TMS MONTE CARLO

April 24, 2004

Rainer Schuettler

Q. Rainer, is it going to be a nice 28th birthday for you?

RAINER SCHUETTLER: If I win, it will be the perfect one, yes (smiling).

RAINER SCHUETTLER: I think in the beginning, both of us, we made a few mistakes. We wanted to see how the other one is playing. Yeah, then I started to play very good, I think, especially I was happy about my serve again today. And I made an unbelievable passing shot in the tiebreak to lead 3-Love. That was very important, that I won the tiebreaker. Then in the second set I felt more comfortable. I was putting more pressure on him, and, yeah, I think I played a pretty good second set.

RAINER SCHUETTLER: I never did it in my life, so I think it's a surprise, yes (smiling).

RAINER SCHUETTLER: Yeah, you mean on clay. But I never played a Masters Series - not even on hard court I played a final. So of course it's a surprise, yes.

RAINER SCHUETTLER: I played well on clay. I played last 16 of Roland Garros last year, I played quarters in Rome, so I know that I can play well on clay. What surprised me the most is that I beat, in this tournament, three former No. 1 players. This is what really surprised me, that I played the whole tournament very, very good. And, yeah, that I'm in the final, I was surprised, too.

RAINER SCHUETTLER: I did beat them before as well - not on clay court, but on hard court.

RAINER SCHUETTLER: It depends. I mean, I knew that I can beat them. I felt comfortable this week. Everything was going my way. I was little bit sick in the beginning of the week so I didn't expect too much and, yeah, I was just fighting round by round. And maybe that's -- sometimes it's easier than to go in a tournament and to expect something.

RAINER SCHUETTLER: I think it really doesn't matter because he's very fit, he's very quick, he's fast, he's in good shape. Yeah, I feel pretty happy with my fitness, so I think it really doesn't matter if you play best-of-three or best-of-five. It will be a long match anyways, and we're going to have a lot of rallies. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to the match tomorrow. I mean, I'll wake up and I'll try to win; he does the same. So at the end, I think we'll be very long on court tomorrow.

RAINER SCHUETTLER: Every point you make makes a difference, so... I don't know how many unforced errors I did, I don't know how many unforced errors he did; I didn't see the statistics. I wanted to play aggressive, I wanted to attack him on his backhand; that's what I did. If I made a lot of winners, I'm happy about that.

RAINER SCHUETTLER: Yes.

RAINER SCHUETTLER: I think I lost in three sets. But I don't remember too much about my games in the past. So I know that I lost in three sets, and I have to play better tomorrow to win. I have to play better tomorrow to win the match definitely. But it's a long time ago. Really, he was a different player, I was a different player. To me, it doesn't matter what happened two years ago or three years ago.

RAINER SCHUETTLER: No, I think it's just a matter about the confidence. I mean, when I played final in the Australian Open, I saw that even if I have to play best-of-five that I can beat anybody in the world. And that was the -- I think maybe it clicked a little bit, and I was sure that I can beat everybody, even if I have to be four hours on court. And that's the only difference. I think it's a mental thing. I always played well. The year before I was No. 20 or 23 in the world, so I was -- I think if you're Top 100 in the world, you're a good player. Everybody - you see - everybody can beat everybody. So you have to be a good player to be there. It's just a mental thing. Maybe the important points I just -- I take the risk, I am not trying to hold back, I just go for the shots. And, yeah, if you do that and if you play well, then suddenly the balls are going in and you don't know what you changed.

RAINER SCHUETTLER: Of course. I did in the past, and I will also do in the future. He is a good friend of mine, he helps me out a lot, and it's very important to, yeah, to work your mental side as well. So I will work with him, I guess, in Rome and the tournaments before Wimbledon like we did the last years, and I'm always in touch with him, yes.

RAINER SCHUETTLER: Yes, of course. I mean, against clay court specialists, or clay court players, if you just stay on the baseline, it doesn't help. I mean, you know that the ball is coming back every time. And of course I have to mix up my game, but that's especially my game. I mean, I just try to put my game on to him and I try to make pressure. That's what I always do. It doesn't matter if it's clay court, hard court or grass, I try to play aggressive from the baseline, try to go to the net, and even sometimes if I see, yeah, that I have the chance, to play serve and volley.

RAINER SCHUETTLER: To be honest with you, I hope that I go and hit the ball with my racquet. That's all I try to do (smiling).

RAINER SCHUETTLER: I don't think about what he did. That's completely out of my picture. He was a great player. He retired, and he will always be a legend for Germany and for German tennis. But I don't think about what he did. I just want to win the tournament. I go out there and try to win tomorrow and try to give my best. And if I lose and I know that I tried everything to win and I tried my best on the court, then I'm happy as well. So we'll see if I can celebrate my birthday with a victory or not, but I just want to do everything to win.