would be fine.
I'm not sort of disabled in my everyday life,
but it's when I demand what I demand out of my body
that I fall shy of the standard that's needed to be
at your best. So I can do about four a year,
but not as a way of life, for a few years.


Q. Does it enhance the feeling you're on borrowed time?

ANDRE AGASSI: You know, listen, who knows what the reason is for
what you can do or not. I mean, I have seen guys healthy
that just run out of something and their career changes,
you know. I'm certainly not above that. So I feel like
I've been on borrowed time for a while.

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