AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 23, 2005

Marat Safin

THE MODERATOR: First question for Marat.

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, he's really tough player to play against. And really you have to be a hundred percent. I had so many chances to break with the breakpoints, and I couldn't. I was a little bit upset about that because every point -- every breakpoint is very important against him.

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, yeah. It was very important.

MARAT SAFIN: But I always -- I always had respect to him because we always had tough matches against each other. He beat me in 2001 in Perth, and then we had a tough match, five-setter match in Roland Garros. Then in Monte-Carlo and now. He's really good. I felt like -- I knew that it was going to be a tough match because a lot of people underestimate him, and he can cause you a lot of trouble. He knows how to play. And he's really, really tough player to beat.

MARAT SAFIN: Because he knows how to play. He reads really good the game. He's very fast. He has a huge forehand, great backhand, doesn't let you attack. He reads very good what you're going to do. He knows how to play.

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, just I couldn't -- I couldn't break him for some reason. That was a little bit -- didn't go for -- I didn't go for the breakpoints. I should have gone and I was waiting for his mistakes. Then all of a sudden I found myself that I couldn't -- it was a little bit psychological thing that I couldn't break him, and he was taking advantage of that. He didn't let me play at all.

MARAT SAFIN: 15 breakpoints.

MARAT SAFIN: I asked him, you know, because I got really -- really it was -- got really upset actually about that because I knew how important was to make him a break, especially in the sets. Because when it's getting closer to, you know, to the tiebreak, he might have a small chance and he can make it. So that's why there was a little bit -- I was a little bit irritated with that, because I had so many opportunities, I couldn't take them.

MARAT SAFIN: It doesn't -- it's a little bit -- it's actually better to have one match like this, these kind of matches. Because if you are winning each match very easy, once you going to have a tough match, you might not find yourself very comfortable in that situation. And if you have in the bag one match like that, it's a little bit easier going closer to the final because you already had a tough match, you know how to deal with the pressure, you know what to do, and you're already used to this feeling.

MARAT SAFIN: No, I didn't waste any opportunities I had. I had two of them. I couldn't take them. But I didn't waste any of it. I cannot say that whenever I had the chances and I blow up because I didn't really -- I was going crazy on the court. None. I had two chances to win here. I couldn't take them but not because I was going crazy on the court but just because I wasn't good enough to win the title. And because other players, they were better that day, better than me.

MARAT SAFIN: He can get to the Top 20 if he works a little bit on his serve. He can be there. He should be there. And I was a little bit surprised that he's just 50 in the world. But the kind of game he has, should be a little bit higher.

MARAT SAFIN: What happened?

MARAT SAFIN: No, I didn't.

MARAT SAFIN: What is "spat"?

MARAT SAFIN: No.

MARAT SAFIN: It's tough. It's tough question. It's a tough question because, you know, like it depends many things during the game what we're having on the court, some things that -- just the umpire has to judge it. I mean, it's difficult, because everybody has their own version why he did it, why it happened. It's like there is not exact answer that anybody can give you. And if you're going to go by the rules for the tennis, it's a little bit -- it's so strict so basically the people not -- I would say it's a little bit too difficult to explain, you know, because there is a lot of pluses, a lot of minuses of the rules.

MARAT SAFIN: I'm not going to answer that. It's a little bit tricky question. No matter what I'm going to answer, it's not -- it's not going to be -- I just prefer not to give an answer to that question. It's too difficult to explain it and too tricky.

MARAT SAFIN: No. Everybody gets frustrated. Let's put it this way. Everybody has a difficult time on the court. It's a psychological game. It's two brains are fighting against each other. So basically there is -- it's not only a physical thing, it's more like it's mental. So sometimes, you know, every small detail, what's going on on the court, it can annoys you, it can just go crazy, it happens. Everybody can snap. And there is many things on the court, what's happening on the court, just you cannot describe it afterwards what you went through because it's like you get very emotional at some point. Everybody gets. And everybody can snap. There is a thin line between, you know, when the match is going very -- you know, the score is like very close to each other. You can do it. I mean, you should do it.

MARAT SAFIN: It's very thin line. It's very, very thin line (smiling).

MARAT SAFIN: There's such a thin line, but nobody gives a -- sorry. Nobody cares about the rules. It even gets to the point you don't even want to know the rules because basically the rules are there to be broken, right? So sometimes it's going so far away that the rules are not -- I don't care about them.

MARAT SAFIN: We can put it this way, okay? I can get fined, but at some point -- now you remember what was in Roland Garros, right? So basically you don't even remember the match, but you remember that I dropped the pants.

MARAT SAFIN: Okay. But you don't know what court it was.

MARAT SAFIN: What was the score? Against who it was?

MARAT SAFIN: Yes.

MARAT SAFIN: You see, you don't remember. But you have something to remember about the match, about the tennis. It's not only the score, 15-14 in the fifth set against Mantilla on Court No. 1. You remember that I dropped the pants. Let's put it this way. John McEnroe, what he did -- you remember what he did on the court, not what was the score on everything. I'm not saying that everybody should do that. Of course, it's unsportsable conduct, whatever you can call it. But also these kinds of things, they might help tennis a little bit. I'm not trying to defend myself at all.

MARAT SAFIN: Okay, they want me -- they fine me many times enough. Enough times I can be also sponsor of ATP at the time, but right now, official one. But at least I did it. I did it. So if they fine me... But also it's good for the sport. It's good. Why you think NBA, the same thing.

MARAT SAFIN: No, no, no. I understand the point. You remember Dennis Rodman, when he hit the press guy? You don't remember? The press guy was sitting around like next to the court, next to the field. It was a match against -- I don't know who played. But Dennis Rodman hit him with the leg. They throw him away. But it was like such a big thing they made out of it, about the NBA. You know, everything is promotion for the sport. I'm sorry. Bad or good, there is no such thing as a bad press.

MARAT SAFIN: Whatever. No, I'm just saying, of course, let's not put it like this as an example. But some things that should be -- you can do it. I think nothing is -- you're not bothering anybody, unless it's fair enough for both of the players or for the sport.

MARAT SAFIN: That's a good one. That's a good one. Good question. Probably not. Maybe yes, maybe no. But it would be definitely a little bit different story. But would he made the same result as today? Would he play the same tennis?

MARAT SAFIN: Because he got a lot of experience since then, if you compare him three years ago.

MARAT SAFIN: The Wimbledon match, yeah. I try to forget it actually. Yeah, it's -- like I said, every time it's a little bit too difficult to play against him. I'm sure nobody likes to play against him. I'm sure about it. And he knows it. He knows how to play. With the US, he got a lot of experience. He's much more -- he's winning a lot of matches because he has that experience.

MARAT SAFIN: Great. You see I'm winning matches.

MARAT SAFIN: No, not at all. You want to break me, huh? You definitely want to have a headline.

MARAT SAFIN: "No, no, no".

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, sure. That's just private question. Just a private question, right?

MARAT SAFIN: I believe you with all my heart (smiling).