US OPEN

September 9, 2000

Marat Safin

MODERATOR: Questions for Marat.

MARAT SAFIN: Actually, I thought different completely. I thought I was playing horrible today. Because I start, I was completely out of the court. I couldn't find my concentration. I played just without any pressure. Actually I couldn't find my concentration until the end of second set in the tiebreak. I said, "Listen, I'm going to lose, I can lose. I have a big chance to win this tiebreak and at least be in the match, be two-sets-to-Love, or I can be one set all, completely different game." I just had to concentrate. I was concentrated in important moments. In last two tiebreaker, I was a hundred percent concentrated, and that helped me.

MARAT SAFIN: I just played my game. I didn't risk too much. The guys, I don't know, probably they get scared in some points. They were going for too much. I don't know why, but I was just putting the ball inside of the court. I tried to build my point, but I wasn't going for too much. I just played. I served, I played, I start to build my point. Afterwards, the guys, they just didn't know what to do. I don't know what happened with them, but they just make me few presents in the tiebreaks.

MARAT SAFIN: I tell you, I was there, I was on the court. I said, "Come on, man, how can I play like this? I'm playing horrible." After I saw statistic, it was 54% of the first serve, 13 aces. Actually I start to think, "Actually, I wasn't play so bad." But on the court, it was completely different. I was shouting on myself, even I broke one racquet, because I couldn't believe that I can play so badly. After I went out, I look at the score, 6-3, 7-6, 7-6, two tiebreaks. To beat Todd Martin in two tiebreaks, you have to be a good player, also in the semifinals. Now I start to realize that I'm not so bad.

MARAT SAFIN: I wasn't nervous at all. I just couldn't find my concentration. I was out of the court. I don't know. I played the game because the ball is coming, I hitting somewhere. Sometimes I made a great points. It was like a machine. The guy's coming to the net, so it was a lob, suddenly unbelievable one. "Good." It was more or less like this. I didn't even think. I didn't even get scared. When I had to concentrate, I made it. I was a little bit negative on the court probably, but I played great tennis, I think. I made so many lobs when he went to the net. The guy is two meters and I pass him. I played some pretty good points. But now I start to realize this, but not on the court. Too late.

MARAT SAFIN: Because I had too much energy on my body. I didn't play for one week, so everything was inside of me. But now I don't have any power even to throw the racquet. I throw only once today and I broke it.

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah. Okay, thank you. Go to pay the fine, okay? Now it start to help me because I don't have energy, you know, to give everything out of me, throwing the racquet, shouting, talking with spectators, with my coach, with some other guys, with the chair umpire. I'm just thinking about my game. I think it's right, I'm going in the right direction. Actually, that's why I'm in final, I think.

MARAT SAFIN: First of all, if I'm going to play against him, spectators going to be with him definitely. I don't think spectators going to be with me, that's for sure. He's with a lot of confidence, so he going to serve well, he going to play pretty sure in the volley. It's already many things against me. I will try to start the game, try to put him under pressure, just start from the first point to return his serve, run for the balls even if I can't get them, you know, to show to the guy that I'm going to fight for it. I don't want to make him Christmas presents. It's very important. He knows that I'm going to be there from the first point until the last one. Maybe I will have the chance. If I have it, I will try to make it. If I don't have a chance, what can I do? It's Pete, you know, 13 Grand Slams he won, No. 1 in the world. It's already a lot of things. I will try to make my game. I hope it will works. If not, what can I do? Final's okay.

MARAT SAFIN: Lleyton is different style, but more or less the same thing. Because Pete, he's a lot of confidence. Lleyton is also, because he's in semifinal, he's playing great tennis. He won the US Open in doubles. He's a good shape now, big fighter. He improve his serve. He can serve some aces. Good passing shot. Also, another time, big fighter. You have to be -- you have to push him since the beginning. You can't let him play. The same like with Pete. He going to go to the net, Pete. Lleyton, he going to be in the baseline. Both of them, you cannot let them play, otherwise you have no chance against them.

MARAT SAFIN: If they going to walk over in the final.

MARAT SAFIN: I think I have enough experience not to be very nervous in the final. I hope I will not be. But I don't know. You have to ask me a minute before I go to the court. If you see me that I cannot talk, I'm afraid. If I can talk, so I'm okay (laughter).

MARAT SAFIN: Huh (laughter)?

MARAT SAFIN: Is not the question to me; is the question to the crowd. They have to decide.

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, but so what? I'm 20, he's 19. Is not a question of the age. Also we're part of this big show, tennis game, a part of this big group. We just youngsters, but it doesn't matter. It's a question how going to react the public to this, to us, to two youngsters. Already they want to see Pete, they want to see Agassi. They don't know us yet. It depend of the crowd if we going to be famous or we not going to be famous. For the moment, they didn't even know me in - how to say - transportation desk. Can you believe it?

MARAT SAFIN: Yes. I called like three times, "Please, can I have a car to come to the stadium?" "What's your name?" "Safin." "Can you spell it, please?" We're calling like three times a day every day. It's not so difficult to remember this name. Is not so difficult. But the people, you know, if the crowd going to be like this, is no chance to be somebody in the world. It depends of the crowd. My name is Safin. Next time I will go with sign, "I'm Marat Safin," so the people can remember me (indicating a sign on his forehead).

MARAT SAFIN: I still don't know. I don't know. I was (inaudible) on the court. Everything I was doing was wrong, but was right actually. Don't make me headache, please. I cannot answer for you what, how I have to feel, what I need on the court. It's difficult for me to analyze this situation. Actually, I think I didn't play so bad.

MARAT SAFIN: But I think about this a different way, so I don't know. Now I don't know what I have to think. I am lost.

MARAT SAFIN: No. If the guys ask me, somebody ask me, if the player, they want to be No. 1 in the world. Kafelnikov, he said that he doesn't want. That's not true. He's not stupid guy. If he has opportunity to be No. 1 in the world, I don't think, "No, no, guys, I don't need it, really. I'm okay." Sometimes you have to be at least a little bit -- you have to understand the players. I know why you're asking me this question, is because somebody ask me if I want to be No. 1 in the world. The players, they want to be No. 1 in the world. Kafelnikov said, "No, I don't need this." That's like is not true, I think so. He want to be No. 1 in the world. I want to be there. All the guys, they want to be in the top.

MARAT SAFIN: I fight. I fight. That's it. Even if I still think that I was playing bad, I was there from the beginning until the end, last point. I was trying to run everywhere, try to make points, try to serve, try to make something new. I was there. I become a fighter.

MARAT SAFIN: Just maybe I become a little bit -- I have a little bit more of experience. Probably I grow up. I start to understand that if I want to be a good player, I have to be a little bit more professional, I have to practice a little bit more, I have to be -- pay a little bit more attention to practice, the matches, start to fight, because I never fight. If I'm playing good, I was playing unbelievable tennis. When I was playing bad, I couldn't win even -- I couldn't beat my mother. It's a question of I just start to fight from April. Everybody told me, "Come on, man, fight. One day everything going to come, the confidence, the strokes. Start to fight." I start to practice with the head, not with the strokes, and everything came. Now I try to keep this situation, to keep this confidence. It's working.

MARAT SAFIN: Nice. It's still something missing. I don't know why, but I want to win, you know. It's strange feeling, you know. When you get something - I explain - when you get a million, you want two millions. When you have two millions, you want five. When you have five, you want ten. You want first to be in the semifinal. When you get to the semifinal, is not enough. The final, okay. So I'm in the final. I feel I need something more, which is win the tournament. If I win the tournament, after we talk. But now for the moment, I still want to win the final. I want to feel this situation. Maybe I'm going to shout. Maybe I'm going to get undressed on the court. I don't know what I'm going to do if I win. It's a great feeling to be a champion of US Open. But now I don't feel anything special. Sorry.

MARAT SAFIN: Friends.

MARAT SAFIN: Not very close, but friends. We have different age, different generation. It's difficult to have the same interest. We just friends. We're not very close, but I respect him, he respect me, we're in the same business, we're playing for Russia. We have to respect each other. That's it.

MARAT SAFIN: I knew. I felt it because he make some easy mistakes. If you make some easy mistakes, you can't concentrate. He was tired, so he was tired to be a hundred percent concentrated on easy balls. I can feel it. Also he was a little bit lazy. He was going late to the net. He didn't move very well. You can see it. In first half set, I could understand that he wasn't his best condition.