[Interview]Marat Safin Sunday, 25 January, 2004
M. SAFIN/J. Blake
7-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3
An interview with:
MARAT SAFIN
.Could you talk us through that crazy backhand volley on
the breakpoint. It was quite an incredible shot.
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, was really important for me and really
in the right moment. But it was just pure luck. I mean, it
was not like I planned it to play. Just lucky shot. At the
right moment, just pure luck, 100 percent.
Q. Was the racquet actually in your hand when you played it?
MARAT SAFIN: I think no. I think I just throw it, just, you
know...
That's it. I don't know how it happened.
Q. James said that once you throw the racquet, it loses all
its power. It's very hard to say it's not in your hand anymore.
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, but I just throw it. Because I was -- I
thought that I will not get the ball so I just little bit --
maybe at the moment when I just throw the racquet, just touch.
But doesn't matter. But normally it doesn't work this way (laughter).
Q. Just at Grand Slams?
MARAT SAFIN: Just, yeah. Just once a year.
Q. How frustrating is it to lose a season like you did last year,
and how satisfying is it to be back again amongst top players?
MARAT SAFIN: I don't think it's -- like I said all the time,
it's not frustrating actually. It wasn't really bad. I was
injured. But also it's not like there is only tennis in my life.
There is some different things.
Was really good. It was at the right moment, you know, that I had
all this injuries because it also makes you stop to play tennis and
you have enough time to think about just your career, your life.
Makes you -- you analyze everything. Just you see what you want
in your life or how you want to do it, who you want to be in the
future. So also you rest from your work. Okay, not for so long.
I had like for six months I been resting.
So it was really good. So that's why afterwards I could find
motivation to come back. Really important. So I enjoyed it.
Don't think that I just wasting my time. I was really enjoying
my life.
Q. Did you play the guitar, painter?
MARAT SAFIN: No, I was fishing, I was camping, I was traveling.
I was doing a lot of things. It was really good. Really good
experience and really at the right moment also, everything happen.
Q. So you think you've come back hungrier than before?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, it happens. I'm just -- I'm happy that it
happened to me because I was like -- it's difficult to travel
11 months of the year and just not to think about, you know,
what was going on. Because I'm sure that everybody has this
problem -- not a problem, just this kind of thoughts during
when they're working, right? You want to stop also a little
bit to think a little bit, to analyze the situation.
I mean, in my case, when you travel 11 months of the year,
just you get tired. You cannot find the motivation sometimes,
you know, to do the job and to take the flight, another time
to fly 11 hours to somewhere, like to the States, stay there
for a few weeks and then come back home. You have to be like
100 percent each day. It's really difficult.
Also, you have the pressure, pressure from the situation because
you have to win, you don't want to lose. Because if you lose and
then you lose the confidence, all these things.
So you get a little bit stressed out. So it was really good thing,
you know, just to stop and just to see how it's -- to manage a
little bit and to enjoy the life and find a way to not stress
out on the court and not to put yourself under pressure.
Q. So do you feel that all the pressure will be on Andy when
you play him in the quarterfinals?
MARAT SAFIN: I hope so. But, I mean, still it's also nobody
wants to lose in the quarterfinals. It's like it's really
half way to the finals. Each match, each game is really
important. Nobody wants to lose it. Everyone wants another
opportunity of winning Grand Slam. It's also is some kind
of a pressure for everybody, once they won a couple of four
matches before, they don't want to lose it in quarterfinals
because the next round is like -- you are getting closer to
the finals.
So it's everybody's goal to win the tournament. So somehow,
the players are getting better and better. The confidence
is growing. The players are getting tougher. So that's why
it's kind of difficult.
Q. Before you played your backhand, was the prospect of a
fifth set sort of staring you in the face?
MARAT SAFIN: It was like I should have finished it in the
third set, but I just a little bit was out of -- just I was
following him. I was following his game. Just I was waiting
for his mistakes in the tiebreaker. Couldn't make the decision
of making myself a point.
And then fourth set, I was just a little bit -- I lost a little
bit the game. So I was a little bit struggling and my legs were
getting tired a little bit. Just was a little bit tough, you
know, to come back, to find the motivation back, just to fight
for a few games then just to close it in the fourth set, because
the fifth set is a lottery, can go both ways. You don't want to
experience that thing.
So just was really important for me just to make the break in the
fourth set and I was lucky to come up with a shot, what I was
looking for. I was looking. I was trying. I had three breakpoints
before. Couldn't make it, and finally I did it. Thank you (smiling).
Thanks, God.
Q. You live in Monaco now. Do you enjoy it? Do you like it?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, I mean, I'm traveling. It's not like I'm living
all the time full-time in Monaco. I'm going sometimes to Moscow to
visit my friends, to visit my family, traveling around.
Whenever I have an opportunity to practice before the tournaments,
I go to Monaco. When I have a couple of days, I want to see my family,
my friends, I go to Moscow. Mix it up a little bit.
Q. Do you plan to play, you said 11 months of the year, traveling,
traveling, traveling, are you going to change your schedule this
year and play less tournaments so you don't get so tired?
MARAT SAFIN: Also, I'm in the kind of situation where my ranking
dropped a lot. I need to come back really so I don't have these
kind of -- I don't find myself in a situation where I'm not seeded
in a big tournaments, because I don't want to play against big guys
straightaway in the first rounds. Also, yeah, you can beat but you
can lose. It's not really big fun to play against Agassi in the
first round in Indian Wells or Miami, or against Federer. You can
win, you might win, but you might lose.
It's better for me to play a couple of tournaments to play well so
I get back to the place where I can just be seeded during the
tournaments. Makes it a little easier. You have more confidence,
you have like a couple of rounds, like you can have quite "easy"
ones, but not what I'm looking for.
Q. James and Andy were here a couple moments ago. They were both
telling us, the rankings, you've always been treated as a top player
in the locker room and your comeback was only a question of time.
How do you feel about that?
MARAT SAFIN: Thanks. It's nice to hear that, but also just for
yourself, for your ego, to come back to the numbers where you
have to be and where you want to be. It's really important.
But also it's important that -- as I said before, it's difficult,
you know, you come to the tournament, for example, Australian Open,
I could have played against anybody, against Hewitt, against Federer,
against Agassi, against Srichaphan, against anybody. It's also this.
I don't like this situation, you know, being like -- I'm not like
scared, but just it's -- it's not the comfortable situation.
Q. How did you feel about the support that you get from the
crowd? Everybody seems to be very happy to have you back here.
MARAT SAFIN: Of course it's important to have some crowd behind
you. Just but if the people, they enjoy my game, I'm more than
happy. I mean, everybody is here just is coming for, you know,
to play the game, to win the tournament, but also for the crowd
to enjoy. It's a part of the game. You have to try to do everything
as possible to make the public happy. They are paying the money.
I mean, they are paying to watch the matches. They want to see
entertainment. If you don't see the crowd, it's not
really...
Just couple of good points, great matches, you know.
Q. Last year you go with Paradorn Srichaphan to China. Do you
have a chance to go to the Thailand Open?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, there was a chance, but I don't know what's
gonna happen tomorrow. You asking me what's gonna happen in
September. It's a little bit straight -- little bit long way
from here.
But, yeah, why not? Great place.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports...
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