WIMBLEDON
Date: 2005-06-20

WIMBLEDON

June 20, 2005

Marat Safin
WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND
The Moderator Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen. I have Marat Safin. Questions in English, please.

Question Is this the new tennis? Instead of four hours on clay, long rallies?
Marat Safin I wish I could have these kind of matches every day. I wish I could play the same level of tennis every day.

Question Maybe you can.
Marat Safin I'm trying. But it took me only six months from the last time I played such good tennis until now.

Question Are you still the president of the "I hate grass" club?
Marat Safin I'm still there. I'm still there. But I've been working on it actually for a long time. With Peter, he try to improve my volleys and try to make me play more aggressive. Well, the tournament in Halle, I made final. That helped me a lot to get the confidence because it's really important to get into the grass and to Wimbledon with something on your back, some good results. Because without the confidence, really difficult to play good tennis and be comfortable on it.

Question You looked very comfortable. Did you feel that way?
Marat Safin Yeah, I felt really comfortable actually. Very confident. Like I said, two weeks ago I made the final in Halle, so it helped me a lot actually.

Question There's a chance you might have Philippoussis next up if he gets through his match. That's going to be a bigger test on grass.
Marat Safin Yeah, but first of all, I think he has a really big match coming that he's playing right now. I don't know what is the score, but it's a really difficult match for him actually. I'm not sure. I'm not a hundred percent sure he going to pass through. Because Beck, he warm up with me today, and he's really good on grass. We'll see. He will give him a hard time.

Question If Mark did get through, on this surface, would that be a tough test?
Marat Safin Well, of course, if you get through the first round, I think you have a little bit more confidence because you going to beat a very good player and he's going to be tough for second round, that's for sure. But we'll see (smiling).

Question After Halle and before this match, what were your expectations for today?
Marat Safin Well, I had to be really serious and I tried to focus on every single point from the first point until the last one, because the first match is always tough on no matter what surface, but actually especially on grass. It's a tough one. And you need to really find your movement on the court because the courts are a little bit different from two weeks ago. And last week, for example, the guys coming from Nottingham, it's a completely different court. You need to get used to it and it takes a little bit of time. Of course, the pressure of the first round, you also playing against the guy who is a very good player, made some great results on grass. Two years ago he beat Agassi. Last year I think he made final in Rosmalen. He knows how to play on it. So I was focused from the first point, playing great tennis and felt confident.

Question How much more do you enjoy playing on the grass? In Australia you were still considering playing here at all.
Marat Safin Well, if I would have -- if I would have felt not comfortable at all at Halle and if I wouldn't make anything great in Halle, for example, like I would play for sure last week also, try to get used to the grass, if I would have felt not really confident and comfortable on the grass, I would not play. But since Halle, I make some good results. Like in Halle I make good results, so why not try?

Question How hard is it to break a racquet on grass?
Marat Safin You break the court faster than you break the racquet, that's for sure.

Question You say it's six months since you played like this, so you mean the Australian Open. Were there ever times if you wondered if you'd ever play this well again?
Marat Safin No, I will. Now I have the confidence. Now it's very difficult -- now it's more actually I need to hold it. I need to hold these feelings and I need to hold it for a long time, as long as I can. Because now it looks like I found my game, I found the confidence that I was missing for past six months. Finally I have it. I'll try not to lose it again.

Question Are you a bit worried with the break you have to take for your knee that you could lose it a bit?
Marat Safin Unfortunately I have to do this if I want to do very well in the second part of the year, which is on the hard court season. Actually, it's the worst surface for the knees, for the ankles - not only for me, it's like for all the players. If I don't take care of it right now after Wimbledon, then I might not be even to finish the year. So I prefer to take one month off and try to take good care of it and try to prepare for two weeks before Montreal, try to be serious. I'm not young any more (smiling).

Question Have you made any changes to the people you have with you from the Australian Open to here or has that been settled?
Marat Safin Yeah, same people. No changes, yeah.

Question Where did your confidence go? You say it went, then it comes back, you found it.
Marat Safin No, because I couldn't pass through the third round even in any of the tournaments. I had my opportunities, and I was missing by a little bit. Had some very close matches. And if I would pass them, I would be playing good tennis. But I couldn't make it. I couldn't make for some reason. Was a little bit unlucky. Was a little bit not aggressive enough on some matches, and in other matches I was too much under pressure, and many other things that they were bothering me and I couldn't pass through with that. It's difficult. When you don't have the confidence, it's difficult to perform well, it's difficult to play good tennis and it's difficult to win matches. The more matches you lose, the more difficult it is to come back. Unfortunately, is this way. It's very difficult to get the confidence, but it's very easy to lose it.

Question You got it back in Halle?
Marat Safin Yeah.

Question Did you decide that grass wasn't so bad or that you felt better on it?
Marat Safin Well, I felt -- I really felt really comfortable for some reason. And Peter, he was supporting me and he was giving me advices. He was just trying -- he was trying to make me feel comfortable. You know, he gave me the support that I needed. For past six months, it was really difficult time for me. And everybody, of course, they were expecting me to do miracles after Australian Open. They were not coming. The results were not coming. So he was there for me and he was just trying to calm me down and just he was trying to explain to me that I will have my opportunity and I will be playing well again sooner or later.

Question What kind of adjustments did you make to your own game?
Marat Safin You know, to be more aggressive. You can't just -- I lost my game like in Monte-Carlo. Against Ferrero, I think it was a key match. I started to be a little more defensive. That's how I lost it completely. In Rome, I was playing a terrible match against Almagro. I was just playing completely not my game. It was pushing me to -- even to lose, but at least to play my game, which is coming in, playing aggressive, putting pressure and trying to get to the net. If I start to run on the baseline, I'm not as good as when I'm playing aggressive.

Question For a guy who didn't like grass that much...
Marat Safin Jesus, how much you going to do?

Question Some people think Wimbledon should change to a hard court. Do you think that would be a bad thing?
Marat Safin Whatever. For two weeks, it doesn't really matter, I think.

Question Does that mean you'd like grass to stay?
Marat Safin I'm not talking only about myself. I'm also thinking about other players. And I think they don't mind to play on grass for two weeks. So I support them.

Question What about the tradition, history?
Marat Safin Also this, of course. How we can forget this (smiling)?

….