Pete,
how did you cope with your early elimination at Roland Garros and what
did your preparation for Wimbledon look like?
I
flew home to LA and for a couple of
days I would only pick up my golfclub. After a week I came back to Europe
and trained and played
at Queens. Like I do every year.
This year, did you ever think back to '96, when you lost to Krajicek in
the
4th round, and by that lost the chance to win Wimbledon 4 times in a row?
I
try not to think about those things too much. Of course I was disappointed
I couldn't continue my winning streak,
but I think I'm pretty good at dealing with losses. It also depends on
how I loose. Back then, I didn't play great,
but Richard played at the same level as I did during my best matches at
the Centre court. He just didn't let
me play my game.
Which player would you like to avoid at Wimbledon?
On grass I don't really enjoy hardhitters like Krajicek, Rusedski and Becker.
And when the serve of Ivanisevic
is going well, you just pray for rain. He's gonna win this tournament some
day, actually he should have won this
tournament once already. I just hope I won't be playing anymore when that
happens.
What do you like at Wimbledon and what do you dislike?
When you walk through the gate here, you get a very special feeling. Even
with your eyes closed, you know you're
at Wimbledon immediately. Without a doubt that has something to do with
tradition, something that the US Open
for example, doesn't have at all. At Roland Garros there's also somethnig
like that, but it doesn't come close
to Wimbledon. And there is no centre court that's more beautiful than it
is here.
There is quite a lot of noise during the warming up, but when the match
begins, there's suddenly a dead silent.
That gives character to this tournament.
There aren't many things I dislike here, except for the press hounds of
course. I've also had my share of that
again this year and it stays annoying. You just have to learn to deal with
that and you have to try not to let
it get to you. Accepting instead of fighting against it is the best remedy.
Do you have any sorts of superstition here like Borg, who always grew a
beard here?
No, I don't do that sort of stuff. Maybe I should try something like that
at Roland Garros. But I would probably
get arrested after 3 days because I would look like a terrorist then. I
do have a couple of steady habits.
I rent the same appartment every year and visit the same restaurants but
that has nothing to do with
superstition.
Which one of your Wimbledon titles is the most important to you?
Without a doubt the first one, in '92, when I won the final by beating
Courier. Before that, I had only won the
US Open in 1990 and so it had been a while since I won a Grand slam.
Wimbledon is the tournament you've always dreamt of. That match against
Courier was very important for
both of us. From that moment, things started going downhill with his career
and mine went great.
A year later, I beat Ivanisevic. That didn't bring great tennis, because
of our dominating serves.
In '95 against Becker it was special, also because it had been 10 years
since he won his first Wimbledon title
aged 17, and won 2 more titles later.
He considered Wimbledon as his backyard and he had every right for that.
I won't say now that I took his
backyard away from him then, but it was a wonderful feeling to win that
match.
The audience obviously wanted Boris to win and when I scored that last
point, I felt like I had beaten the best
grass court player of the last 10 years.
On your list of honour, Roland Garros is still missing. How important is
that title for you?
Roland Garros is and will be the ultimate challenge for me. A lot of people
think I can never win that tournament
with my game, so that only makes the challenge bigger. You see, I can already
look back at a fine career,
but I just am a perfectionist and want to reach the maximum. The fact that
players like Mcenroe and Connors
never won Roland Garros, also plays a role in it. That title would put
me a step higher than those guys.
And how about your position as number1 at the world ranking? Does that
still mean as much as 4 years ago, when you stood there for the first time?
Absolutely.The longer you stay on top, the more consistent your play was.
Year in, year out at the top means you've
been the best, also mentally, and you need a lot for that.
It's not like I play that great every week, that's physically impossible.
Being consistent is what separates
big players from the rest. And breaking the record is one of my goals.
Does the position of number 1 automatically mean there's a certain distance
in the relationship with other players?
I felt like that at the moment I became a pro and that never changed. There's
obviously a matter of a certain
distance. With all players that is.
I never do something on purpose when it comes to that. I know there are
players who say I am socially inhibited
in the dressing room. But that's got nothing to do with it, that's just
the way I am.
Before a match starts, I'm really busy with myself. At a moment like that
I won't talk to anyone, except for my
coach or a real friend like Jim Courier or Todd Martin. That actually doesn't
only count for the dressing room,
but everywhere.
Do you think you've reached the highest level when it comes to tennis?
That's a difficult question. I am satisfied with what I have achieved,
it's more than I could have dreamt of,
and I'm only 25 years old. But everything can always be done better.
Little things in my game, getting more consistent. But I have nothing to
complain about. As long as I win
grand Slams every year, my tennis career is going well.
Of course I want to do better on clay, but I won't adjust my game to that
completely.
Important is that I feel good when I walk on the court, physically and
mentally. That I know I'm prepared to fight
till the end. As long as I can do that, not much can improve. But ask me
again in about 5 years from now.
Does tennis need someone like Tiger Woods?
Every sport needs a Tiger Woods. But I don't see anyone in professional
tennis who can do for tennis what
Tiger did for golf. What tennis needs is rivalry. Andre and me had that
for some time and that helped the
sport a lot in the USA. Now unknown players win big tournaments, like Kuerten
in Paris.
And whole hordes of Spaniards are winning events. But there is no rivalry
and that definitely doesn't make
the sport more popular in the USA.
Do you understand anything of what Andre Agassi is doing? Do you still
talk to him once in a while?
There
was a time when people were under the impression that we were a sort of
friends. But in reality that
friendship didn't exist. When he came into the dressing room, I would walk
into the opposite direction most
of the times.
Sure, we made those Nike-commercials and all that comes along with that,
but we were never friends who'd
call each other once in a while and would go out for dinner together.
I do owe him a lot, because the rivalry between us forced me to play better
and to work harder.
I have absolutely no idea what's wrong with him at the moment. I don't
think it has anything to do with tennis.
It's something in his head and in his heart. If he wants, he can do everything
when it comes to tennis, as long as
he's willing to work and spend enough time on it. Maybe he'll be able to
do without for a while, but that won't
take long. Maybe he's more interested in other things at the moment.
I have always tried to concentrate on tennis and consider the rest as side
issues and keep those as simple as
possible. It seems like he's not that good at doing that.
Are there players you like to put up a fight with?
I love the game in general, but when it's about a tough competition, I
would name Agassi, Courier, Chang
and Becker. When you play against Becker in Germany, like last year during
the Masters, that's phenomenal.
Then you feel like a heavy weight boxer. The only time I had felt like
that before, was before the US Open final
in 1990, against Agassi.
In general matches against top players are the most fun. Facing the battle,
two guys who fight till the end,
that's what it's all about.
Players like Ivanisevic aren't really nice opponents, especially because
then you never know what's gonna happen.
Something else now. What do you, in actual practise, notice from your
Greek origin?
After I lost early this year in Monte Carlo, I called my mum who invited
me to come and celebrate Greek
Easter with them. That's one month after the usual date. An important celebration
for Greeks.
She was born in Greece, and lived there till she was 24 years old. My dad
comes from Chicago and is Jewish.
His dad was from Greece and that's where my last name comes from. I've
never been there myself. After my
career I will have lots of time to visit all my relatives there.
Could you live in Europe?
Only
if I had to. I'd rather not, because I like my comfort and I can only find
that in the USA. There, when I get
hungry at 11 o'clock in the evening, there's always something open. When
I was forced to choose, it would
be England because of the language and some other things.
But I don't like the cold and thick clothes. I'd rather have Florida or
California. Or maybe Hawai.
Have you never considered trying to learn a foreign language?
I had Spanish lessons in High school, but I don't remember much of that.
I would want to, but I never have the
time and the patience. Jim (Courier) was lucky because he's had a couple
of French girlfriends and then it
goes a lot faster of course.
I do understand Greek, because my mum used to talk to me in that language
but Homerus would definitely
be nothing for me.
What makes you laugh?
Let's see. I appreciate the humour of David Letterman. I like sarcastic
humour, that's aimed on others.
Not to hurt them, but to kind of make fun of them. More like teasing. I've
been a guest at his show a couple
of times and I enjoyed that a lot. I even felt comfortable there, and that
means a lot.
They do give you a list with questions on it before the show starts, but
they also tell you that it's not sure
if they will really ask you those questions. And Letterman likes an unexpected
turn of the conversation.
That sounds strange coming from someone who's known to be shy and
introvert. With what kind of people do you feel comfortable?
With people who treat me like a normal guy. They do know who they are talking
to, but they only do that
because they like me and not for any other reasons.
But I hate people who suck up and I meet a lot of people like that. That
makes my hair stand on end.
I like people who are honest and straight forward. Those are the people
I hang out with.
What is it you don't own yet, but that you would like to have?
When it comes to tennis: That title at Roland Garros. But that's not what
you mean. In this life, health is more
important than anything else. Material I have all I want. I have a nice
family and I have enough money to
support them and, when that would be necessary, to eventually support my
own children.
I don't have many real friends. My best friend died ( Tim Gullikson). And
Vitas (Gerulaitis) has also died.
That hurted and still does hurt me a lot. Someone in my position doesn't
have a lot of possibilities to make
real good friends. I know enough people in New York, but there is not one
of them whom I would call and
have dinner with. My family, Jeff ( Schwartz, his manager), Paul (Anacone,
his coach) and Todd (Snyder, his
fitness coach) and a couple of friends in Tampa. That's it.
So, when you are in New York for your work, you will go out for dinner
with those people?
Not necessarily. I feel fine being alone. I have people around me often
enough already. When I get the chance,
at home or at a hotel, I prefer being alone.
I can do what I want, order a pizza, watch tv, ordinary things. With no
one around me, I often feel at my best.