TMS - MADRID

October 18, 2002

Jiri Novak

MODERATOR: Questions for Jiri.

JIRI NOVAK: It's always tough to say, but you know it's going to be a completely different match. It was the final in Vienna, and it was on a different surface. The Vienna was much slower than here. Here is a very fast surface. I think this is a little bit advantage for him because he's playing very good, let's say, the serve and volley, and he's serving a lot. You know, this is not big advantage for me. You know, I don't have nothing to lose because nobody going to expect me to win in this match. He's in front of me on the computer. He won against me last week. I will see. First of all, he has to win tonight.

JIRI NOVAK: It's tough to say, but I think that still two tournaments are in front of us, you know. Not only me, but a lot of guys will fight, you know, very hard for reaching the Masters. You know, I'm very happy that I'm in this moment, let's say, the No. 6 in the Champions Race, but this is not over yet, you know. I know that I have to finish until the spot 7th because let's say Albert Costa, if he's not finishing in the last eight, he's automatically. It's tough to say. But, you know, it's nice feeling for me because I didn't expect in the beginning of the year that I can be, let's say, two tournaments before the season is ending that high like I am.

JIRI NOVAK: I mean, I don't want to say Paris is going to be the last chance to do it in Masters. If somebody will play very good in Basel or St. Petersburg or Stockholm, I don't know who is going there or there, and somebody will reach semifinal or final, let's say you have a good advantage to do it. In the Paris, in this case I have to win two or three rounds. I think every point in every match is very important for all of us. Everybody will fight during these last two weeks.

JIRI NOVAK: Srichaphan?

JIRI NOVAK: It's tough to say, but I think a lot of pressure was on the both of us. He was playing, let's say, to reaching Top 20. I was fighting, let's say, to reach the tennis Masters or the whole Top 10 in the world. So the pressure was on the both of us. You know, he beat a lot of very good guys during this season, and especially here on this tournament. I think that it wasn't that nice match today because we didn't, you know, play so many times over the net because the surface is pretty fast, he was playing pretty fast, he was trying to kill a lot of balls. It was only the fight. I'm very happy that I was a little bit luckier, because there wasn't so many breakpoint chances during the whole match. You know, it was just a question of a little bit of luck.

JIRI NOVAK: No, this is not a question of the altitude, but the surface. The surface is much faster. I'm just comparing from Moscow and Vienna. This is the fastest one.

JIRI NOVAK: I don't need to be the very famous. Let's say, first of all, the most important for me is the family. Tennis is just the second part of my life. It's, let's say, nice to be, let's say, in front of pages on the magazines, but it can be just a few years. If you were just finish the tennis, nobody knows you, let's say, just the people which are interesting for the tennis. I prefer to be, let's say, a little bit down, just to play my best tennis. I will just try to make my best results. I don't want to be famous. I don't want to, let's say, shake the hand of every people on the street. It's not my thing.

JIRI NOVAK: The point when I was serving?

JIRI NOVAK: I don't know that (smiling).

JIRI NOVAK: No. I didn't know that it happened to me today.

JIRI NOVAK: It's just good for me, for my tennis.

JIRI NOVAK: This is not important in the game, you know. First of all, you have to make the break. If you were just hold the serve, then is going to be the tiebreak, you can lost one or two points, you are losing anyway. It's nice to hear it, but this is not the key of my tennis. It can happen.