[訪問]MARK KNOWLES & DANIEL NESTOR 09/10/2004
Friday, September 10, 2004
Transcribed Interview
KNOWLES-NESTOR/Paes-Rikl 6-3, 6-3
An interview with:MARK KNOWLES and DANIEL NESTOR
THE MODERATOR: Questions for doubles champions.
Q. Can you talk about that shot on matchpoint.
MARK KNOWLES: Yeah, I mean, obviously it was a great shot and good time to
hit it. You know, probably the biggest shot I've hit in my career, really,
considering that it was matchpoint to win a Grand Slam.And, you know, I was
lucky. I executed it well. So it was nice.
Q. Yesterday, you had to play in that tough wind. You played pretty well. What
was that like? We've already heard from the singles guys, but was it tougher
in the doubles?
DANIEL NESTOR: It was pretty challenging. I think when it's that ridiculous,
sometimes it relaxes you because, you know, you're not expected to make every
return like you want to in a normal match, normal environment.And if anything,
it helped us for today. I think it was a little bit windy today, too. It was
blowing one way. We were prepared for it and we handled it really well
yesterday. We had a lot of chances to close out the match in the second set,
but we didn't. But we hung in there, we didn't get down, we just knew the
opportunity was there still. I think that our experience showed in that.
Q. Can you talk about, you know, you've had a lot of struggles in previous
finals. Even the one where you won it, you had a first-set tiebreak. Can you
talk about how smoothly it went today.
MARK KNOWLES: Well, yeah, definitely. I mean, you know, I think we've been in
seven Slam finals before this and only come away with one. We felt like we
played good matches in all of them, had matchpoints here in '98 and a little
bit unlucky.The finals of Grand Slam are the two best teams of that tournament.
So going out there today, we just felt really good about the way we were
playing. We had a really good summer. Like Dan said, we played through tough
conditions. We had the experience, we kind of went through it all. Like he
said today we just did a great job, just focusing on our games and executing.
We were fortunate to get the early breaks and hold on to them. Both of us
served really well and weren't able to allow those guy to make an impression
on the return. I think that was key.
Q. Mark, how long do you think typically doubles players can be effective on
court, up until their late 30s?
DANIEL NESTOR: Everyone's different. I mean, everyone's body type's different.
You have guys like Rick Leach and Cyril Suk, who are still playing well into
their 30s, and even 40s for Rick. You know, they're playing well. They're
still having good results.And, you know, we're in our early 30s, so I don't
think we're contemplating retirement any time soon, especially now. We've had
a very consistent year and now it's turned into a great year now that we've
won the US Open. I think next year we're looking forward to getting into the
Slams again.
Q. Any sense of how John McEnroe would do out there with a partner who's
experienced in his early 30s?
DANIEL NESTOR: We played him in Team Tennis last summer. I was impressed by
the way he was serving still. Even in doubles he was covering the court well.
His hands are great. I don't know how he'd last on clay in like a long match -
even doubles it can be pretty tough out there. But, you know, it's hard to say.
But, you know, he's one of the best doubles players of all time. I think
doubles is easier on the body. He seems to have stayed in great shape. He
loves playing, so that's a bonus.
Q. Mark, how do you keep your mind on your tennis? This has been a
particularly lousy year for hurricanes coming through your area.
MARK KNOWLES: I try to look at the overall perspective, you know. Obviously,
from the Bahamas, we've been very lucky over the years. Unfortunately, that's
part and parcel. If you live in the Caribbean, you've got to deal with
hurricanes. We don't have to deal with earthquakes or anything like that.But,
you know, obviously, it's tough. Where I'm from, Nassau, we actually were
pretty fortunate in the last hurricane. But definitely my thoughts go out to
the other islands. Freeport was devastated. It's tough, but unfortunately
weather is something we can't control. So just hope for the best and, you know,
try to give as much support as possible.
Q. Have you had your property damaged?
MARK KNOWLES: Yeah, I've had it damaged, but nothing that hasn't been
replaceable. So I've been very fortunate.
Q. What about Ivan?
MARK KNOWLES: Last I heard, it's going to stay clear of us. But I think
Jamaica is in a world of hurt, so...
Q. You have a house nearby.
DANIEL NESTOR: I do. I'm sure there's some damage from Frances. I haven't
been down there, so I'm not really sure. If his place got damaged, then mine
did, too, because it's pretty near. It's pretty sad what goes on, but it's
something you have to deal with.
Q. In the semis and finals, you guys played a few times before, seemed to be
really hitting your returns of serve, especially off the forehand, you were
hitting the ball so early, you set up a lot of points and put a lot of
pressure on both the French team and the team today. Anything different that
you've done?
MARK KNOWLES: Well, I think yesterday in the semifinal match, you know, Dan
returned unbelievable. He gave me a lot of confidence. I struggled, you know,
quite a bit in the first set yesterday with the wind. He was returning
tremendous. You know, I kind of drew inspiration from that for today. I felt
like I was moving my feet a little bit better and I obviously returned pretty
well today.You know, I think that's part of our strength. Dan and I both can
return really well. It's kind of the key to our partnership. We kind of feed
off each other pretty well. That was the key today.
Q. Yesterday in that first-set tiebreaker, you were down 2-5, those guys were
playing great, but won five straight points. Got to make a big difference in
that particular match.
DANIEL NESTOR: Yeah, I think there was a pretty big point at 4-1 when
Benneteau missed a fairly easy makable forehand volley. Then we switched
sides. All of a sudden we had the wind in our back. They're pretty young. We
knew if we'd stay in there with them, maybe things would turn around,
especially in the wind.2-5, we won our two points on serve. And then put a
little pressure on them, they missed couple shots. We made some good
approaches at the net. All of a sudden we got the set we didn't really deserve.
Second set was the same as the first, except the opposite happened. We should
have won a little bit earlier, but we had to go to a breaker to win it.
Q. Can you guys talk briefly about your plans for the rest of the year? Will
you take a break now?
MARK KNOWLES: I'm going to take like a month off, thankfully. So not play
again until Europe. Dan's schedule is a bit different.
DANIEL NESTOR: I've got to go to Davis Cup in two weekends against Romania,
so... But I'll have a couple weeks after that.
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