28th June, 1999
MONKEY OFF BACK WHEN TITLE IS WON
RARELY has so much been riding on the Wimbledon championships. Not only is the title at stake over this week, but the world No. 1 ranking is up for grabs.
There is no doubt I would like to be No. 1, but my main aim is to win Wimbledon. If I do that, I will be No. 1. But I can not get ahead of myself, especially since there are 10 guys in the running for it.
I have to at least make the fourth round - which I have never bettered here - to have any hope of overtaking Pete Sampras.
Every player has different ways of dealing with the pressure of trying to be world No. 1. With my position as world No. 2, it is only natural I would want to go one better.
And being world No. 1 is a subject you can not escape. It is always going to be there. You find yourself going on to a court with the thought, "if I win this next match I could be No. 1, or I will be No. 1".
Once you have faced the fact it is a subject that does not go away, you then get on with the task of finding a way to deal with it the best way you can. I have cut out all unnecessary distractions this week. My sole interest is doing the best I can at this tournament. It is the one I desperately want.
I thought I played pretty well in my four-set win over Jonas Bjorkman. Some people were suggesting I should buy the tournament referee, Alan Mills, a beer for making us play on after the third set, when I thought the light was pretty ordinary.
Mills wanted us to play four more games and I could not see the point of playing just four games if we were going to stop. But when Jonas and I did start playing again, I was lucky enough to get the breaks and I closed out the match. Jonas was not helped by a leg injury, but I was pretty pleased to have got out of that match with a win.