TMS MONTE CARLO

April 20, 2004

Marat Safin

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, but on this continent I'm already for three weeks. I was playing.

MARAT SAFIN: Is not a question for me (smiling).

MARAT SAFIN: It's a little bit different because the balls are flying a little bit more, courts are little bit faster, and of course there's less wind. It's little bit better conditions, but it's also very difficult to change from one courts to another courts. It takes a little bit of time. Also, I don't like to play against Olivier Rochus. It's little bit tough for me. He has very good hands, is very fast. He knows how to play. So for me, it was very important and very tough first round. It's just a big win for me.

MARAT SAFIN: No, I wasn't tired. I just was a little bit frustrated in the first set because I couldn't take my chances, because I had a lot of breakpoints and just I couldn't make any of them. So then I thought that in the second set he would play with little bit more of confidence and would be very tough. But I stayed there, and made the break when I need to make. And I was all the time there, was doing well and playing good tennis.

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, I really like and I really enjoy to play on clay. I think it's still my best surface to play on.

MARAT SAFIN: Without motivation, it's very difficult. I mean, for every tennis player I know, if you've been on the Tour for many years and you know how tough is the schedule - we have only couple of weeks of vacation, so basically two or ten days of vacation - and you have to start all over again and prepare yourself for a new season. So of course, and after a while, you can -- you get burned out completely. You play one year and then it's all the time. So other players, they have problems with the physical problems because the schedule is so tight, you know, without any rest at all. Then if you keep on playing, keep on playing, you are losing this special feeling of the big tournaments, and you're not enjoying it. Of course it's difficult to find motivation to fight against Schuettler in the first round in Monte-Carlo, knowing that you have to win. And it's really tough. It's really tough. I understand him completely. Also traveling from one place to another place, and especially also the months of May - we have three Masters Series.

MARAT SAFIN: And we have the French Open. So basically you cannot play all three of them and win all three of them, they have no chance, especially now because everybody's -- the level of tennis is very, very equal. For example, I have to play today against Rochus. It's already three sets. Tomorrow I have a match against Mirnyi, which is also tough. And it's really, really, really tough.

MARAT SAFIN: Still try to be more consistent as I can. Then there's the hope that I can be in the Top 3, fight for No. 1. Federer, he is playing well, but also is just the beginning of the year. Still is a few months to go, three Grand Slams to play, a lot of Masters Series still to come. But try to be consistent, and we can see at the end of the summer.

MARAT SAFIN: I don't really think so. With all the respect, he plays great tennis. I know everybody knows that he's very talented, very good, and on all surfaces. But also, other players also can play, but they're not used to play against him. So until they will discover how to play against him, it will take time. But I think that in this -- at this level, there is -- everybody is playing more or less equal. But because he has the confidence and he won the Australian Open, so he is playing on the confidences he got from there.

MARAT SAFIN: Of course. I mean, try to -- for example, Roddick, he is playing in Houston and then he has to fly overnight and play the next day on clay in Monte-Carlo. If he is not lucky, he cannot put two balls inside the court - of course it's difficult, even he was playing on clay. Federer, probably also he needs time to prepare. We just came from Miami a couple of weeks ago. A lot of people, they had Davis Cup, then the tournament Valencia or Estoril. So I decided to play Estoril because I didn't play any of Davis Cup. But for other players - can you believe it - coming from indoors fast courts? For example, the French and Swiss. And you have to get used to the clay court. It's not like it's one day to another you can get used to it. It takes time. It takes one week; one, two weeks for sure to get to used to playing, to slide on the court. Bounce is completely different, balls are little bit different. You have to change the strings. A lot of people, they change the strings, so they have to get used to the strings. So it's really, really difficult.

MARAT SAFIN: Not obligation. I mean, is like there is no obligation to play the Masters Series. If you don't want to play, don't play. But just what I'm saying, if they want to keep up the level and you want to have all the best players of the world coming to Monte-Carlo, you need to give some time before to prepare and give all their best. How many results you have -- in the past five years of me playing here, I saw the results in the first round: 6-1, 6-3; 6-3, 6-love; 6-1, 6-love; 6-2, 6-2. All the people, they don't want to see that. Not because people not trying. They are trying, but they really can't because they're coming from the indoors. Or coming from Miami, you have some rest because it was a month ago, but it was a difficult month because you been playing Indian Wells, you been playing Scottsdale, you been playing Miami and all of a sudden you end up in Monte-Carlo. And of course you lose one of these matches, you lose the confidence. So until you get the confidence back, it's already -- Rome, Hamburg is straightaway, then the French Open. So basically you have more kilometers than a taxi (laughter). So it's... That's my opinion. That's why it's little bit difficult for us to adjust to the clay court tennis and play very consistent.

MARAT SAFIN: Because there is lot of reasons, I mean, a lot of things that end up in the circle. One thing is attaching another one. It is like another one is "because of this." And it's always "because," "because," "because," "but," "because," "because." And it's also difficult for the players because they are playing tennis and they don't have enough time to sit down and agree on something, sit down with a tournament directors, or make like a board, or you know how is it. The ATP is basically -- I think it's 50/50, the tournament directors and the tennis players. But they never agree. It's difficult. And it's difficult to get to the point, work on the side, because the tournament directors are busy looking for sponsors, and the tennis players are little busy, try to focus on them self because the manager says, because for them self also. You have to be little bit selfish. You have to take care of yourself. Otherwise, who will take care of you? But, at some point, I think maybe tennis is little bit suffering because of this. But it will get to one point that everybody will decide to do something, because it will come to the point where it can't go anywhere else. And I really hope it will come very soon so we have a different solution and the tennis will go and will jump very high, because it's a beautiful game. You see how many people that are coming to watch, even at 10 o'clock in the morning. And it's really would be pity to lose this kind of sport and put it very low.

MARAT SAFIN: Well, for the moment, I'm okay (smiling). Let's see how it's going, how many matches I'm gonna play. But I still have enough energy. But also, I know that next week is coming, Barcelona. It depends how I do well, I will see if I'm going to play Barcelona or not, or decide to little bit take couple of days off. But this is designation week, I have to play.

MARAT SAFIN: (Nodding head yes). That's our duty.

MARAT SAFIN: Because with Denis, it got to the point where you cannot just -- business and friendship does not go together at all, because I don't want to lose him as a friend. He's more important for me as a friend than as a coach. Every lose, you take it very personally, you get a little bit down, you know, like he is not really good - not communication , how you say? - Feelings. We playing little bit with the feelings of each other. Peter Lundgren, he's a professional tennis coach. He been traveling with Rios, he been traveling with Federer. He knows how to deal with it. Also, he can put me in -- he can explain to me a couple of things that probably I should know. And I want to try, I want to try to work. And if it will help me, it will be great. I am going to try until Wimbledon.

MARAT SAFIN: If he can deal with Rios, he can deal with me, yeah, exactly (smiling).

MARAT SAFIN: Very difficult. Because the courts are little bit fast. He has a kind of game that he doesn't let you play, without rhythm. He serves well. No baseline, basically, and very good volleys. Anticipation, quite good. He chooses the ways that the game -- all of a sudden, you're playing from the baseline, you can find him at the net from out of nowhere. So this kind of game you have to be focused on the return and try to fight for every ball and just give everything back, and so he will see that it's tough from the beginning and he has to be very, very focus to beat me.

MARAT SAFIN: Well, it was their problem. I mean, if they really made this a theater drama, it was really good one; they should give them an Oscar. But also it's little bit stupid because I think he was injured somehow, and... somehow. Because, otherwise, he was actually beating Andreev, and Mirnyi was supposed to beat me so we're anyway 1-1. Then the doubles, if he would play doubles, they had all the chances to beat us. I never played with Youzhny, and they have a very decent doubles in Mirnyi and Voltchkov. So it would be 2-1. Mirnyi would beat any of our guys, like Andreev or Youzhny, with no problems. But then maybe they wanted to make more dramatic for the people to suffer, give them a Gold medal. I don't really think so. I think he was injured, but they put him a lot of - how you say? - Painkillers or whatever. But was not like... I saw the last match against Youzhny. Youzhny, just he couldn't focus because he was all the time thinking about he's injured, he was supposed to retire, he wasn't ready at that point.

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah.

MARAT SAFIN: I'm for the football, I don't care who gonna win. I want to see beautiful football. But it's one of the matches you go to the stadium and the score is 0-0. So I don't think it's gonna happen tonight, otherwise, I will be really frustrated. But I hope they can show really good football. Of course Monaco has to win, but I got the tickets from the Chelsea so I have to support them also (smiling).

MARAT SAFIN: Yes.

MARAT SAFIN: No, not personally. Friend of the friend of the friend of the concierge of the hotel where he is staying (laughing).