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February 12, 2006
LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA
             THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.
             Q.  Florin, when did you become aware that Victor would not be able to play today?
             CAPTAIN FLORIN SEGARCEANU:  Last night, after he went to the hospital and he took an MRI and you could see on the MRI that he had very, very tough pulled muscle.  It was a serious injury.  Was nothing, you know, very easy.  The doctors told us that is gonna take probably two to three weeks to heal that.
             Q.  How did you decide between Razvan and Horia-Vlad as to who would play Roddick?
             CAPTAIN FLORIN SEGARCEANU:  You always choose the most experienced player.  Razvan has a long history in playing Davis Cup.  He won a few matches, important matches, 2-All couple of times - against England once, against Ecuador a couple years ago.
             He's a player ranked 110 in the world.  You always have to do something like this in Davis Cup.  You have to take in consideration the experience of the player.
             Q.  (Inaudible)?
             CAPTAIN FLORIN SEGARCEANU:  Well, of course, we were very happy after the first day.  We knew that it's gonna be a tough match in doubles, but we didn't expect something like this to happen.  I think with Victor on court, maybe the situation is a little bit different, you know.  Victor is ranked 74 in the world, and he's a very good player.  In my opinion, you know, I think he could do a good match against Roddick.
             Q.  How did you feel about Razvan today?  He said he could not hit the winners when he wanted to.
             CAPTAIN FLORIN SEGARCEANU:  Well, I think he was trying to do the right game, but he didn't have, you know -- his game was up and down.  He had very few games, was doing the right thing, you know, trying to make a winner, you know, move Roddick around, but he couldn't keep that pace, you know.  Obviously, it's a different level, you know.  Being 3 in the world and being 110 in the world, it's completely different.
             Q.  Is it difficult to play a match that is meaningless, the tie is over, the United States has won, and you go out?  Is it difficult to play in that circumstance?
             HORIA-VLAD TECAU:  It's not difficult for me.  Every match is important for me.  This is the first singles match that I played in Davis Cup for Romania, and it's a big chance for me to show my skills on the court.  Just took that opportunity.
             I think I could have done a better job, but James Blake is a top 20 player and it's tough to play against him.  I had to play good tennis today to compete, to compete with him.  At some points, I didn't execute the way I wanted, but it's always important to play a match in Davis Cup, even if the tie was over before the match.
             Q.  What do you think was the difference in the match today?
             HORIA-VLAD TECAU:  Well, I think I started a little slow, making many errors in the beginning of the match.  Didn't give myself the chances to stay in the points.
             But as the match went on, I started playing better, I started finding the targets in my serve, and started playing my game better.
             Q.  In terms of you starting slow, was that a case of nerves?
             HORIA-VLAD TECAU:  I was ready to play.  I mean, we made a decision before the match, after Razvan's match, who was going to play.  I don't think that had something to do with it.  I didn't know -- I didn't know from the beginning of the day that I would play the match if Razvan loses, but I was getting myself ready for this match.  I don't know if mentally that made a difference.
             End of FastScripts...
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