NASDAQ-100 OPEN

March 23, 2002

Marat Safin

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, it was good. For first day it was beautiful. I hope I can play this way next matches.

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, he been out for a long time, so it's very difficult to come back. Especially because -- especially now that everybody's already playing for a few months and he didn't make any -- he didn't play any tournament. Of course it's difficult. Everybody's playing great, and he had some problems with the legs, with the knee. So of course it's difficult to come back and play first matches. You need to run, you know, you need to play few tournaments to get back to the same rhythm. Because everybody's playing fast. So it's difficult to catch up with us. But he will, because he has a great game. He is very talented. So it will not be a problem for him.

MARAT SAFIN: Definitely not there. Definitely not the same as the way I played in 2000. But I am working on it and I am trying to get there. Of course it takes time. It takes too long. But I am trying to get there. That's my goal. If I will manage to get there, I definitely will fight for No. 1 in the world.

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah.

MARAT SAFIN: I met him long time ago. He was my manager, one of my managers. So that's why he used to play. On ATP, he was like 160. We decided, you know, just to try together and to travel a little bit and see how it's going, you know. For the moment is okay. I'm satisfied. And it's okay.

MARAT SAFIN: Ideas, ideas is always same - try to get my game a little bit more aggressive because for the last two years I became a little bit passive, staying a little bit more in the line, in the baseline. And I'm not going forward. I think my game has to change a little bit and I have to go -- try to go to the net all the time, put the pressure on the other guy, the opponent. That's my goal, actually. That's the way I played in 2000. Even though I had not such a great volley like now. (Inaudible).

MARAT SAFIN: Confidence. Confidence. I think definitely is the confidence. You can play long matches, you can win great matches, but still not feeling great 100 percent, you're not satisfied with the game because for some reason, you know, you're not playing great, is not your game. You can hit the ball very good, you know, like, but is not your game. So doesn't make me feel great.

MARAT SAFIN: That's most difficult part of the game, you know, to get the confidence. Because when you are getting the confidence, you go out of the court, you go to the court and you are already know that you definitely going to beat this guy. Or at least you have, I don't know, 70 percent, 80 percent that you gonna beat him. When you have no confidence, you know you are scared, you're not going for the shots, you're not going to the net, you're losing anticipation. Everything is like falling apart. To get back, you need to matches, matches, matches and try to work hard and just try to push yourself to go to the net, be inside the court, put pressure on other guy, you know, play fast. That's -- it seems to be very simple, but it's not.

MARAT SAFIN: I don't know.

MARAT SAFIN: I don't know. I don't know. No, definitely not. I just -- I don't know. I will see. We'll see. I mean, we'll see. Depends how beautiful gonna be the apartment and if I will like it or not.

MARAT SAFIN: Hopefully next week.

MARAT SAFIN: So that's why I don't want to spend a lot of time here (laughter).

MARAT SAFIN: That was last one, no? Thanks, guys.