TMS MONTE CARLO
Date: 2005-04-13

TMS MONTE CARLO

April 13, 2005

Marat Safin
MONTE-CARLO, MONACO
The Moderator Questions, please.

Question After that kind of performance, are you starting to think about winning the tournament?
Marat Safin Not yet. It's still too early. Second match. Still too early to think about it.

Question How do you think you're playing now on clay?
Marat Safin Better than yesterday, and hopefully I'll continue improving my game. It's a really tough surface. You need to get used to it. I'm still not 100%, not comfortable on the court. It takes time. It takes a lot of matches. It takes a lot of points, a lot of days of hitting the ball to get the rhythm on the clay.

Question Big condition change today from yesterday. Does that suit you, a faster ball?
Marat Safin For everybody I think it's much better, you know. It's much more comfortable to play with the sun, doesn't matter if you're (hitting?) faster or little bit slower. Just much nicer to play with the sun. At least you want to play. When it's dark and it's raining and it's cold and nobody's watching, then it doesn't matter how slow it is or how great the conditions are, it's just boring.

Question You haven't played typical clay courters so far. Do you think you might have a little bit of shock when you play a typical clay courter in the following matches?
Marat Safin No, but you need to get used to it. You cannot just like -- it would be much more difficult if you play a first match against Mantilla, you know. Like then it's a completely different story. But still, you know, it's not such big difference, you know, between like Spanish and, for example, Saulnier. Of course they are a little bit more solid. But at least if you get the rhythm from the clay court, you can play with them already like the third day, already playing two matches having in your pocket. Then to play against Spanish is okay. It's already you are used to the courts. It's easier. You can rally with them.

Question You should be satisfied with your serve because you served strongly today.
Marat Safin Yeah, just it's very important, doesn't matter which surface. I think it's even on clay you need to have a pretty good serve. Because if you can save a lot of points, even though that the courts are slower, they are fast, doesn't matter. Just a good serve is obviously effective. It gives you a lot of free points (inaudible).

Question Are you having fun on the court when you're playing like this?
Marat Safin I'm trying. I'm trying. I'm trying (smiling).

Question Thinking much about your next opponent?
Marat Safin I don't really care. I have other problems to take care of. To be honest, I don't really care. It's going to be Novak or it's going to be Ferrero.

Question Any preferences?
Marat Safin No.

Question Your blisters, in the end, it's old story?
Marat Safin I hope so. I hope so. I hope so. Would be great.

Question Do you think it's an advantage to reside in Monaco and to just go back home after the match rather than go to a hotel?
Marat Safin It doesn't matter where you living, it's who is next to you. The surrounding is very important, the atmosphere. If your friends are around, it doesn't matter where you are; it's very comfortable. Okay, of course, just everybody -- a lot of friends of mine are here. So of course it's much easier to, you know -- you feel much more comfortable than you are on the road somewhere where you have nobody to, you know, like speak with. That's the difficult part.

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