|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
TMS MONTE CARLOApril 20, 2001Hicham AraziMONTE CARLO, MONACO THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. It was a strange match because each time a player was getting ahead, we had the impression he didn't want to conclude and there were difficulties. The player was stepping back a little bit? HICHAM ARAZI: It's true, there were ups and downs. At 2-love in the second set, he started being more aggressive. He had a good point at the volley, and also at 3-love in the third set he came back to 3-all. It's true that it was not obvious. We were fighting for a place in the semis, and there is also a little bit of stress coming up, and even a lot of it. Anyway, it finished well for me, my own way. That's the main thing for me. Q. At 5-3 in the third you had two matchpoints and then the tiebreaker. You were not a bit angry at that point? HICHAM ARAZI: When I missed the two matchpoints, no. But in the third set, it was 6-5 for him and 15-30 on my serve. I believed that the match was finished for me at that stage. Q. And the two tiebreakers, you came ahead easily. What was the little plus you had? HICHAM ARAZI: It's Tim who was kind with me. He gave me three or four points. I didn't force anything. He made unforced errors at that time, and I think that this is what made me win both tiebreakers. Q. This semifinal is the best thing in your career in a Masters Series. How do you assess it? HICHAM ARAZI: Yes, it's a good performance, especially since I didn't have very good results lately, since the beginning of the year. But I still hope to go even further than that. In the Masters Series, I never reached that stage of the competition. I lost three times in the quarterfinal, so I hope I'm going to go even further. Q. What are you satisfied about most in your game? Are there particular shots that satisfy you more than others? HICHAM ARAZI: Tennis-wise, no, everything remained the same. It's mainly mentally that I am now able not to get angry, even if today the racquet escaped my hand two or three times. But you still have to live the present moment and to fight until the last shot. That's what made me win those matches here. Q. How can you explain that you are able to remain cool now? Did you make a particular effort in this direction? Is it something conscious? HICHAM ARAZI: It's been a while already that I don't get crazy. I worked a lot with Thierry, we talk before and after the matches. I think it was the only solution for me to try to have more consistent results and to do good performances like I did this week. Q. He convinced you? HICHAM ARAZI: Yes, and I convinced myself. Q. Aren't you losing a bit of your creativity that you had before? HICHAM ARAZI: I prefer to lose a bit of creativity and be more consistent. Q. Are you still reading Prevert as you were doing a time ago in the French Open? The first time you were in the quarterfinals, to find the concentration, it was said that you were reading poems from Prevert. Is it true? HICHAM ARAZI: In fact, it was my former coach who was interested in everything touching art and Prevert also. No, it didn't come from me. Q. You never read many poems, a lot of literature? You're not interested? HICHAM ARAZI: Not too much. Q. You had a good series this week: Norman, Pioline, Henman. It's a good winning streak. Do you think it's because of your mental qualities or because it's clay and the other players were a bit late in getting prepared compared to your game? HICHAM ARAZI: I improved enormously from the mental point of view, and it is thanks to that that I am able to have results like I have today. I believe Tim played a good match on clay, which is normally not his favorite surface. Without being too proud, I would say it's due to me and not to my opponents. Q. The fact that you are more mature, that you are aging explains it, or is it something in your family life which explains it, or only the mental work? HICHAM ARAZI: A bit of everything. A bit more experience, realizing the way I was playing before and I was behaving on the court and knowing it was not the right way and that I had to change something. So I changed this, and it worked well for me. Q. What was your reaction when the International Federation decided that Morocco would not be considered among the seeded teams for the playoffs? There are only eight seeded teams. HICHAM ARAZI: I don't know about it. We are not seeded? Well, that's it. The only thing I know is that we're playing against Belgium. Q. Belgium is a seeded team, not you. HICHAM ARAZI: It doesn't change a lot for me. End of FastScripts.... |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|