Marat Safin - July 28 2004
TMS Canada

Q. Can you tell us how you felt coming into here, you know, after a few weeks off after Wimbledon, where you were disgusted with the grass last time?

A. I was happy to come back. You know, I was feeling like quite frustrated. And also just, you know, I wanted to play well. It's a big tournament and also to -- it was a long trip. All the month it's a very difficult one so I wanted to start well. I'm quite stimulated but, unfortunately, there was a little bit unlucky and not real good start.

Q. It was extremely close match. It could have gone either way. How would you assess your play and what do you think was the difference?

A. I think it was okay for me. Like, I didn't play for basically four months and it was quite good and I was little bit unlucky. At some points I lost in a tie-breaker. In second set I had chance, you know, to hold my serve and win a match in two sets, but he's playing pretty well. He's playing very good tennis and that I had to stay there and be focused until the end, but that was just lottery. It can go anyway. So, I'm not really disappointed with my loss.

Q. You won here in 2000 and now you've had a look at the new facilities. Kind of talk about what you -- about winning back over on the other side of the campus and playing on the new facility here.

A. Definitely, it's much bigger, better but I little bit not really lucky for me but, I mean, it's a great thing to do to make it a little bit bigger because the other one was a little maybe small, but still there was atmostphere and here we have to fill with the people. So, I hope you'll manage it.

Q. Do you feel eager to play at the moment?

A. Yeah. Yeah. I'm still there. You know, it's a long way to go and it's a difficult month. So, I have to be focused and, I mean, try to go for it. Why not? Still many tournaments left.

Q. Marat, have you changed your feelings at all about the Olympics?

A. No. I already said it's my decision. It's not like I'm going to change it because I'm feeling good right now. It's my opinion and I don't think it's -- I'm still with it. I mean, it's great to play in Olympics but I don't think it should be there but, anyway, it's not a problem for me.

Q. How motivated would you be for the Olympics compared to say the U.S. Open?

A. It's almost important tournament for me especially I'm playing for my country. It's a lot of points in a game and it's a great thing to win, but I'm still -- if you compare the Olympics to the U.S. Open, I prefer the U.S. Open.

Q. Wimbledon was such a bad experience for you. How are you feeling mentally and what have you kind of done since then to get over that, to get past that?

A. There was nothing wrong. I just don't like to play on grass and I don't feel like playing on grass. It's not because I hate tennis and I said this because I was frustrated. I just don't like to play on grass. And also you have to understand, like, I have preferences. I prefer not to play it next time. And also I don't have this pushing myself and trying to convince myself that I can play good there and try all the time and try and try and try and just be disappointed every year. So, I try to next year, I will take it easy. I will come there on Saturday, practice for two days, and then whatever comes, comes.

Q. This has been a really interesting year I think for you. I mean, you've gone deep in a couple rounds. You went all the way to the final in Australian Open but it seems like it's been another bit of a rollercoaster year. Is that how you would assess it a bit?

A. What do you mean?

Q. You seem to veer between tremendous success and then go through a stage where you get down on yourself or you fight through the injuries.

A. Yeah. But you have to also understand that it's very difficult to come back well after a year that you didn't play, basically. I mean, you're going to have a great tournament, which was the Australian Open, but still you have to pay the price. It's been now for such a long time because you cannot play, like, all of a sudden start to play and play amazing tennis. I mean, Haas, yes, but same thing it will happen to him. He can play a couple of tournaments well and then he has to pay the price because he wasn't there and also, you know, he lose the rhythm of the ball. You lose -- you lose a little the eye in a game. So, it's kind of small things that you need them but it comes with time. It can't just come all of a sudden like this in one tournament and everything is great and everybody forgets that I was out for a year. And it's a little bit difficult for me to play, you know, like some shots, you know, like to move on the court, anticipation, small things that makes a big change. So, it has to go I have to spend a lot of months working, practising and playing, playing and it will be better and better. Just it's like this. It's not a miracle.

Q. What's the difference between the guy that won here four years ago and the guy sitting here today?

A. Older, experienced, used.

Q. Used? How used?

A. How used? Look at me. I've been everywhere. I've been injured. I've been -- everything happen to me. But nothing changes. Just the same person but a little bit improved.

Q. And what was the treatment for in the third set?

A. I felt like I pulled Achilles, the thing, you know, the tendon here.

Q. The Achilles?

A. Yeah. So, it was a little bit scared, you know. So, that's why I called the [inaudible]. I'm not young anymore.

Q. Did you do anything special on your time off?

A. Yeah. I've been practising. I've been practising for three weeks, trying to work on my fitness because it's a long summer. It's not most of the tennis but to be fit and not to get injured and also I was working on just keeping on playing.

Q. Monte Carlo?

A. No. Some other place. Not only one place in the world.

Q. Marat, do you think maybe today's match is to the guy who has been in the final the last two weeks and you haven't played since Wimbledon? Do you think maybe that was the difference in the match? He was more matched up.

A. Could be. It's the confidence. It's the confidence. I mean, that he was -- that's the confidence. He played there for two weeks but also let's see how it's going to go because it's a long, long month, and I don't know if he can manage to stay there for all the months and be the same player. It's very difficult to because it's a lot of matches, a lot of stress, a lot of with nerves, and be tough until the U.S. Open. After U.S. Open it's very difficult.

Q. Kind of playing off Tom's question of how are you different from when you won here in 2000? When you're here in 2002 you seemed to be fighting yourself a lot. It didn't seem like there was as much of that today. You seemed a lot more playing within yourself. Where are you in relation to where you were then?

A. I'm not fighting with myself. Oh, my God. That's how I am. You know, the story of the hippo? The hippo comes to the monkey and said, listen, I'm not a hippo. So, he paint himself like a zebra. He said but he's still a hippo. He said but look at you, you're painted like a zebra but you are a hippo. So then he goes, you know, like I want be a little parrot. So, he put the colours on him and he comes to the monkey and said but, sorry, you are a hippo. So, in the end, you know, he comes and said I'm happy to be a hippo. This is who I am. So, I have to be who I am and he's happy being a hippo.

Q. I hadn't heard that story.

A. So now you know the story. I'm happy the way I am. That's me. That's my tennis. I'm not fighting anything and I'm just trying to play and I'm trying to have fun. Sometimes I have ups, sometimes I have downs. But I'm trying, you know, to make my life easier and enjoy it and it's a difficult job. You have to also understand it's not every day, you know, it's a great time and it's sunny and you play great tennis. You have difficult times. For example, today this loss, you know, it's like you run, you run for two hours and then in the end you lose. So, it's not so difficult and it really like makes you think, you know, like, what I have to improve and how to improve and if you five losses in a row, it's also difficult.

So, you know, you have to work on yourself. Of course you get pissed, you get frustrated because you're not winning the matches but also, you know, I'm here to for the moment to be -- to be there when I'm going to win, and I want to create this moment and I'm working myself and I'm getting pissed at myself, of course, because I want to improve and I want to be better and I want to win tournaments as well as other 128 guys who are going to be in the U.S. Open and 32 guys here right now. That's life.