	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

TMS - HAMBURG

May 16, 2001

Hicham Arazi

HAMBURG, GERMANY

ATP: Questions, please.
Q. Obviously you wanted that a lot and how did you feel the first matchpoints? Did you think: "Am I going to pull this off?"

HICHAM ARAZI: Yeah, I mean, I tried to fight 'til the end. I was like very -- it was unlucky for Tommy. He had like nine matchpoints and I think some (inaudible) on that. Yeah, I was just thinking to fight in the last point and maybe if I could win this second set, I was thinking that I had chances for the third set to win the match.

Q. But you didn't really believe in that, did you, like turning --

HICHAM ARAZI: After the matchpoint?

Q. Yeah.

HICHAM ARAZI: After the nine matchpoints that I serve...

Q. (Inaudible.)

HICHAM ARAZI: It is always tough when you get so many chances and you are like one point from the match, then after mentally for Tommy he was -- it was pretty tough, but he fight really hard even in the third set when I was a break up in the beginning of the third. So, yeah, it was unlucky for him, yeah.

Q. Could you notice any difference in Tommy's play after, well, gave these nine matchpoints away, was he more, well, talking to himself or what was -- was he less confident, could you notice something like this?

HICHAM ARAZI: I don't know. I didn't see him, you know, when I was -- I was concentrated on me, so -- but yeah, I thought I am going -- I thought in the beginning of the third set when I broke him that it's going to be easier for me, but he came back pretty good and, yeah, he just fight 'til the end also. Fortunately today was -- I mean, that is tennis. It was not his day unfortunately.

Q. At the end the public outside was completely on your side. They cheered you when you left the court and they booed a bit when Tommy left. Were you surprised by that?

HICHAM ARAZI: Yeah, I was a little bit surprised and I mean, for me it was great. But I was a little bit disappointed because Tommy, he did his best and it is tough for him, nine matchpoints and he didn't say a word. He tried. He tried hard. It was just not his day.

Q. In the first set I noticed that your game was just not -- wasn't your best game you played. You had very easy mistakes in the first set. What happened that you actually changed, that you became so much better?

HICHAM ARAZI: I don't know. Since last tournament that I play, I always have problem beginning of the match and also Tommy played pretty strong in the beginning so, yeah, I couldn't do too much; just to wait and try to concentrate for the second set. It was going too fast in the first set, so I didn't have time.

Q. Were you surprised that Tommy played so much on your backhand, on your stronger -- (inaudible)

HICHAM ARAZI: In the end he tried to play more on the second serve to play on my forehand. I think he could have mixed it up a little bit more.

Q. In a television interview the moderator asked Tommy if he was distracted by the fact that you were talking to your coach very often. She asked if this was kind of illegal that you talked to him too much. Did you talk to him so much?

HICHAM ARAZI: When you are on the court, you know, there is the crowd and you don't hear what your coach is saying. You just see him and try to get some support from outside. But I can't talk with him. I don't know what he is saying. There is too much noise there. I just need to see him and to see, yeah, that he is there and supporting me. I can't hear what he said.

Q. What is your goal here in Hamburg right now?

HICHAM ARAZI: My goal is Alberto Martin, I think he won. I have to play him, this match tomorrow, and we will see.

Q. Looking match to match?

HICHAM ARAZI: Yeah. It is better.

End of FastScripts....

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297