TMS - MADRID

October 19, 2002

Sebastien Grosjean

Q. We could see it was very close in the match. You stopped his rhythm. Did you think with this tactic the match was going to be on your side?

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: It's true that during the match the serve was very important. When I was hitting my serve well, it was easier. It's difficult to play against him from the back. You have to be very quick. I tried to vary my shots in order to take him off his game and be able to play my game.

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: It's true that the Spanish public were nice and supported me. I don't think it's true that Spanish players are not welcomed in France. It's nice to see so many people for the first time a tournament is held here at a new venue.

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: Well, Madrid has altitude. All the players know that it's harder to return. In all the matches, he had a good percentage of first serves.

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: It's always difficult to accept a defeat. When you play a tournament, you try to make it to the final.

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: Return of serve could have been better. He served very well. Maybe I could have attacked more his second serve. It's difficult to get to the third set and end up losing the match.

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: Well, at this level, a semifinals, it was a high-standard match. I don't know if it's the best match of the year. It has been a very good tournament for me.

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: Before this tournament, I was looking forward to the last tournaments of the year. I was highly motivated.

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: Well, yes, the feeling I had on the court gave me quite a lot of confidence. But, well, it wasn't enough. I had to win the match. If I had won the match, I would have ended up really confident.

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: In other matches, that made the difference. When I played him in Roland Garros, that's how I played. It's true that I wasn't very successful with this particular shot. I think I have to work on this. His position on the court is very good, his footwork. That's one of the reasons that I lost, made mistakes.

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: He hasn't played many semifinals in the Masters Series. To get that far is great. He made his decision about the doubles. It must be difficult to play both doubles and singles. Yeah, it's a bit weird, the schedule of the matches. If they would have made the schedule before, maybe they could have swapped with Novak. I think there was a mistake with the scheduling of the matches.