YEVGENY KAFELNIKOV defeated THOMAS ENQVIST

4-6 6-0 6-3 7-6

31 January 1999

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to really say,
let's make it as short as possible because I have a plane
to catch.

Q. Is that a joke or - - -?

A. No, it's true; I have an 8:30 flight.

Q. They have given you a bye till Tuesday, have they, in
Marseille?

A. Well, I mean, I won't be - if I don't leave tonight, I
won't be getting back to Europe on Tuesday; it's not
good.

Q. So which way are you going to Marseille?

A. Through Europe, through Frankfurt.

Q. How can you explain those nine games that you won in a
row?

A. I mean, I cannot really answer what really happened to
Thomas. But, you know, the game plan was very simple. I
try to place as many balls as I can, because I knew I'll
get the chances, like I was saying before; and basically,
what happen, I broke Thomas mentally. You know, the way
that the first set was going on, I never felt I would
come back, because, I mean, Thomas was making the winners
from every angle of the court, not only from the
forehand, but backhand too. He was striking the ball as
well as he could, and, you know, I'm glad that the main
strategy was working out. I knew if I will stay in the
match, I will.

Q. Did you think, with the difficulty he had in holding that
last game in the first set, that your message or your
tactic was getting through?

A. Yeah, he knew. Definitely, he knew that it wasn't going
to be easy for him. Like I said, he wasn't going to win
in three straight sets because not many times you get
such opportunity in Slam final to win any Slams, no
matter who it is, and how he's playing. You know, once
it's a Grand Slam, it could never happen again. So I'm
glad that I used that opportunity and happy to win
another Slam, that's for sure.

Q. Can you compare this one with the French?

A. Different, definitely different. When I won my first
Grand Slam, you know, no-one really noticed that, you
know, I win the French, or that I made a great job, and
winning the French, it was different basically. But now
I know what it really takes to win a Slam and feels like,
because I've been through some difficult matches here,
you know, in second round against Stoltenberg, in the
fourth against Pavel, and now this really feels like I
did deserve it, by playing as well as I can.

Q. Yevgeny, is it better second time around then? Is that
what you are saying?

A. It feels better, yeah. It feels better. You know, to
have a trademark, you know, one Slam winner, is - I
definitely prove that, prove it wrong by winning another
one. It definitely feels better. Okay. If I would have
win another French Open, it also feels great; but to win
a different one, Australian Open, it feels a lot better,
believe me.

Q. You have more chances to win the third - Wimbledon or US
Open?

A. I don't know about Wimbledon. Wimbledon is, you know,
it's out of vision at the moment; but who knows? Miracle
can happen. But, you know, it's - it feels good right
now, believe me. It feels very good. You know, probably
I have more chances, yes, to win the US Open than the
Wimbledon.

Q. Why do you have so much difficulty at Wimbledon? Is it
timing, is it what, on the grass?

A. I would say not timing.

Q. Footwork?

A. No, not exactly footwork. Psychological effect, more,
because I am not a serve and volley player. I mean, for
me, it's psychologically different to keep doing it point
after point, and doing it all the thing for seven
straight matches, and all I can say, that tournament I
lost to Pete, I mean, he feels like - I feel like he owns
the tournament, as many times he won and dominated in the
tournament, you know. I don't see - I don't see myself
being a contender at that tournament.

Q. Yevgeny, from your speech it sounded like you felt like
if Pete was here, you wouldn't have won the tournament.
Is that the way you feel?

A. Yeah, you know, it's definitely true. Whenever Pete is
in the tournament, you feel like he's definitely the man
to win. But with his absence, you know, like I said, it
opens up the field for everybody, including myself.

Q. Don't you feel that you under-estimate your win by saying
that?

A. Could be, yeah, could be, because I mean, in the early
stages of the tournament I wasn't playing as well,
probably, as I'm playing right now. I was overweight,
you know; I was moving slow. But right now, it's - I
feel like I physically get stronger as the tournament was
progressing, and my ground strokes working, my serve
feels like getting lot of, out of that aspect of the
game, and, you know, there's - of course, there's lot of
room still to improve my game, which hopefully I'll do,
as the year goes on.

Q. You said before the match that you thought it would be a
long match, and it seemed in the first two sets as if you
were playing, as if you were expecting it to be. You
didn't seem to be going flat out with your first serve,
and you seemed to be trying to reserve something for the
end. Is that the way you were thinking?

A. Not really, not really. From the first point on, you
know, I had to play as hard as I could. I had to be a
hundred per cent. But I felt like Thomas was a lot
fresher than me because he had the two days to recover,
and, you know, he was playing as well as he could in that
first set. But I really cannot answer what happened to
him, you know, from beginning of the third, all the way
through the third set. I don't know why he lost nine
games in a row.

Q. After the semi-final you sat there and said that Thomas
used to get choking when he was under pressure?

A. Yeah.

Q. Was that what happened today?

A. Oh, you have to ask him when he comes here. But you
know, I felt like I was in that particular aspect of
confidence - having experience in big matches, I felt
like I had advantage over him. I knew how to handle the
pressure, how to respond, and in a different
circumstances, in the match. That's what happened. You
know, I knew exactly when I had to win a point, when I
had to concentrate on, on the games. There was a
difference.

Q. Yevgeny, why do you think that other people have taken a
while to win a final and you have managed to win both
your finals in Slams?

A. I don't know, because I mean, not many times you get such
opportunity, and you have to be able to focus for the
couple hours, to get a job done. But that's important.
I mean, to go all the way through the final, winning six
matches in a row, and not having, keep everything you
have for the last one, I think it's, it's either stupid
or - I mean, I don't know. Okay, if I would have lose in
five sets I would say, yeah, I give everything I have. I
could have not done better job. But seems to me, I mean
- I don't know, I'm not going to say anything. But, you
know, I felt like Thomas had a something still in his
body, that he could have tried probably a lot harder.
But I don't know. I just, just feel, my personal
feeling; maybe he can tell later on.

Q. Yevgeny, do you think possibly, if you thought of paring
down your schedule and playing a few less tournaments you
would be - - -

A. I'm motivated. I'm ready to go again. I'm ready to go.

Q. What happened to you since last summer? You were at a
low, and your motivation was not at its best. What was
the turning point?

A. If you want me to say I got married, of course, that was
a turning point. Yes, but I mean there's a lot of
different things that happen to me, just relieve pressure
from my head. Like I said, you know, I feel a lot
flexible right now, a lot happier than I was. You know,
when you combine those things, you feel like you can jump
over the China Wall without having any difficulties.
That's how I feel right now, probably.

Q. What were some of the other things then, beside getting
married?

A. I don't know. You know, so many things happen so quickly
- married, you know, my daughter was born; many things,
you know. Starting to work with Larry, you know.
There's a lot of, lot of things, lot of things.

Q. Are you going to shave yourself now?

A. I have no time. Like I said, I have a plane to catch.

Q. Was there ever a time when you thought you wouldn't win a
second Grand Slam title?

A. I thought so, yeah. I thought so, because I did felt
really tired after the match against Haas, and yesterday,
you know, I felt like, you know, maybe I wasn't going to
make it. But the important thing was I knew I had to
concentrate basically for one final match.

Q. Probably talking about, maybe last year, or sometime
between 1996 and now?

A. No, that wasn't an issue that I was thinking about. I
only was concerned that I was, when I get tired that my
body wouldn't take it.

Q. And what message do you think this victory sends outs to
the rest of the men's game?

A. I don't know.

A. Don't ask me, but I feel great. I feel great.

Q. What about this Fisher shirt? I mean, you have a
contract, or you don't?

A. I'm a free agent. I'm a free agent. I like to be that
way, you know. I like to be that way.