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ATP CUPJanuary 7, 2020Marat SafinIvan NedelkoKonstantin KravchukTeymuraz GabashviliKaren KhachanovDaniil MedvedevPerth, Western Australia, Australia GABASHVILI-KRAVCHUK/Durasovic-Ruud 7-6, 6-4 Team Russia - 3 Team Norway - 0 THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. 3-0. Halfway job done sort of thing with your dream team. Now on to Sydney. What does it mean to you to complete this initial phase? MARAT SAFIN: Well, I think it was important for the guys to win as many matches as they can, so they are coming with full confidence and playing a lot of matches. So it's beginning of the year. I think the guys are ready. They are pumped enough to do well in a final stage. I'm happy for them. I'm happy for myself. I think we are doing better each day. Q. Karen, do you think you're getting sharper as the matches have gone on this week? KAREN KHACHANOV: Yeah, I'm pretty sure of that. I think in each match there were some positives, you know. Like Marat said, the most important is that I had good sets, good fight, and looking forward to playing next matches in Sydney, yeah. Q. Daniil, how do you think you played today? Second set particularly was close. DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Yeah, was a bit tough after we played two night-session matches. It was like, I don't know, 20 degrees. And today was really hot. The ball was bouncing a lot, and Casper was playing good, also. So it was a little bit tough to get used to the conditions. Finally happy with the fight, happy with the win, because as you say, second set was close. Had a break up, tiebreak was close, so could have gone to three sets which I didn't want, so I'm happy about myself that I made it in two sets. Q. Have you been following along with the group stages in Brisbane and Sydney and keeping an eye on results there and potentially watching some of the matches? DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Me personally, yeah. I like to watch tennis. So whenever we are here or in the hotel room, I put the TV on and watch the tennis, so I know the results, yeah. Q. Daniil, there has been a lot of expectations around you since New York. How are you coping with that? Do you think the time is right now for I guess a breakthrough at the Australian Open? A lot of people waiting for someone other than the Big 3 to kind of emerge and win a Grand Slam. Do you think that's you? DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Me, I just, you know, talking about the pressure, as you say, or expectations, I don't think about it. Me, I'm trying to do my job as good as I can. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't work and I lose some matches. But me, I just work hard on practice, trying to win matches. So if I win seven matches in Australian Open, I'm going to be the winner. If I lose first round, well, I lose first round. As I say, I try to do my best every match and I see how it goes after. Q. Marat, obviously a perfect start here. Pretty confident the team can go all the way and win the tournament? MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, I think, like I said, had a tough few matches that Daniil and Karen, so I think they have confidence and get used to the courts, to the balls, the atmosphere. So it's very important. Yes, I'm very confident and I believe in my team. That's for sure. Plus they have experience now, so they know what they are doing on the court. Q. You played at the Hopman Cup a few times. How would you consider the atmosphere compared to that for this? The crowd seemed a little bit lower here. Has that been a little bit disappointing, or... MARAT SAFIN: No, but well, this is a little bit different format. Kind of the same but it's still the different feel. I think the people here this year didn't -- they didn't get used to the new format, but it will be better next year, I'm sure about it, because it's interesting format. Well, yeah, in Hopman Cup I didn't do really match and really great, so let's stick to the new stage in our lives (laughter). Q. A lot of our viewers in Norway watched you and Casper talk for a really long time at the net. Do you want to share what you guys talked about? DANIIL MEDVEDEV: Not really, but I just, I mean, during the match, I said him something which I was in the heat of the moment, so I maybe shouldn't have said it. So we talked about this, and I think we're okay (smiling). Q. It looks like you've got Group E winners on Thursday evening in Sydney. That may be Croatia, Austria, or maybe Argentina. Do you just have any preferences over who you may wish to play? And just how are you going to adjust to the time difference? Karen, maybe? KAREN KHACHANOV: Too many choices. It's tough to choose (smiling). I think we take the winner. That's it. So no preferences, I think. And the time difference, yeah, that's why we try to fly as soon as possible there and try to get ready to get used to the time, have a practice tomorrow. Let's see the conditions there, and, yeah, let's go for it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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