7th March, 1999
I'M NO CERTAINTY FOR CUP BERTH
With the DC match against Zimbabwe less than a month away, my selection in singles is far
from cut and dried. I said as much before I left Australia for Bermuda and after my loss
to Lleyton Hewitt in Arizona. I've got plenty of ground to make up before I can put my
hand up in Harare next month. Just because I'm in the Squad with Flip, Lleyton, and the
Woodies doesn't mean I'm going to be automatically selected.
I'm the type of player who needs a lot of matches fo find my form and confidence, I came
out of Scottsdale feeling not that great about my game. On form, Lleyton is a real chance
to play singles although the conditions will be different in Harare with the altitude.
Jason Stoltenberg also is a chance, even though he lost in the first round in Scottsdale.
Lleyton's got this amazing ability to lock into his opponent and wear them down with his
competitiveness. And he rarely makes a mistake which is pretty good for a kid who's just
turned 18. In his present mood, Lleyton is capable of giving any player a really rough
time. I had plenty of chances against him but I didn't take them and paid the price. I was
up 5-3 in the first set, 3-1 in the tiebreak and then had more chances in the second set.
But it all slipped away from me in the second set and Lleyton got through me 7-6, 6-1. He
really deserved to beat me. Unfortunately, he's starting to make a habit of it. I'll
spend today driving to Indian Wells thinking about what I need to do to get my game back
on track. Hopefully it won't take too long.
I have decided to play the Atlanta tournament in April because I realise I need to play
more tournaments. My plan was to play fewer events this year because of the wear and tear
on my body from playing up to 28 events a year over the past two years. But if I do not
play Atlanta, I will still have to train. Because I gain my confidence from winning
matches, playing in Atlanta is an obvious path.
I will play Indian Wells this week, then the Lipton Championships in Key Biscayne, then DC
in Zimbabwe and then head off to Hong Kong.
I also have decided to play the Bermuda challenger doubles with Paul Kilderry before I
really crank up for the clay court season and the French Open in May. The last time I
played challenger level doubles was back in 1994 but I am keen to have as much match
practice as I can. Now it is a matter of working and playing as hard as I can.