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DAVIS CUP FIRST ROUNDFebruary 10, 2006Andrei PavelLA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA             JEFF HECKELMAN:  Questions in English.              Q.  Andrei, talk about that third set tiebreak, some of the ways you were feeling, how you played some of those points.              ANDREI PAVEL:  Well, he started like the first tiebreak, and I didn't like it.  Then somehow I managed to get back in that tiebreak.  Then I had set point, I think.  Then he had a match point, or the match point was before.  I don't even know.  It's too fast right now to even think about it.              Q.  He didn't have a match point.              ANDREI PAVEL:  He did have a match point, yes.  Just let me go for a second.              I think that tiebreak was the key of the match.  You know, after that he got a little bit tired.  Was an unbelievable point where we had to run, both of us, I don't know, I think about four or five times from one corner to another, but the long corner.  In the end, I end up winning that point.  I think somehow his body, you know, I think that he eat something wrong.  Normally, Andy's not the guy to have cramps or something like this, so I don't know what happened.              That was my chance there.              Q.  When did you sense you were going to win?              ANDREI PAVEL:  Well, I think in the fourth set.  In the fourth set, you know, I saw that his body's not fit any more.  I said to myself, you know, I have to keep playing my game.              But it's not easy.  Sometimes when somebody's injured, I guess it's like hunting, you know.  When somebody's injured, he's going to hit as hard as he can and try to shorten the points.  But I sense it in the fourth set.              Q.  Would you count this as one of your wins that you'll cherish?  You beat the No. 3 player in the world.              ANDREI PAVEL:  It's not about No. 3 player of the world.  It's about making the first point against United States, one of the biggest nations in tennis.  Away, winning from 2-0 down, this is going to go in my record for sure and in my good memories.              Q.  How does a guy who is 32 years old outlast, outrun...              ANDREI PAVEL:  Are you calling me old guy (laughter)?  Well, I'm feeling pretty fit right now.  I thought you going to ask Agassi that (laughter).              Q.  Well, he's not here.              ANDREI PAVEL:  No, no, what can I say?  You know, I'm practicing the same like before.  I'm practicing even more.  I had a bad year last year where I got a little bit burned out, put it this way.  I played too much tournaments in '05, so it wasn't a good year.              This year I'm trying to make it different.  We'll see what happen.  But 32 years old.  How old is Armstrong?  I mean, tennis is, of course, about the body.  I guess conditionally if you take a person, is much more fitter when he's like 30 or something like this normally, no?  I don't know.  You guys know more.              Q.  Seemed like strategically today you had more options than he did.  You played with more variety in your shots, better at the net, returned pretty well at times.              ANDREI PAVEL:  Andy is a big server.  That's his great weapon, the serve and the forehand.  If you somehow, you know, manage to avoid those big shots, then you have a chance.  If he's going to hit only serve and forehand, then bye-bye.              The first two sets, they were like this.  He served well.  I didn't serve that good the whole match.  Only in the end, the last game, without those two aces in the end, I think that would go even longer, the match.              But, you know, I try to avoid his forehand and tried to return as much as I could, as good as I could.  Didn't look like was my match today.  Somehow, these best-of-five matches, there's always a chance if you go every point.              Q.  I note you have never lost a five-set match in Davis Cup.              ANDREI PAVEL:  Thanks.  I don't know how should I answer that.  I take it as a compliment.              Q.  Do you count that as one of your strengths?              ANDREI PAVEL:  I love to play Davis Cup.  I love to play team matches.  This is something like -- it's different.  Especially, you know, how I said, Davis Cup, I always fight until the end.  You know, sometimes I like to prove myself as well that I still, you know, go the distance.              Q.  Could you reflect on Andy for a minute.  He's No. 3 in the world, Wimbledon finalist.  Three of the last four Grand Slams, tough results.  Difficult Davis Cup.  What can you say about Andy?  Has the field caught up with him?              ANDREI PAVEL:  No, no, I don't think so.  You know, sometimes you lose some matches, you know, you're not that much confident any more.  That's tennis, you know.  You have to play every week.  You have to play always good.  There are so many good players out there.  Everyone hits the ball really, really good.  Tennis got so, so good in the last five years.  Is amazing.  I mean, you can lose to a guy that is 150.  You can see the difference.  He's 3.  I didn't have a good year.  I'm like 75, 82, I don't know, 85.  I don't know where I am.              Everybody can beat everybody.  You know, we'll see.              Q.  Is Andy's serve less imposing somehow?  Are the players more used to big serves like that than maybe a few years ago?              ANDREI PAVEL:  No.  Did you see?  Did you watch how fast he was serving?              Q.  140s.              ANDREI PAVEL:  There you go.  That will answer the question.              No, I think, you know, how I say, tennis got so much better.  He had a match point.  I think we wouldn't have this conversation if he would have made that match point, if I didn't play that amazing topspin lob at match point.  We would go, "Okay, Andrei, bad luck, bye-bye."              It kind of turn around.  I say, I think the key of the match was his body.  I don't know what happened there with him.  But otherwise, you know, that's about it.              Q.  When you were first aware he was hurting, did that affect your strategy at all?  Did you feel more like a hunter?  You made that analogy earlier.              ANDREI PAVEL:  Yeah, but how I said, it's not very easy, you know, because he's going to come up with big shots, he's going to try to shorten the points and hit very hard when he's got a chance.  My strategy is to make him run a lot.  So sometimes you get a little bit nervous.  He's hitting hard.  You're trying to make him run.  That was my strategy.              Q.  What possessed you to try that topspin lob?              ANDREI PAVEL:  What possessed me?              Q.  Yes.              ANDREI PAVEL:  I guess my lucky angel.              Q.  In the fifth set, seemed like you got a bit nervous to close the match out.              ANDREI PAVEL:  You know, I thought at 5-1, I thought I going to break him also now.  He start serving like without even moving, just from his arm.  He start serving like aces non-stop.  And then on my game, I thought like, okay, make him run right now.  There were few points where I thought he's not going to run any more, he's going to stop.  As I said, is always dangerous.              Of course, I got a little bit nervous.  I said like, "I got to finish him now."  I put a little bit pressure on me.  Of course, the spectators and all the crowd was behind him.  So, you know, he tried to push it, you know, till the end.              Yeah, I got a little bit nervous there.  A little bit, yeah.              Q.  By Davis Cup standards, what did you think of the crowd atmosphere?              ANDREI PAVEL:  Well, I think they been very fair, of course.  Davis Cup is Davis Cup.  I'm happy that we have some Romanians in the crowd.  I think they've been very fair.  The umpires and everything has been really great.              You know, play America, is the first time.  So first match, they were very fair.              Q.  Can you talk about the doubles tomorrow.              ANDREI PAVEL:  No (laughter).              Q.  Please.              ANDREI PAVEL:  I can tell you there are going to be two against two.  On one side they going to be Bryan brothers, on our side we don't know yet (laughter).              Q.  Regardless of who plays on your team, talk about the challenge.              ANDREI PAVEL:  Yeah, Bryan brothers...  It doesn't matter who on our team is playing, we're going to have a tough, tough time.  I mean, they are No. 1 right now.  They just won a Grand Slam.  They are pretty confident.  But you never know.  We have few tall guys as well, like Hanescu and Horia Tecau.  They have big serves, too.  If they relax, I don't know, depends who is playing there.              It depends today.  I mean, I had a long match.  I don't know how Victor is going -- how long his match is going to be.  One of us is going to play tomorrow.  I don't know who.              Q.  Do you want to play?              ANDREI PAVEL:  I been playing singles and doubles for the last lot of years in Davis Cup.  I always had the three matches.  I had to go the distance.  I'm confident I can go the distance.  But there, you know, the coaches, they have to look at the situation as well.  Right now, I don't want to do any decisions.  It's a very tight match.  I mean, so I don't want to make decisions.              Q.  Would you consider this one of the top victories of your career?              ANDREI PAVEL:  In Davis Cup, yes, for sure.              Q.  Overall?              ANDREI PAVEL:  No.  It's been a lot of, you know, like especially -- there have been a lot of matches that I won against the top 10 players.              Q.  But in Davis Cup, it's your major success today?              ANDREI PAVEL:  Well, it's a big success.  It's a team match.  I think if we will win, then it will be, you know, amazing, that will be the thing.  But, you know, is a match.  You got to go three points.  I'm not thinking about -- I'm thinking more as a team right now.              So we will see the end of these three days.
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