Scott Draper
I started off well. I don't think I got worse … the thing with Andre is he tends to make you hit better shots than you really need to. He stands inside the baseline and forces me to make great shots. I felt like all of his miss-hits, everything, just went perfectly. Andre had a great day. I just wasn't good enough on the day.

I feel like I'm playing really good ball. I played him when he was number one in the world and he played better today.

Q: You have ice on your knee, was your knee a factor in the match?

A: No, this is normal.

I think I tried to outsmart myself today. … I tried to outsmart him and instead I ended up outsmarting myself. I think what you see, if you take Pete Sampras or whoever, they sort of do what they do well. Agassi may know that Sampras is going to serve down the middle on a big point, he's going to do it any way. … I stopped doing the things that I do well and that's something I have to work on. If I go out there, do the best that I can, go out there and lose, that's okay. Today I felt like I tried to do something that's out of my boundaries. I'll give credit where it's due. Andre played fantastic today and forced me to make unforced errors.

Q: If you had to pick one or two things about Agassi's game that maybe he's got back that he was missing when he was struggling, what would it be?

A: Unforced errors. I played him in the Lipton Championships in 1997 … I'd get free points every third or fourth point and it makes a difference. Today I had rallies where against 99 percent of the players on the tour, I would have won the points. He's just so good at controlling a point from the center of the court. You really have to play a mixed bag of tennis. But that's really hard to do when you're getting your [butt] whipped.

Q: Did your approach change after that first service break?

A: I was serving down the middle, cross court, everything was going great and then I think I changed. I tried to start thinking about what I was doing. You play your best tennis when you're focused , but also very relaxed. I was a bit tense and tried to do a bit too much.

It's my third final and I played a guy who I consider, on his day the best player in the modern era. He can play unbelievably. And I just wasn't good enough today.

Q: Did it surprise you how Andre was painting the corners with his shots?

A: Freakish. There were so many points today where I felt like I had control and I lost it like that. I tried a couple of different things, but he had me on a string.

Q: The weather cooled off today. Was that kind of a relief?

A: When you play Andre in the heat, you're in trouble, because he makes you run. It was a perfect day for tennis. I felt like I played pretty well today. It's a scary thing. I played the same way I've played all week … he played great today. He played too well.

Q: Have your expectations changed after this week?

A: Absolutely. Andre said to me during the presentation I have no right being 40 or 50 in the world. I should be better than that. I'm starting to believe that I should be better than 40 or 50 in the world. I'm hoping that I can start building on the last couple of tournaments. When you're in situations like this, you start to believe in yourself a little bit more. When you go to a tournament, you're not thinking about booking a flight Thursday every week. You're ready to go the whole weekend. You walk into some tournaments thinking you could be home by Thursday or Friday, even get a game of golf in while you're out there. Yea, it will change my attitude. I'm a little while away from getting to the peak of my career but I'm getting there. I feel like every year I'm improving.

Andre Agassi
When I'm playing well you've got to understand the strengths of my game. I have versatility of shots on both wings, I'm moving well, I'm taking the ball early and I'm in position to do whatever I want with the ball.

Q: Were you disappointed to see Draper advance by walkover, or were you happy that you got to play a lower seed?

I was disappointed for the tournament. I thought that would be a good matchup in the semifinals. I thought that would have been an interesting match and I would have wanted to play the winner, not Chang, not Draper, but whoever was playing the best tennis. It is nice to see Scott get to the finals.

Q: Draper said you played better today than when you are No. 1 in the world. Can you comment on that?

A: I'd have to agree with that.

Q: Why are you playing better now?

A: You know what it is? Mentally, I'm able to keep a roll going, because I have much more appreciation for the work it takes to get there. And if things aren't quite going my way, I'm more mature and am even more prepared to deal with that situation. I'm stronger mentally and I'm working myself back to a place where my game has a lot of confidence. And, it's time. It's really time to step it up to the next level and good things are starting to happen.

He got my attention very quickly out there today. I was a little bit upset by him there in the beginning. I didn't expect him to have that much pop in his game. He came out with two aces. He moves so well. I felt like I had to step it up on him and stay focused. I not only had to stay solid, but raise it a little bit. If I had just stayed consistent, he would have taken his chances.

Q: Was there a certain point over the past few months where things started clicking for you?

A: No. The last few months have been a struggle. I had setbacks in London and Paris. Wimbledon, I was all out of sync. I didn't feel good about the amount of tennis I had behind me. It's only been a few weeks that I've been working on hard courts, and you've got to remember that hard courts is a great surface for me. I started off the year playing rather well on it. I lost on the grass and the clay but now I'm back on it and from here on in I feel like I can really step it up.

Q: What do you think about your chances at the U.S. Open?

A: If I'm playing like this I feel like I can win the Open. My goal is to capitalize at these tournaments.

Q: Earlier you were talking about this being a "foundation year" now you're talking about winning the U.S. Open. What's different mentally?

A: It's not about your head. It's about being very realistic about where you are. I've always been somebody who can make quick gains. Realistically, a couple of weeks ago, I couldn't expect to be in a position to be able to win the Open. At least go in there believing that I can. Now, I'm really playing well. Ten days can make a difference. At least for me they can.

Q: Where else are you going to play this summer?

A: L.A., Toronto, Cincinnati and Indianapolis.

Q: That's a lot.

A: If I win them, it's a lot. We'll just see how I do.