Monday, June 3, 2002

A. AGASSI/P.H. Mathieu 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3

Q. How long were you at Bollettieri? When you were
there, was Andre a legend around the place?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: Of course, he was. I stayed
three years. No, he was for sure.

Q. So you knew him a little bit, did you?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: No, no, no. I never saw him over
there. I just see him around the tournaments.

Q. Today was the first real meeting, huh?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: Yes.

Q. You were up a break in the fifth set. You were up
two breakpoints. Do you feel that you really had to
 have those points, even when you didn't get them,
you were still up a break?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: I mean, I could not do anything.
He played great shot on those two points. I mean, I
give him credit. I mean, it's Agassi. This is not
somebody else.

Q. Was there any point in the match where you thought
you were going to win it?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: On the breakpoint in the fifth, of
course, yeah. But he did some great shot. Good for him.

Q. What did you learn about yourself during this match
and the whole tournament? Did you surprise yourself?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: No. I reassured myself. I realized
I was able to play several matches in a row and could
raise my level of game compared to my opponent, so this
is a positive point. I think it's going to be a triggering
point which will give me energy for my next tournaments.

Q. You're not playing Wimbledon? Is that still the case?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: No, I don't think I'll be in the draw
unless it happens at the last minute. But normally I'm not
in the draw.

Q. Although you had a break in the beginning of the third
set, don't you feel the rain delay caused you problems?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: Maybe it stopped my energy a little
bit. But it's very difficult to tell. I couldn't tell
without a rain delay if it would have been the same or not.
I don't know if I would have had that break or not.

Q. Did you speak with your coach?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: Yes. During the rain delay, I was with
him. I ate something. I spoke with him.

Q. What did you say to each other?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: He said, "You're playing well. Continue
the same way. Don't let go. Keep on going."

Q. Were you satisfied that you were up 2-Love against Agassi,
or maybe the fact that you took your chances in the fifth set
again is even more satisfying?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: Well, I think my best feeling is to push
him to the fifth set and have my chance then. I believe if I
believed in it a bit more, I could have been able to win.

Q. Did you believe you would win at some stage?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: Well, when I thought I would win is when
he had problems. It was in the first two sets. I was up 2-Love,
I had a break. I said, "If it continues that way, I'm going
to win." Then I had a letdown. I was able to come back in the
fifth set, but I had Agassi across the net. He's used to
playing in that kind of situation. He took the point when
it was necessary.

Q. You're talking about a letdown. Was it the pressure?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: No, it was not the pressure. It's difficult
to play with pressure, so I try not to think about it. With the
support of the crowd, in spite of my letdown, I was able to come
back again.

Q. During the week you reached three major achievements. What do
you think for the future?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: I hope it's going to be a triggering effect
for the future and continue in the same way. We'll see what's
going to happen.

Q. You played four matches in a row.
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: It's difficult to tell because if I hadn't
played Agassi specifically today, I might have been able to win
and continue playing other matches. We'll see in the future of
my career.

Q. When we think about all your matches in the French Open, we
were always impressed by your intelligence on the court. Against
Agassi at one stage, did you believe you were not using correctly
one weapon? Did you feel you had to force to stay at the same level?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: No, I didn't try to force it. In the end, I
was a bit more tired than in the beginning, so I missed more first
serves. This I think was my only bad point today, and it cost
me a lot.

Q. If there was one thing to change in that match, what would
it be? To fight differently?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: Well, I would have liked to have won, of
course. I think I should have believed in it more. Of course,
in the beginning, more before starting, I was believing. But
once I was on center court against Agassi, I thought, "Well,
it's happening." Then it was difficult to manage.

Q. Today we had the winner of the Juniors in the year 2000, yourself,
and Agassi, who won the tournament before. Do you believe it's a lack
of experience on your part? Or, on the contrary, is it because you
were young and without pressure that you were able to be up two sets
to Love?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: Well, I had pressure because at 20 years old on
center court, completely full, for a French player in the French Open,
it's a lot of pressure. I was able to deal with it, so I'm happy with
that. It gave me strength. But in the third set, I lacked experience,
in the fifth set, also , at the important moment of the match. He was
used to the situation. That's what made the difference.

Q. What does it mean to be "used to it"? Does he see problems in your
game that you can't see in his game?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: No. But when he wants to win a specific point, he
wins it. He lived the situation 200 times already before, and for me
it was the first time. That's the difference.

Q. It's the first time you're playing on center court completely full.
What feeling did you have with the crowd? How was the atmosphere? Was
it thrilling?

PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: Yes, it was thrilling. It's fabulous to play on
center court here. It's something incredible, unbelievable. Of course,
if I had won today, it would have been a miracle. It would have been
the best day in my whole life. But now I know what I can do and I hope
next year I'll do better.

Q. In fact, if we listen to you, the fact that you are young helped you
to believe in your possibilities of winning?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: Yes, certainly. Yes, we can conclude that.

Q. For the future, you're going to play a challenger. How will the
transition be between a great stadium like here to a challenger?
How will you deal with the change?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: I have to come back on earth now. I have to land.
I'm going to try to improve my ranking from now on, to be closer and
closer from top levels.

Q. After the challenger?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: In Italy, I'm going - on clay.

Q. Being among the Top 100, will it change a lot of things in your
life? Do you recognize it might?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: Yes, I'm aware of it. I was expecting this moment
for a long time already, and now I'm there. It was just a step being
among the Top 100, but now I hope I'm going to go even higher.

Q. What do you remember from this week? If you had special points to
underline, positively and negatively, what would you say?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: Well, positively, I was able to play match after
match. It's the first time I won three matches in a row in a Grand
Slam. It's the first time. I surprised myself a little bit that I was
able to remain concentrated for the whole match, from beginning to end.
From the negative point of view, not much. Maybe a bit today, lack of
experience.