2002 NASDAQ-100 Open
Date: 2002-03-23
Safin def. Philippoussis 7-6, 6-1

Question For a good set there, you were really going toe-to-toe. How did you actually feel playing today?
Answer I didn't feel, you know, too bad. The most important thing is my knee held up fine. It didn't hurt at any stage. I definitely pushed it in some points throughout that match But yeah, you know, like I said, most important thing is my knee, and it held up good. I'm happy.

Question What was the biggest difference between the two of you in the match, do you think?
Answer The difference is obviously match play. But, you know, on the big points, instead of me going forward, I'm hitting it and going backwards. Up till then I'm playing toe-to-toe, then all of a sudden, you know, 15-30 or 3-all or 3-2 in a tiebreaker, I've got to chip, you know. I've got to chip that and come in, or I'm going to hit and stay back. Not just chip and stay defensive, on my back foot straightaway. That's what the key was today. I just, you know, Safin kept on going for his shots and kept on stepping in. And when it was time for me to step in and step up, I was going backwards. And, you know, I've just got to take that away, you know, take the positive things away from that and just work on it. So...

Question Is that a mental thing, that you didn't feel comfortable attacking today?
Answer It's just, like I said, it comes down to match play. I was hitting toe-to-toe, then all of a sudden got to the big situation. I guess, yeah, you know, you don't play enough matches. Then automatically, I think you go into defense mode instead of knowing that, "Okay, I'm going to chip and charge." And no matter what happens, if I'm going to lose this point, I'd rather him pass me to lose a point instead of me getting on the back foot and trying to scrape the ball back for him to miss." Because the players these days, they don't miss too many balls.

Question Your mobility seemed also at times a little bit slower than perhaps it normally would. Are you still weary of the fact that you don't want to do anything to your knee?
Answer No, I'm not weary. I get on that court and I just, you know, go for it. I don't really think about it too much. I try not to think about it. I just go out there and, you know, whatever I have to do to run the ball down, I will. I think the difference is, you know, I haven't done any strengthening on my knee because I didn't want to do anything to risk it. I've just been -- I'm relaxing it and trying to, you know, keep it safe for the matches. So I haven't done any footwork drills, I haven't done any weights, I haven't moved around too much on the court. I've just been hitting with McNamara up and down and playing points here and there out of the hand and stuff. I haven't been doing too much.

Question Does that affect your confidence, when you're in a tight match situation and you're not sure how the knee is going to hold up?
Answer I'm not worried about the knee because, you know, like I'll speak to my doctor. The doctor said, "If there's anything that happens, you've pretty much already done it. It's not like you're going to do something on the court. So you just go out there and just play, don't think about it and play." And that's what I'm doing. I'm not really thinking about the knee, I'm just playing. So I think, like I said, sometimes it might look I'm favoring my right side and not trying to, you know, not put too much stress on my left knee, but it's just my movement. You know, like I said, the footwork drills aren't there. I haven't been doing them. It's tough on the court. You know, I'm a big guy, I need to move my feet. I need those little steps for the balls. If it's not there, it's tough.

Question How come you don't have it taped and wrapped at all during the match?
Answer Because I don't want to have it taped. I don't want to have that feeling that there's something wrong with my knee, you know. I just want to go out there and pretend there's nothing wrong, just to go out there and play.

Question Sorry if you've been asked this before, but this being your first tournament in about a month, what do you take away from this? I mean, a good first-round win. (Inaudible)?
Answer There are some positive things. I can't be too negative or too disappointed. Obviously, you're disappointed when you lose. But I think, number one, I've got to improve my fitness; number two, my footwork; number three, just working on my game. On those big points, coming forward and not going backwards, you know, making him come up with the winners, making him come up with the passes. If he does, that's too good. I think the very good thing is it's my last hardcourt match for a while, then I'm going on the clay and the grass. On the clay, you slide into the shots. There's not a pounding on my joints. I'm really excited about that. I think it's going to give me a good opportunity to really get my knee strong and my body strong.

Question So, Mark, you don't have another injection until September?
Answer I'm probably going to end up, yeah... Yeah. Like six months from now.

Question So you worked it perfectly right after the US Open?
Answer Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I got to try, like I said, just to work my schedule around it.

Question What family members live with you in Delray?
Answer My father.

Question Your father. And he has had his own health problems recently.
Answer Not recently, but a few years ago he had cancer, yep.

Question Have you been able to draw on that? Has he been able to help you at all through this because of that?
Answer Obviously he doesn't need to say a thing. I know exactly what he went through. You know, a few years ago he was told that he had three months to live. So, you know, he's been a fighter his whole life and that's just, you know, I'm definitely -- I've been looking up to him in that way and, you know, and he's fine now. No trace of cancer in his system. So he's healthy as can be, which is great. And the most important thing in my life is my family, so it comes as a bit of a shock when, you know, your -- part of your family member, you know, can die. And it makes you realize and puts everything into perspective at how really unimportant everything else is - tennis and anything like that. But definitely after seeing what my dad went through, for me, what I'm going through is nothing. So it makes me feel a lot stronger.

Question Where would you actually say your career is right now? Are you happy with exactly where you are and what you're doing and what you're hoping to achieve?
Answer Obviously I'm not happy with it. But like I said, there's cards that you're dealt in your life and I've got to try and work at, you know -- I've got to try and get myself strong, stay healthy. The number one thing for me is I just want to stay healthy. I feel like every time I'm starting to play well, starting to get some rhythm, starting to get my game together, you know, something happens and I get off the court again. And it's very frustrating. But, again, I've been on the tour for over seven years, and I think I've got close to seven years to go. So, you know, I know that I haven't played my best tennis yet and I've just, you know, got to work at it. And I will.

Question Have you set yourself not a program, but a time frame for this year, coming back from the injury and what you want to do, how far you want to go?
Answer No, it's, you know, I used to think that way. I really don't anymore, because you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. Like I said, I just wake up in the morning, I do my routine. I'm going to try to get my knee stronger, I'm going to try to get my legs strong, work on my game and take it day by day and just think about my text tournament. The good thing is I have an exhibition which is my next tournament, so I've got a chance to get some matches under my belt before I head out to Monte-Carlo.

Question Would you just hope for almost a fair crack of the whip? A lot of players go through their career without things happening to them. You seem to have a comeback every month almost. Do you feel like, "Just give me one year and let me prove what I could really be, one year free of anything?"
Answer You can think of it that way. I don't really do. Like I said, it's not like I look at it and say, "God, I'm so unlucky," because, I mean, I'm the luckiest guy in the world. I have five toes, five fingers, I've got a family, they're all healthy. I mean, what else can I want? This is just, as a sports man, there are sports men who don't even get a chance to start their careers. I'm lucky enough to, you know, be in the middle of mine. I obviously don't think that, you know, I've achieved what I am capable of achieving, but, again, there's no reason why I still can't do that. It's just a bit of a setback and I think -- I know at the end, you know, when I do start achieving those things, the victories will even be sweeter knowing what I've been through in the past.

Question Has that approach, that mentality, really surfaced in the last 12, 18 months as a result of all the injuries, and you've realized those sort of things?
Answer Yeah. I mean, you know, when you're out for so many months and stuff, you start to do a lot of thinking. You can't do anything else but, you know, lie in your bed or stay at home and you just think all the time. And, you know, like I said, everything in life happens for a reason. I think these things make you stronger. And what can you do? You can't fight it. You've got to accept it and just try and do the best you can, try and make decisions which will help you hopefully in the future.