AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 21, 2001

Dominik Hrbaty

THE MODERATOR: First question in English, please.

DOMINIK HRBATY: Thank you.

DOMINIK HRBATY: I don't know. I don't know what's between them and me. I just played well today and I feel the ball great. I was playing a little bit faster than Marat today. I was giving him under pressure. The most important thing that I was always up in all sets. So I got chances all the time and I think he was little bit under pressure, and I don't really find that many mistakes that I made today that I lost the match. So I think I played really good today.

DOMINIK HRBATY: No, I mean I had worse I think in the past, so...

DOMINIK HRBATY: I don't know. I made maybe, I don't know, eight or nine I had before, then I made ten once. It can happen. He played well on the set points, especially he was serving. So I just try to put back the ball and keep on playing and wait for the best moment to win the point and it came in 7-all or something, 6-all in the tiebreaker.

DOMINIK HRBATY: I don't remember that in my life. So I was serving really well today, especially the second serve. I don't know how many points I lost from the second serve, but I had -- I was really confident today with my second serve. And hit pretty hard and I didn't give him a chance to hit the winners from the returns. So it was pretty good today.

DOMINIK HRBATY: Yeah, I'm little bit older. (Laughs) This is the difference. Before, in the beginning I didn't believe really that I could play on the hard surfaces. Now I made some good results and that's important that I start to believe that I can play well on the hardcourts and I practice a little bit more, I play more hardcourt tournaments than I used to. And the reason is that I start to play better. I learned how to move on the hardcourt surface, and that's very important. So now the only thing is that I have to keep going and I think it's -- I can play the great tennis on the hardcourt.

DOMINIK HRBATY: You know, sometimes I serve better in the wind, usually I get a high percentage because then when it's the serve -- when it's the wind is a little bit stronger, I concentrate more on the serve. So that's something that also helps, in the wind. And sometimes I should do maybe more concentration on my first serve when it's no wind. But it's something that can happen to me that I can serve better in the wind than when there is no wind.

DOMINIK HRBATY: It's gonna be tough match for sure, as any other matches here in Grand Slam. Got a little bit different game than Marat. He's playing serve and volley. Yeah, I gonna prepare, I mean, for that kind of game and I have nothing to lose. He's higher seeded than me, and I will fight and try to beat him.

DOMINIK HRBATY: That's tough to say. We had a great match in Hopman Cup, actually unbelievable match we played. And Marat wasn't playing that well like in the Hopman Cup today. Maybe also I didn't give him chance to get back in the match. But we played really nice matches, and I like to play against him because the matches are always close and there are so many interesting rallies and so many nice rallies, so that's why I play tennis, because of these rallies and this kind of game. And when I going to play Marat, I already know it's gonna be fight and it's gonna be nice game.

DOMINIK HRBATY: Today I played really good. I feel the ball -- when I always hit the ball up, that I'm not gonna hit any mishits, that the ball is going to fly the way I don't want. So that was the important thing today. And I -- when I was getting once through the rally, long rally, I believe in myself that I'm not going to lose this one. I think that's an important moment in tennis, when you get to this moment that you believe you're not going to lose the point.

DOMINIK HRBATY: Last time I got the trophy of the -- we had a celebration like a top sportsman of Slovakia. I was six, I meet the president and I gave him a trophy of my trophy I get because I was only six players. That was something to remember that he played the doubles with me. After that, he had a tough surgery and he survived. So, yeah, I told him that I want him for Davis Cup and that's it. So I didn't meet him too many times, but I told him I invite him for Davis Cup and it's gonna be fun.

DOMINIK HRBATY: Playing matches. (Laughing.)

DOMINIK HRBATY: I played -- I started in Hopman Cup. I think that was great, something different that I did from the past years. I got a few matches in the beginning of the year, which is very important, and then I played Auckland and I won the tournament. So I don't think there can be better start for me for the year. So that's very important that you keep going and winning matches in the beginning of the year, because you had a long rest and then it's always tough to get back on the Tour and keep winning.

DOMINIK HRBATY: About -- more than one month. So I did all the physical work and all the practice and then I came to Australia.