TMS MONTE CARLO
Date: 2005-04-12

TMS MONTE CARLO

April 12, 2005

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

Question It seems to me that you could have beaten Lee with a much easier score. Do you feel sometimes you don't try hard enough in certain games? I mean, it kind of affects your career, but when you really need to win some important points, you do; but when it's not that necessary, you kind of let it go. Do you think that's true?
Marat Safin There is -- it is not exactly the truth because, first of all, it's the first match on clay court. It's difficult really to play great tennis straightaway because you need to get used to it, you need to get used to the clay, especially you know that, you know, it's not his best surface. So you try to play your -- try a lot of different things. So sometimes, you know, some games you go just for a little bit too much because you want to try something new just to adapt yourself to the clay. Then when you need to win, of course you try. But just you experiment a lot because you need to get the feeling. The more you try, right now, it's better for me. Otherwise, you cannot try in the semifinals or just whenever we getting closer and the opponents are getting much tougher. For example, if you play against a clay court player, you cannot do the stuff that I was doing today, you know, risk it for so much.

Question Is that a dangerous tactic to have, though, you're trying and trying...
Marat Safin Yeah, but you need to. You need to. It's the first match on clay. You need to experiment. You need to try. Because the last time I played on clay was in French Open last year. So you need to bring back the feeling. You need to try new things. You need to work on it, because it's different kind of game than the hard court. It's better to do it right now in the first round than to do it in a semifinal and it cost you much more than now.

Question Do you find the switch from the hard court to clay the most difficult? What surface to go to which surface is most difficult for you?
Marat Safin I got used to it, you know. Because at the beginning, it was really costing me a lot of time, you know, just to get used to from hard to clay because the points are longer, you know. Many things. But now it's easier because you know what you need to do, how to work, what kind of exercise you need to do. So basically one week is enough.

Question You're the only one who beat Federer this year. Do you think you would rather play him on hard court or on clay? I mean, what is the most convenient surface to play against Federer for your type of game?
Marat Safin I mean, we played twice also on clay, but they were not my greatest matches. One time was a long time ago in 2001 in Rome. Basically, I had to win, and I lost 7-6 in the third. He played great tennis in Hamburg final, and I didn't really -- I couldn't do anything, I didn't feel comfortable on the court. But, you know, doesn't really matter because he plays great on all surfaces, as well as me. Just different game, a little bit different. But not much different than hard.

Question But if you had to pick the surface, you say, "I want to play Federer," where would you play him?
Marat Safin I prefer on clay.

Question Labadze said that the Russian mentality is to, before a match, if you don't feel like playing a match, you just don't really try hard.
Marat Safin Excuse me. Labadze said what?

Question He said that the Russian mentality is that sometimes before coming to a match, if you don't feel like playing, you just don't really bother. Do you think that's true?
Marat Safin It's Labadze. He's Georgian (smiling). It's Labadze. He's a different case. I mean, with so much talent, so much talent that he has and he couldn't really get anywhere closer than Top 50, that's quite sad. But, you know, like he's speaking for himself, basically. He's giving excuses to himself. But of course, you know, you get to the stage we're already playing for so many years on the tour that there is no more time to waste it on useless things. Every time you go to the court -- because you do, you're making money. It's business at the end of the day. It's our work. So it's like you cannot just, you know, because you're not feeling like playing, come on the court and just tank it. You do these things when you are young (inaudible).

Question I'm just saying because sometimes I've seen Davydenko kind of not really trying, I've seen you...
Marat Safin It looks like we're not trying. It looks like that. But we do, because we play tennis very easy (smiling).

Question You struggled after Melbourne. Have any explanation?
Marat Safin Just lost some confidence. But anyway, for the past three years I didn't make anything special in these tournaments that I have been playing, you know, like after Melbourne. Dubai, last three years I was -- I never pass the second round; Indian Wells, the same thing; Miami, the same thing. Nothing special for me. Just the kind of months that I cannot play.

Question Why?
Marat Safin I don't know why. No matter how much you try, no matter how much you practice, how much you dedicate yourself, you try to do as many different things as you can, you know, just not to think about it, or practice a lot, or not practice, it doesn't work. It just for some reason doesn't.

Question When did you lose your confidence? You were in Melbourne?
Marat Safin No, just because I had a break before Dubai. I had a really long last season. Always I played one year well and then I was getting injured all the time. So I'm trying to take my time because I can break myself very easily. As we can see, all the seasons are very long. Some of the people, they are playing even Davis Cup in December, so there is no time to recover and prepare for a new season. There is a time after Australia where you have three weeks just to rest, just -- you know. And then it takes a little bit of time, you know, to get used to the courts, and basically I lose the confidence.

Question Need the rest.
Marat Safin It can happen.

Question With those bad results after the Australian Open, did you kind of look forward for the clay court season to begin?
Marat Safin Yeah. Because I was -- it's my favorite surface, actually. Really, it's much more chances to come back, you know. For example, in the matches, you have much more opportunities to break other people, the serve and everything. It's much more opportunities to, when you are losing, to come back. On hard court the matches can be really fast. And one, two mistakes, and basically the match is gone. So clay court season, it's a tough one, but I prefer this way.

Question Now you play Saulnier. You know this guy. You had two tough matches against him. What do you think?
Marat Safin He's really talented, also a player who has been on the tour for a long time. He has great wins. He won his first match, so he must be playing well on clay. We'll see. I mean, like, also let's see with what he gonna come up.

Question Do you still have time to enjoy your life apart from tennis? Do you go out, do something, or not?
Marat Safin Why you so worried about... (smiling).

Question I just found out that you were in Paris last week.
Marat Safin Yeah. Why not?

Question I just ask. Are you happy?
Marat Safin Of course. Life is too short to waste the time.

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