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DAVIS CUP FINALS: ARGENTINA v RUSSIA

December 1, 2006

Marat Safin

MOSCOW, RUSSIA

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. If you compare the match to the three last matches you played against Nalbandian, New York, Paris and here, what is the difference?
MARAT SAFIN: The thing is the surface suits him perfectly. He plays great tennis on this type of surface. He won a tournament in Basel. It is not the type of surface that is quite convenient for me. It's hard for me to move on this court, find my game. You can't play the best of your tennis in this kind of match. There is very little you can hope for.

Q. You fought at some points and broke your opponent in the third set. You said the surface is not quite convenient for you. It means we're not going to see you on Sunday?
MARAT SAFIN: I had my chances today but it was hard for me to find my game. Especially on this kind of surface, it's much better for him.
As far as the third day goes, I'd say it would be the decisive third day, and I hope Nikolay Davydenko can beat David, though it will be very tough for him to beat him because David is playing great on this surface. Then we'll see. I'm ready to play the decisive match if there is a need for it.

Q. If Nalbandian plays the way he played today, is there any chance for any Russian to beat him for the singles? Tarpischev said on the first day that they were picking the surface to make sure it's the best and most convenient for the Russians. You said this is not the most convenient surface for you. There is some kind of contradiction here. Time was, they were picking surfaces to suit Safin. What's the reason for it?
MARAT SAFIN: The thing is, a lot was said about the surface. If you ask me about Nalbandian, I think Nalbandian, if he plays the way he played today on the third day, he's in great shape, it will be extremely hard for Nikolay Davydenko to beat him. The match can go either way. Davydenko won rather easily against Chela, except for the third set. Still, I think it will be very hard for him to beat Nalbandian.
As far as the surface goes, again, I don't want to offend anyone. I just want to say that this is not the kind of surface which suits my game a hundred percent. We were practicing on a different kind of surface in a small hall here. That surface was laid on a different kind of a cushion, made of parquet and carpet. Here it was laid on cement and carpet. It's a bit different. I feel really uncomfortable moving on this kind of surface.
We had some kind of discussion on the bench with Captain Tarpischev. If he took offense at myself, I would like to apologize because I really respect him a lot. But he should also understand myself because I was running here, but I was not able to do anything. It really hurts a lot when you're trying to do something to bring a point to your team in front of your home crowd and you really can't do anything.
Again, he's an adult man. I hope he gets me right. If he was offended by that discussion on the bench, I want to apologize.

Q. Could you elaborate on the discussion you had on the bench with the captain. At which point in the match did this discussion take place?
MARAT SAFIN: It was a discussion between two men. It's a men's conversation. Somebody got offended. I didn't mean anything bad. It's purely an internal discussion.
I just want to say here, since I'm on the air, people are probably broadcasting this press conference, I want to apologize again out of respect for the man. I had nothing against him. I just expressed my opinion.
I think at this point we can close the discussion. I hope he won't be having any hard feelings against me.

Q. Your former coach, Peter Lundgren, was supporting you during the match. Did he say anything special to you?
MARAT SAFIN: We maintained a good relationship even though we are no longer working together. He's just enjoying himself here in Moscow. Of course, he got a bit upset after my loss. He just expressed his opinion over the match. He shared that opinion with me.

Q. What did he say to you?
MARAT SAFIN: Doesn't matter (smiling).

Q. Are you going to prolong your contract with your current coach, Alexander Volkov?
MARAT SAFIN: I just haven't thought about it yet. I just need to organize myself, think what I have to do next year. I haven't made my decision yet about the coach and the contract.

End of FastScripts

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