US OPEN

September 4, 2006

Marat Safin

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. He's been a problem in your past. You took control. What was the key?
MARAT SAFIN: Well, just he's a very uncomfortable player for me. Sometimes when you're not playing really well and you're not playing the right way, sometimes you are a little bit too scared to do things. If you have confidence, it's a little bit easier because you can go to the line, move him around.
Otherwise, if you stick to his game, then basically you have no choice. It happens when you are out of confidence or shape.

Q. December of 1995, Moscow, U.S. versus Russia Davis Cup. Did you watch this on TV?
MARAT SAFIN: No, I was in Spain.

Q. You had no interest in the match at that time?
MARAT SAFIN: Not really. Of course I wanted our team to win because it would be the first time in the history.

Q. When the U.S. comes back to Moscow in a few weeks, how important will that match be for Russian tennis fans who remembered this loss?
MARAT SAFIN: Oh, it's too...
BUD COLLINS: Did I miss anything good?
MARAT SAFIN: Nothing interesting, nothing interesting.
BUD COLLINS: I can't believe that.
MARAT SAFIN: We're waiting for you.
No, just has nothing to do. Was a huge mistake by the Russians. With all the respect to the players, to Chesnokov and Kafelnikov, they should have won, especially on clay. Play against Sampras and Courier, we should have won, that's for sure. Somehow, it slipped away.
Only six years later, we won it. So right now, we are also playing for it's a big match for us. I think we're gonna win we hope we believe we're gonna win the Davis Cup this year. We are going pretty strong, you know, coming to this match. We are gonna practice hard, try to be in the final. This will be our second how you call it? the trophy, and I think we are very close to it.

Q. Would you like to see that clay very heavy, maybe even wet?
MARAT SAFIN: Slow. As slow as possible. I think we have all the cards in our hands.

Q. Given the number of big men like yourself and big hitters on the tour, does it amaze you that Olivier can compete as well as he does week in, week out?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, but a lot of people underestimate him. It has nothing to do with the of course everybody looks and nobody talks about it, but everybody looks at his height. Has nothing to do. Jaime Yzaga, if you remember, used to be a great player. He beat Sampras and others. He's very stable. Rochus, he knows how to play tennis. He's been around. He has experience. He's moving very well. He reads the game very well. He can hit off both sides. Returns well. Good volleys. Anticipation is amazing. Good touch. I don't understand why the people, they still thinking that the big guys, they should beat the small guys. Look at Michael Chang. He wasn't tall either.

Q. You hate to play him?
MARAT SAFIN: It's kind of he has a kind of Santoro game, because if you start to play his game, he moves you around, he puts you at his pace slice, dropshots, hitting hard, hitting slow, serving, a lot of variation of his game. So it's pretty difficult to find your rhythm once you start to play his game.

Q. Now that you got into the fourth round, you didn't have you haven't had the greatest of summers on hard courts, but three good matches here. Do your expectations change for the tournament?
MARAT SAFIN: Not really. I mean, I had very difficult year. With all the results that I had lately, I just I try to play my game. Whatever comes, comes. I think I did pretty well so far, so I want to stick to it, stick to this tactic, and play another match against Haas. I think it will be really tight tomorrow. I'm a little bit maybe lucky. I have little bit advantage playing tomorrow.

Q. Are you the type of person who can maintain confidence over a couple weeks, or is it much more on the day for you?
MARAT SAFIN: Right now, I don't know. I don't really know, because I haven't been playing well at all. All the summer I came here, especially to get some points, to get my ranking a little bit better. I came here in middle of the July, and what I did is just make one semifinal, and I did nothing in the Masters Series. So it's pretty disappointing for me. But thanks, God, I'm doing pretty well here for the moment. Let's see where it will take me.

Q. Through highs and lows here, people, fans have always stayed with you. Why do you think people connect with your game?
MARAT SAFIN: Ask people (smiling). I don't know.

Q. What's the most frustrating part of being Marat Safin?
MARAT SAFIN: Huh?

Q. What's the most frustrating part of being Marat Safin?
MARAT SAFIN: Frustrating part, well, it's just every time I've been playing well and every time I was in the top 10, I had one year, one great year, then I was getting injured and I had to start all over again. I really am tired a little bit of making comebacks.

Q. What do you tell yourself?
MARAT SAFIN: What do I tell myself, I have to deal with situation. But also is not it's not easy to come back. A lot of people don't understand that once you've been there, you slip out, and being 88 in the world or right now I'm out of hundred, to come back, come back again, it's really it's very, very difficult.

Q. Finally, what's more impressive, a top player who can really stay at the top for a long, long time obviously, Pete Sampras, the best example.
MARAT SAFIN: Well, he didn't get injured.

Q. Or a player that comes back from really serious injury like Andre Agassi did, to come back to the very top.
MARAT SAFIN: Well, it's different. Everybody you cannot judge, you know, by every person is different. Every person has different mentality, different character, different. It's just we are different.
So some people, they take it easy, and some people, they little bit start to stress out a little bit. Then they are finding themselves in a position and they need to find a way out and they need somehow. Some other people, like Sampras, he was like a wall; nobody could break him. So that's why he maintain himself there without slipping.
Not like Agassi, because he was maybe a little bit emotional, and he had some problems out of the court, I guess. I don't know. I wasn't there. So he needed some help. He slipped away and then he came back.
But it's really, really tough. It's difficult for everybody to do that.

Q. I am sure you are gonna win a lot of things still, but till now, how do you think tennis will remember Marat Safin?
MARAT SAFIN: I'm not retiring yet (smiling). I have another four years. Let's see what's gonna happen there. Maybe I can win one or two Grand Slams. Would be great if Federer will not play there. Then we'll see. We'll see how, first of all, how I will take it, when I will retire. And then of course let's see how the people, they will say good bye to me.

Q. Sometimes it seems you have a very low opinion of yourself. You just mentioned Federer. 2005 Australian Open you beat him. You've been a No. 1 player, won two Grand Slams. Pretty much beaten every guy out there. Where does that come from, the lack of confidence?
MARAT SAFIN: Well, like I said. Once, for example, my position, I got injured quite a lot. In 2001, I was injured with the ribs, then the wrist, then elbow I had problems, then I had problems with the knee. So it's kind of difficult because everybody, like for example Federer, he been playing for the last five years without injuries. So he's continuously playing.
For example, for me, when I stop and I didn't play for six months, I couldn't really walk straight, you have to start all over again. Then to try to play a little bit of tennis without moving, then you need to find the rhythm to play matches, confidence. You start to see the ranking, that you are dropping and you have to defend a lot of points. The people, the people's opinion everywhere, You should have done that, you should have done that... (cell phone ringing.)

Q. Do you truly love this game, or are you just playing because this is what you know how to do, this is what you were brought up to do? Do you have the same kind of love of the game Andre had?
MARAT SAFIN: Well, of course Andre didn't play for the money. That's for sure. He has enough, and much more. So I guess you have to give something back. What else? There are much more things you can do in life, that's for sure. Also in Andre's position, I'm sure he's pretty big in Las Vegas and he has a lot of opportunities outside of tennis.
But once you dedicate your youth, basically all your life to tennis, and all of a sudden to achieve something and then say, Bye bye, thank you very much and try to do something else, it's one of like Rios, he did that. I think you have to give to the tennis as much as you can, everything, so you don't have any regrets, and give to spectators. And basically everything what Agassi and Rios, and some other guys, what they have in life is thanks to the tennis. So just to take as much as you can and then just leave, I don't think is the right way.

Q. What are your thoughts on instant replay? Have you enjoyed it? Do you think it's successful?
MARAT SAFIN: Well, it's a little bit stressful right now because I'm playing every single day. I played yesterday five set match, I played today, and then I have to play tomorrow against Haas. So it's not really fun. You cannot really enjoy the city and, you know, just be...

Q. The instant replay, have you found it successful, the HawkEye?
MARAT SAFIN: Oh, HawkEye, sorry.

Q. No, that's okay.
MARAT SAFIN: But is not I don't think it's hundred percent right.

Q. You don't think it's 100% right?
MARAT SAFIN: No. No, no, no. I'm sure about that. I already said that.

Q. Why?
MARAT SAFIN: Why? You think I'm lying?

Q. No, no. Why isn't it right?
MARAT SAFIN: Because it's not right. Because you have the marks on the court. They're saying it's out. Then you have HawkEye, the ball is in. I don't think it's the right thing. I think you have to go with the it's not like hypothetically. You have the mark there, it's a fact. You can't fight it. You see the mark. Like for example, the one ball yesterday against Nalbandian was a mark, this wide (indicating). And then I check it, I challenge it, and they said that it's in. And, really, it's like touching the line, so I don't think it's hundred percent correct.

Q. The way you played this summer and the way you're playing, when you go to play tomorrow, the shots you will hit, the shots you've hit this tournament so far, will you feel better about them? What did you feel about those shots in tournaments this summer and now you feel different about them, or do you?
MARAT SAFIN: Well, five set matches, US Open, everything is right. I practiced. I came here a little bit early. I was hitting balls every day for a few hours. So everything for the moment looks right. I'm doing the right things, and the balls looks like they are landing inside the court.
I'm moving better, faster. Better anticipation. Basically, enjoying it a little bit more. I'm having fun on the court, so I guess it's New York.