TENNIS MASTERS CUP

November 14, 2005

Michael Llorda

FABRICE SANTORO: I think the organization is great. We are very lucky to be combined with the singles draw. I think it's great for the doubles. And the promotion also for the doubles players is, I would say, better than ever. I mean, when you see here in this stadium or in the city, yesterday for the opening ceremony, I mean, the way doubles team are treated is great. We appreciate it a lot. Congratulation for the Chinese organization committee.

FABRICE SANTORO: Thank you (smiling).

MICHAEL LLODRA: Is difficult to say because it's tough to play the combination singles and doubles all the year, so you have to choose sometimes to play only doubles or only singles. But to make like all the season, if you have to play singles and doubles, I think it's too much. You have to be good in singles and good in doubles. I mean, this year it was difficult for me to, especially at the end of the year, to play both of them because I drop a little bit in singles, in my single ranking. I am not enough good to enter in the tournaments, so I decide to play more doubles to be qualified for the Masters. But, finally, I couldn't play the two tournaments in singles. So you have to be good like Fabrice in singles to play all the year.

FABRICE SANTORO: I think, yeah, doubles is in trouble today for many, many months and almost many years. Especially the tournament directors are complaining about the doubles. So now we arrive at one point, we have to do something, to change something. We can't force the singles players to play doubles every week, especially, I mean, in the Grand Slam when you have to play five sets for two weeks and in the Masters Series, you have to win six matches in seven days in singles. So there is no space to play doubles match at night, especially now, because every match is difficult in singles. It was not the same case like 20, 25 years ago. Maybe if you go back to the '80s when McEnroe was playing, '80, '85, he was winning the singles in one hour and he was happy to play one more doubles at night. It was the best practice for him. But now, I mean, every singles, it's tough. Sometimes it's better to stay at the hotel at night, have a good massage and be ready for the next one. I think people like doubles. The crowd like doubles. Doubles is very big in Davis Cup. But the problem is you can't enjoy a match if you don't know the players. That's the problem. That's the main problem for me. Because you know tomorrow, I mean, if I watch a soccer match on TV and if there is Brazil against France, it's two big teams in the soccer, but if I don't know any one of the 22 players, I say, Yes, it's Brazil, it's France, but I don't know them. So I watch another program. And I think people like doubles.

FABRICE SANTORO: Maybe one -- I don't have "the" solution, but one solution - and I told that to one ATP guy like last year - for example, in the Masters Series, you play the first round in singles Monday and Tuesday, then you play the second round on Wednesday. You start the doubles on Thursday maybe, and you play the doubles as a single player if you lost in singles. Because Wednesday night -- the Masters Series is 64 draw. Wednesday night there is only 16 players to go, to still alive, and 48 lost. So maybe it's a good point to start the draw on Thursday. But nobody listened to me (smiling).

MICHAEL LLODRA: Yeah, it's beautiful.

MICHAEL LLODRA: No, it was a good thing for me because I drop a lot in singles. So if I took my doubles ranking, I could be better. But it's tough to find a solution because if you organize only a doubles, you know, draw, nobody wants to organize. We need, you know, singles player to make the doubles. So it's tough to find a good way.

FABRICE SANTORO: I think today you can organize a single tournament without the doubles, but the opposite is not right. We need the singles players. I mean, doubles players and doubles draw need the single players.

FABRICE SANTORO: Only one ranking including doubles? So you make, what, the average?

FABRICE SANTORO: Is good idea. We'd be better than Federer if you make the balance (laughing). 59 and 10, I'm 69. It's perfect.

FABRICE SANTORO: I think today when you are in a Grand Slam and you have a chance to win, it's not a good choice to play doubles. That's for the Grand Slam.

FABRICE SANTORO: What system? If we play best-of-three sets in a Grand Slam, maybe. But still playing best-of-five, no chance for the doubles. And on Masters Series, no chance - 64 draw, six matches in seven days.

MICHAEL LLODRA: Maybe you can do one time.

FABRICE SANTORO: On clay like Monte-Carlo, Rome, the final in five sets in Rome, and then you start Hamburg on Tuesday, no space for doubles if you are serious. Except maybe if you start on Thursday and you get in the doubles draw only if you decide because you lost, because you need to practice, and then maybe Federer would play if he lost like first or second round like four years ago (smiling).