AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 25, 2004

Marat Safin

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

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.

MARAT SAFIN: I think no. I think I just throw it, just, you know... That's it. I don't know how it happened.

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).

MARAT SAFIN: Just, yeah. Just once a year.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.