AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Date: 2007-01-14

AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 14, 2007

Marat Safin
MELBOURNE, VICTORIA
The Moderator Questions for Marat.

Question Australian Open is one of your favorite tournaments - usually. What do you expect this year physically, mentally?
MART SAFIN: Well, I expect the same thing as I expected for the last eight years being here: try to win it. Every year it's tougher and tougher because the level of tennis is growing and the guys outside of top 20 is basically the same level of guys inside top 20. So every match is tough.
But definitely why not try to win it? Otherwise to fly here for 24 hours, try to make one, two rounds doesn't make sense.

Question Some players are talking about the calendar, moving this tournament back. Is that really feasible? Do you think that would be good?
MART SAFIN: Well, there's a lot of things that could be changed, a lot of speculations around. I don't know exactly what's going to happen.
But definitely the way it's finishing, the way I finish the last year, which was the first week of December, start straight up on the 15th of January. It's a little bit short time for us to rest and get ready for the next season.
So I guess we have to think about something. But I don't know if it's the right thing to change the Australian Open. Maybe move the Davis Cup a little bit the week earlier straight after the Masters in Shanghai.
But definitely would be great for the players to have a little bit more time. As I said, if you don't change anything, I guess we have to deal with it. It would be ideal to have a little more time, but it's not up to me (smiling).

Question Last night Blake and Moya played the final and they play first round here. How do you psychologically prepare playing a guy back to back? How do you prepare for that type of situation?
MART SAFIN: It's a tough one I guess because they know each other very well. It can be actually a very easy match or it can be a very difficult one.
I don't know. I never been in this kind of situation, so I don't know what they have right now in their heads.

Question You've played the same guy two weeks in a row.
MART SAFIN: No, I never had it, never in my life. Is it quite usual?

Question Well, it happens more than you think.
MART SAFIN: No, I never. Not lying (smiling).

Question Do you have a goal for the season or just to stay healthy and whatever happens happens?
MART SAFIN: First of all, it's to stay healthy. Second of all, if I'm healthy, try to make this as close as I can to the top 10 or maybe even break into top 10. Why not? That's the only thing I really want to do this year.

Question Roger said the other day he feels you're perhaps playing better than you were two years ago. How do you personally feel?
MART SAFIN: Well, probably, yes. But unfortunately I had really difficult tennis career because I've been injured quite a lot and I couldn't play two straight years. I was playing one year and then I was getting injured, then I was trying to come back.
I played in 2005 here actually when I won it. I got injured at Indian Wells. I struggled until Wimbledon, and I got injured. I had to almost quit, make operation or to recover. And then it took me almost a year to recover.
So it's difficult for me to judge how I'm playing better or not. But definitely probably more solid because I have more experience. But at the same time it's a little difficult to play at the same level because I've been injured for a long time so I don't have really a lot of tennis.