MONTE CARLO OPEN

April 22, 1997

Fabrice Santoro

Q. How did you live your match today?

FABRICE SANTORO: Emotionally, it was very strong. I gave all what I had from the first point to the last. I never gave up on one single point. I really wanted to win that match.

FABRICE SANTORO: Well, inside myself, I was very excited, but I tried to remain calm between the points. I think I can say that the first set was almost perfect. During the second set, I was a little bit tired, and there were some mistakes, but on both sides anyway. I was really ready to give all I had today. I prepared especially for that match, and I'm very pleased that I was able to hold on until the last point.

FABRICE SANTORO: Well, the key is a bit of salad of everything you said. I attacked, I went up to the net, I played a game of serve and volley, also I very much changed the length of my shots: I played short, I played long. I think I succeeded to stick to my tactics that I had thought about before the match. It worked twice already. I knew that between the last time and this time, he improved a lot. I expected it was going to be very difficult today. I was not sure my tactics were still good today, but apparently they were. Anyway, as I said, I didn't want to give up today.

FABRICE SANTORO: No. The pressure will not be different. I am going to play another player, which will be very difficult to beat for the next round. I hope I will have recuperated between now and then. Today I beat a very good player, but I'm not the favorite for the French Open, so there's no pressure on me. I will play relaxed for the next round. But now, mentally, I know I can beat the best player on clay. It's very good to have that in your mind.

FABRICE SANTORO: Well, when I started on the circuit, I didn't really have a game for the '90s; I rather had a game for the '70s or '80s, someone fiddling with the ball. I had no power and I rarely went up to the net. I worked on this net thing a lot, because I realized if I stayed on the baseline, I would not be able to pull out of it, so it was long, it was difficult, sometimes I was stagnating. I even had some falls in the rankings, not only because of my game, but also because of some injuries. Mentally it was not easy. This victory is giving me a lot of energy for the future. Also what helped me in my game is to play a lot of doubles because I acquired a certain confidence at the net and a certain agility at the net, thanks to the doubles.

FABRICE SANTORO: Personally, I would say yes. If he's not really the favorite, he at least has many chances to go to the end of the tournament. He can reach the semis or the final. He will be very fit for the French Open. I think these two losses he had in Barcelona and here will maybe lower his self-confidence, but I think I know him well, and I think it will push him to work even harder, in a very hard way. I think he will win some matches in the next weeks. He is someone fighting a lot and he will build up his confidence before the French Open.

FABRICE SANTORO: I didn't really realize that. It's true that he came very often up to the net, but it's because from the baseline he realized he was not able to outrun me. I think I had tactics that were disturbing him. I was a bit surprised to see him so often at the net, though. Anyway, I was able to make him doubt. I think during these past years he was able to crash his opponents, not only by his tennis, but also by his physical and mental presence on the court. He pressured his opponent all the time. Today I made him doubt. I think when a player doubts, then he becomes more vulnerable, even if he's the best player on clay.

FABRICE SANTORO: Well, it's true that I had some luck, but he also hit the lines sometimes, and on important points. But I was aggressive each time I had to be. It's true, I had some lucky volleys, I hit some lines, but I was being creative on those shots. I think the luck is on the side of the one who takes the risks, but it's true I took many risks today.

FABRICE SANTORO: I tried the longer ones, and I really have in my mind the idea of playing with longer racquets. But I can't do that overnight. For example, in Estoril, I had those racquets in my bag, but I didn't have the courage to use them because I don't feel confident enough yet to use them in a big tournament. I still have some setting up to do with those racquets. I'm one of the rare players not able to serve very well with those longer racquets yet, but I really have it in mind one day.

FABRICE SANTORO: First I will have to recuperate physically. It's true that I beat very good players already, and I can't say I had problems afterwards, for the next day, but it's difficult for me to beat those kind of players two months in a row. I can beat the top players in the world, but I can't beat them always. That's a problem. I have to improve that if I want to arrive at the highest level. If I want to have a good ranking, I must beat regularly the top 20 players.

FABRICE SANTORO: My experience will be useful to me this time. If I had won that match at 18 years old, I would have been excited, of course, but also worried because I wouldn't have known how to manage this victory. Today, I know that the pressure will come down immediately this evening because I have a very difficult round next round against probably Bruguera, and he will not be there to give me any present. It will be a difficult match. I'm going to prepare that match as well as I did for today, and I'm not going to embark on any euphoric behavior, I will be very calm.