US OPEN

September 9, 2006

Mikhail Youzhny

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I think everybody agrees you played a great tournament, a great match tonight. Then of course when you're on serve, somehow nothing works anymore.
MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: It was...

Q. 3 4.
MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: It's not only 3 4, it was during the whole match like some games. Like second set, it was like all the same last game on my serve.
I have tough draw, and I was not fresh today. Physically, I was more fresh, or my mentally was too slowly. That's why it's too many mistakes and easy looks like easy balls. Was very tough balls, you know, in half court. You know this is your ball already and you just try to win this point. You need to be fresh and you need to be fast.
Today, I was little bit slowly, you know. I think little bit slowly. That's why it was so many mistakes.

Q. Will you always remember this as the best tournament of your career, or no? I mean, at least until today.
MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: Yeah, I think it's the best tournament in my career now. You know, Grand Slam, is something different. It's not like normal tournament, you know. You play best of five sets and we have just four very important tournament every year. I mean, Grand Slam. That's why.
I never have a points like I have in these two weeks. That's why I think it's maybe best tournament in my career now.
Okay, I win couple of tournaments, but it's not the same as here, I have very tough draw and I beat very good players. It's not only one or two, I beat five very good players in a row.

Q. What is the difference between you and Davydenko in terms of results now this year's US Open and your perspective?
MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: First of all, Nikolay play very well the last two years. You know, we totally different persons. We have totally different life. He very, very fast on court. And he can play I don't know how long. If you give him to play 24 hours per day, I think he will play 24 hours per day. He's really, really like to work, and he's work really hard. I cannot say I didn't work, I also like I think work hard.
But Nikolay is very fast, and his game looks like very simple, like very I forgot the English word very easy, looks like very easy. He just put ball. He doesn't think against whom he play, and he doesn't think about tactic of the game. Like I don't know exactly, I didn't talk. Like what I see. He play the same tennis with everybody.
But my game, it's another one. I try to play. It's different tennis with difference players. That's why in every match I have like new tactic before the match, and I try to play against each player different.

Q. On a scale from 1 to 10, what do you think Andy's chances are of beating Roger tomorrow?
MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: I think it's not too much chances, I think. But because Roger finish the match early and he play just one and a half hour, I think, or maybe a little bit more.
But I think around 4 or 5. I think 70% is to Roger, and 30 for Andy.

Q. What would Andy have to do to break through against
MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: I never beat Roger (laughing). I don't know how I need to play against him and beat him.
But, you know, Andy has a great serve. But, you know, against Roger, very tough to serve well all the match. But if Andy will serve really well, he has chances. If Andy serve not so good, I think he don't have any chance tomorrow.

Q. If he's serving well?
MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: But, you know, I don't know what happen tomorrow with Roger. Maybe he will go to court, he's pissed or something happens. But I never saw Roger pissed or something when happen in final of Grand Slam.

Q. Let's say Andy is having a really good serving day, what would be the other thing he would have to do?
MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: If he win a lot of points just with serve, he can play very he gets too many risk on return when it's Roger serve. If Roger, he play like machine, but if he can sees Andy serve unbelievable and he cannot even try to win Andy's serve, maybe he has a problems, maybe he start a little bit nervous.
But very tough for me now to talk about what he need to, Andy. Because I don't know Andy, what he can do against Roger. I don't know what his coach tell to him. I don't know what's Roger want to do against Andy.
That's why very tough question for me.

Q. You're leaving New York happy, even if you lost today, because before you came here did you really have hopes? I mean, you always have hopes, but did you expect you would make the semis? You beat Nadal.
MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: If somebody two weeks ago tell me you leaving two weeks later, on Sunday, I say, Hey, is joke, is a bad joke of the year.
But of course I am happy it's my first semis. It's for me not really now important that it was semis. For me important, it's my game improve, and what I do, a lot of work beginning of the year. Now, I saw result of my work, of work of my coach, of my team. For me, it's very important.
That's why I saw I can improve a lot of things in my game now. That's why for me this is main point. I am playing well. I can beat not only one player like top 20 or top 10 in one day and next day to be there to lose. Doesn't matter whom.
I can understand I can beat very good players. I can beat very good players not every day, but not only one per tournament. For me, it's very important now.

Q. Why do you think you were mentally tired today?
MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: Because is actually my game. Is my game. Is, okay, I play for most important thing in my game is head. I mean this, here (pointing to his head).
If I start too little bit slowly, I need to think on court maybe sometimes. I thinking too much, you have stupid mistakes like today.
When you are fresh, well, nothing disturb you, you know. Your (indiscernible) is going automatically. You see the ball, the ball is behind you, you just play and you take like it was with Rafa. But with Rafa was really tough match for me. Every point, I need to say for me, Stop, you can't do wrong things, you cannot like try to push to him like play boom, boom with him. That's why after Rafa, it was I play I won four sets, but it was really tough match for my mind.
I think when I start to play more matches like this one, I going up, and my mentally for sure going up also.

Q. Is that what happened to you in the tiebreak when you hesitated on that ball coming in?
MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: Where is?

Q. The third set tiebreaker. You hesitated in coming in to the net, and then you hit the ball, hit the ground and bounced up.
MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: I didn't...

Q. 5 3.
MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: Ah, you know, it was wrong thing to do, because I play very good down the line. First I want to go into the net. After I saw, I cannot going fast. I stopped just, you know, middle. Is this problem. Middle of the court. I cannot go forward, I cannot going back. What I did, my foot, you know, was...
Actually, if I just stay back or going immediately to the net, it's good, so now this point. This decision, it was good. There is no but during this point, I have wrong thing because I going to the net after I stop.

Q. Just a little while ago, Nikolay Davydenko came in and said there will be a tremendous amount of pressure on the Russians to win Davis Cup at home. Does that come from the federation, the media, the fans? Could you talk about that, please.
MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: No, for Nikolay, yeah, it's tough situation. He's No. 5. He is first ranking in Russia. For sure, everybody waiting. He give two points. Or maybe for him it's little bit pressure.
But not from federation, for sure. Never federation never push to us we have to win or something.
Yeah, maybe sometimes media, yeah. But just want to, we going to win. Never say we have to win. If we are lose, it's disaster or catastrophe or something.
For me, in my situation, it's another one. I play first my tournaments good here for long time already. Now I feel I play good, and I come back to another level. I going to another level, I think.
It's why, for me, it's no pressure. Okay, I am now 54. Okay, after this tournament, I will be 25 maybe. I don't know exactly. If I am going to play, I will play against Andy and James. It's two great players. It doesn't matter what we play in Russia. It doesn't matter we play in clay. Yeah, for us maybe a little bit easy. But these both players they can play all surfaces, and we have a good result on all surfaces.
Of course when you play in home, everybody waiting, everybody want to. But for me, not too much pressure like I think like Nikolay.

Q. Before you said that you and Davydenko are very different players. That, we can see. Also, you say you play different in life. What do you mean?
MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: I live in Moscow. Nikolay live in Germany. He try to play all weeks. I, you know, have I cannot play all weeks because I am, after three two, three weeks, I am tired. I need to come back to Moscow. I want to have little bit rest. I want to see my family.
And, actually, in last year, and before, I have really big problems in personality problems, you know. That's why I cannot concentrate exactly on tennis.
I don't know. Nikolay, for sure, have some problems, but I don't know which one he has.
You know, sometimes for sure who is not close to me, they still trust results, but doesn't know why it happens. What I have inside to me and what I have in my normal life.
But that's why, what I mean.

Q. You are not friends?
MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: With Nikolay?

Q. You are very good friends?
MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: No, I cannot say we cannot be very good friends because he is in Germany, I am in Russia. But where, we have very good, I mean...

Q. Relationship.
MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: Yes. Always, we are not going eat together every night, but when in certain tournaments, he is nice guy and I like he's on the team. When he's on the team, you know, we don't have nothing against each other.

Q. You've mentioned that you play a different strategy against different players. There are some players that say, I just have to play my own game, I don't care what they do. There are some players, like Roger Federer, who admit that they will watch their future opponents' matches, and some players say, I don't watch anything. How do you prepare? Do you have a coach? Do you talk to other players and say, What is this player like? Do you watch them play before you meet them? How do you get your information?
MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: Yes, my coach usually, he watch my next opponent. He's going, he watch his game.
And before every match, I play my tennis. I cannot say I play it's my tennis, I try to make my, you know, best shots and try to going to opponent, his worst shots.
Actually, I like to play to all surfaces. I can play forehand and I can play backhand. For me, doesn't matter how I play, down the line or crosscourt or going to the net or stay back. That's why, you know, I play in my tennis. This is my I like all what I am doing on court.
Some players, like Spanish players, they play very good on back, but they never going to the net. I can go to the net. I also can stay back. That's why for me it's much easy if I start to do something what my opponent doesn't like. This is my game.
But before every match, coach, every time they watch against who I am going to play. I have all information from my coach (smiling).

Q. As a player, would you say the best Russian player is Safin, Kafelnikov? Who would you say?
MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: I like Youzhny, but he's not the best in Russia (laughing).

Q. Best in Russia ever?
MIKHAIL YOUZHNY: In results, Kafelnikov for sure. In results.
But Kafelnikov plays very good tennis. He's play at a looks like smart tennis. When he's good shape, he was very, very smart tennis. I remember how he won the Australia Open. He beat Enqvist in the final. It was really, really good final. He was really smart. He play, you know, not just he not just play, he play tactically against Enqvist and he beat him in three or four sets. I don't remember exactly. I think Kafelnikov was...
But Marat is still playing; Davydenko is still playing; I still playing. But in this moment, Kafelnikov.

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