AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 26, 2004

Hicham Arazi

HICHAM ARAZI: Sorry (smiling).

HICHAM ARAZI: Yeah, I mean, I'm very happy. I'm very happy the way I played today. I mean, I didn't miss too many shots. I returned pretty good his first serve. I think today I feel it a little bit in the beginning of the match. He was a little bit more heavy than in the first and second and third round. I saw him playing. He played great tennis. I was surprised today with the score. But I feel that from the beginning that he was not in his best days.

HICHAM ARAZI: No, no, no. No, no, no. I just (ducked). I was scared a little bit because he's hitting pretty hard. But no.

HICHAM ARAZI: Sorry?

HICHAM ARAZI: Yeah, no, I was -- I knew that all the support was going to go with Mark, and I was just concentrate, you know, on my game, and to be very concentrate on the return because he has a huge serve. And that was I think the key of the match. He's serving big. If you can return his serve, then it's on my advantage.

HICHAM ARAZI: Sorry?

HICHAM ARAZI: No, because I was all ready before to go on the court, I knew it was going to be like this, so I was prepared.

HICHAM ARAZI: Yeah, I mean, the way I return today and the way, like I said before, I saw that he was not feeling as good as the round before, no.

HICHAM ARAZI: Yeah, I mean, that's my second time here and two times at the French. Yeah, I'm more -- I want more. Before, I was happy, you know, to be there. I had the chance to go to the semis at the French Open with Cedric Pioline match, who went to the fifth. But now I know that everything is possible, you know. I believe more in myself.

HICHAM ARAZI: I think it's more the matches, you know, that I play in Grand Slams, you know. And I always wanted to do well in those tournaments. I have always good motivation. Also I think it's going to help me a lot, like the result that I made last times at the French in '97, '98, and here also. That helped me, yeah.

HICHAM ARAZI: No, I don't think so, because it's not one month of vacation, it's one week vacation, and then it's hard work for five, six weeks. So, no, I don't think. I don't think so, no.

HICHAM ARAZI: Yeah, I lost him. I played him four times, I think, or five times. On clay I always lost to him. I beat him two times on the hard courts in Cincinnati and in Bercy. So that's the only two times where we play on hard courts. So I think he improve a lot his game on those courts. Is going to be for sure very hard. But I believe that I can win again after tomorrow.

HICHAM ARAZI: Just to be aggressive, you know, and try to come more at the net. I think I'm going to have to be also fit because he's going to make me run a lot. But to stay aggressive and to come.

HICHAM ARAZI: I didn't know, no. I just going to be, you know, focused like today and try to think about my game, not thinking about him. And then I think I have good chance.

HICHAM ARAZI: A little bit because my English is not very, very good. And he's speaking pretty fast, you know, like the American accent. So it's pretty tough to understand him.