|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
WIMBLEDONJuly 2, 2007Marcos BaghdatisLONDON, ENGLAND THE MODERATOR: Marcos Baghdatis. Questions, please. Q. How will you describe your game so far? Pretty happy? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I'm pretty happy, playing good. Tough conditions. But I'm going through every match, playing quite good. I'm really happy I'm winning. Q. You obviously had great results here last year. Did that in some ways put a bit of pressure on you inside? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I had pressure before starting on grass. But after playing good in Halle, the pressure went out because I saw that my game suits to this surface and I feel quite good on it. So there is pressure, for sure, because it's Wimbledon, it's a Grand Slam. But I feel good on the surface, so it takes a bit of the pressure off. Q. You needed that kind of reassurance that it wasn't a fluke? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Exactly, yup. Q. Did you expect to win quite as comfortably today? David is not involved in many three-setters, is he? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: No, I wasn't expecting that. I don't know, he didn't play really good. I know he's a dangerous guy, especially through his career he came a lot back from two sets down, match points down. At the third set, I wanted it to finish. But he didn't play very good. I'm happy that I won. It's pretty good. Q. David was talking about how good the weather was yesterday and saying how all the players would like a middle Sunday, how it made sense. Do you go along with that? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Yeah, I think so. It would be great to play yesterday because, I mean, now we have to play Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday the bottom half, and it's pretty tough. But that's the way it is. We have to accept it. Q. Will that be too much for you? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Too much? Like today was an easy match. I mean, I went through easily. Didn't spend a lot of time on the court. So I feel fit and good. I'll see tomorrow. I'm ready for tomorrow, that's for sure. Q. Have you looked ahead, seen yourself in semifinals or finals? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: No. I just take match per match. I know I'm playing Davydenko or Monfils next round. They're still on court. Try to keep concentrated every match, every game I play, try to it, then I'll see. Q. Why do you think your game translates well to grass? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I serve well. I return well. Move good on the surface. My strokes are flat, pretty low. It doesn't help the other guys. Q. Do you get enjoyment from playing on it? Do you actually like it? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Yeah, I do. I do enjoy it. Q. Can you just expand why? Is it being able to be more aggressive? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Grass is beautiful, you know. It's green, it's beautiful. Play a lot of soccer. I don't know. I just love it. Q. When was the first time you played on grass? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Tennis or soccer? Q. Both. MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Tennis was juniors, I don't know, 2002, 2001. 2001, yeah. Q. And soccer? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I don't remember. It was earlier (smiling). Q. Are you aware at all of the increased security? Can you sense that? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Yeah, today we were not (indiscernible), but when we came in, they dropped us out. We saw all the walls around where the transport used to leave us in. It fine. Q. You had to walk a little bit further than normal? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Yes, but I hope nothing goes on. Q. Are you aware of a few of the players that have had property stolen at Wimbledon, other tournaments? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I didn't know that. Q. Not heard anything? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: No. Q. Have you been watching the Serena match. She was cramping on court. MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I just saw it now. Q. You had a cramping experience at the Open last year. Can you talk about how you manage that, how difficult it is, what you can do? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: It hurts, for sure. But what can you do? I couldn't stand. I had to move all the time. I couldn't just put my feet on the ground. I have to move all the time. Slowly, slowly it goes by. But what it grabs you, it kills you. It's a lot of pain. The muscle, it's like the muscle wants to break. It's really painful. Q. Even though the rain is annoying, maybe you wished for some back then? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: No rain. I had to continue. Q. Looks like your next opponent is going to be Davydenko. If it turns out that way, what are your thoughts? What is the key playing such a good defensive player? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: It's the first year he's playing good on grass. It means he is starting to get experience, starting to know how to play on grass. I think he can play everywhere. He's a good returner, good baseline player. The balls are heavy here. The grass is not so fast. But I think if I play my game and try to be aggressive, just try to return well, serve well, I think I would play good. If I play good, I think I can win. Q. Him being such a shot-maker, is there a risk you can become too frustrated, get bored into losing? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Tell you the truth, in the tournament now when you're in the fourth round, the guy who plays better wins. There's no frustration. My side, I mean, I won't get frustrated. I won't get nervous. I just know what to do. I played three matches on the grass courts here at Wimbledon. I can say I'm in the tournament, and I don't think I'll do too many things wrong. But if the guy would play better than me then he'll beat me, that's for sure. Q. What is Nikolay like off the court? Fun guy? Any good jokes, that sort of thing? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I don't speak to him. Q. Never spoken to him? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Not really. Q. Never had the occasion? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: No. Q. Is there any one or two players out there that put some kind of fear in you? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Not the top players. Some friends from juniors, like Wawrinka, players from doubles, Yves Allegro. The French guys are funny. Q. Funny? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Yeah. We get along well. Q. You had a great result last year, but not a lot of talk about you coming into the tournament. Do you feel disrespected at all? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: No, no, not really. Q. Is everything a bit quieter this year? Less of a surprise to see you in the fourth round? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I don't know. I don't know. I don't know if it's a surprise or not. Like I said, I'm starting to feel good on grass, playing my tennis. I don't know what you guys think. I don't know if you think it's a surprise or not. But I think that I'm just taking day to day, trying to do my job, trying to play good tennis, trying to win, and I'm doing it good for the moment. I'm pretty happy about that. Q. Do you consider yourself a momentum player? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: What does this mean? Q. Somebody who gets momentum as you win every match, hotter and hotter as you go along. MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Yeah. Q. Do you feel differently to the way you felt last year? Calmer perhaps? More comfortable here? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Yeah, a bit more comfortable. But the weather is not so easy here. It's another experience we have to adjust to, the weather. But, like I said before, now I'm in my tournament. I'm not scared. I just go on court, just play my game, just try to find the solution to win. That's my goal. That's the most important thing for me. Q. When you're not playing, what do you do to relax? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I cook. Q. What do you cook? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Everything. Q. What is your favorite thing to do during rain delays? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: For sure not reading. Talking. Q. Talking about what? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I don't know. Soccer, anything. End of FastScripts |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|