TMS - CINCINNATI

August 10, 2000

Fabrice Santoro

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

FABRICE SANTORO: Well, is not so far away. ...(Inaudible.) I remember because this day because on Friday was raining all day. And Saturday morning I start at 10 against Rusedski in the quarterfinal, I beat Greg. Then I beat Goran Ivanisevic in the afternoon. And at 9 p.m., I play the doubles Finals. So...

FABRICE SANTORO: Three matches in the same day: Quarters, semis and doubles final. So that was for sure way too much because I play three sets in the morning, two against Goran in the afternoon and three sets at night. And the next day for the final I was dead and I lost 6-love, 6-2.

FABRICE SANTORO: Well, I'm used to play well in these kind of tournaments. Last year reach quarterfinals in Montreal and Washington. So I like this court. Just -- I like to play hard court. Today is probably the best courts for my game.

FABRICE SANTORO: My finger can look strange for you because I play like this. But today, my middle finger is broken. I broke it on July 15th. But after I wear a cast for two weeks, and after that the doctor said now you don't have -- in your wrist, if you strap your finger, you can go and play. There is no reason why not. So I came to Toronto, but it was a little bit early because I didn't play for one month. After that, I just work here all week and try to get ready for this week.

FABRICE SANTORO: This week and last week, last week I try this, too. This week I change. And for sure it's way better because this one is very important. I need this one free.

FABRICE SANTORO: Just working physically.

FABRICE SANTORO: I working physically and someone came to me and hit me, yeah. I just throw a ball --.

FABRICE SANTORO: I just throw a ball with my right hand. When I finish my swing, someone came to me to make it opposition and hit me.

FABRICE SANTORO: Yeah. On this one, yeah. It's very comfortable. I mean much better.. But in three weeks I could take everything away. Three more weeks.

FABRICE SANTORO: That was my forehand.

FABRICE SANTORO: Yes, for sure. Marat is ten times more powerful than me. So if I want to play fast, he gonna be much better than me so I just have to mix my game and to make him think a little bit on the court. My strategy work pretty well.

FABRICE SANTORO: Yes, for sure. The beginning of the match was a big part of the game. And I just try to be aggressive, to put a lot of pressure on his serve, and after that he was very pissed at the end of the first set.

FABRICE SANTORO: I was just thinking about what I had to do the court. Just try to be positive in my strategy and to keep going and keep playing the same way.

FABRICE SANTORO: First reason is the courts. The courts are fine. It's pretty -- I think it's pretty fast hard court. And maybe also because this is a part of the season when I come to the States, I took some holidays before, so I feel very fresh physically and mentally. So these two points are very important parts of my game.

FABRICE SANTORO: I took two weeks. It was my holiday time. And after that, I was supposed to play Davis Cup and start working but I broke my finger so I took two more weeks off.

FABRICE SANTORO: All July. Four weeks in July. It was great.

FABRICE SANTORO: Yes. I did. I just told them, and, you know, when we talked in Toronto last week, I told you that I played with little finger strap, and I change this week. The other two.

FABRICE SANTORO: I call the doctor and I said, you can tell me I can't start these two weeks, it's way better for my game. He said okay, you can do it. But at night, you need the other two.

FABRICE SANTORO: Just because my broken finger is going a little bit on the east side, on the right. So I have to try to bring it back on the right lane.

FABRICE SANTORO: Yeah. I mean, for me, doubles is the best way for me to improve my single ranking. I never feel like I was a doubles specialist. I never work really to improve my doubles ranking. I was just trying to play some matches, serve, volley, return, and I was lucky with the doubles because I was No. 6 last year. But it was a little bit surprise for me because it was not big goal. My goal is still in singles.

FABRICE SANTORO: Oh, grass is for sure not the best court for me. But I was little bit disappointing with my clay court season. But, you know, today's level on the Tour is very high, you can lose a few weeks in a row even when you play good. When I play on clay I play five tournaments. I lost to Corretja in Monte Carlo, to Ferrero in Barcelona, to Corretja in Rome, to Grosjean in Hamburg, and to Norman in the French. What can you do?

FABRICE SANTORO: Because my parents work there from '65 to '73.

FABRICE SANTORO: In Tahiti. And in February '93, they went back to France.

FABRICE SANTORO: In the south of France.

FABRICE SANTORO: Yes.