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ROGERS MASTERS

August 8, 2007

Marat Safin

MONTREAL, QUEBEC

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. You talked before about matches like this giving you a good indication of where you are, what you need to do. First set was very tight.
MARAT SAFIN: The only thing, if you really start to think, it's just a matter of me missing these kind of matches with such players, level as a Nadal, Federer, top 10 players. It's the only thing, because you don't get to play against them many times because they don't get there.
But with these kind of matches, you improve your tennis actually. After what I saw today, I had my opportunities. I was a little bit nervous at the beginning, but then I start to figure out how to play against him. Just a lot of mistakes, easy mistakes, because probably I had a little bit too much precipitation (sic), going for too much.
But the only thing is just missing these kind of matches, to play more and more and more.

Q. Is it quite encouraging overall?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, the second set, we can forget it. But actually the level of tennis, now I know more or less what I have to do, what I have to improve to make my game a little more complete. But definitely I can play against these kind of players and I'm pretty far from letting it go and just keep on working on a few things and things is going to be all right. This match really showed me where I am.

Q. What do you think you need to do?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, well, just stick to my game, you know, come a little bit closer to the baseline faster. That's how I play before, that's how I was winning matches. Unfortunately with my injury with the knee, I went a little back, so I had to learn a little bit different type of game because I couldn't play as fast as I used to play. I couldn't move as fast as I need to move.
But now that the knee is okay, I need just to try to play a little bit closer to the line, play a little bit faster.

Q. When you don't play as many matches like that against top 10 players, do you sort of forget a little bit of what you need to do?
MARAT SAFIN: Of course, because you want so badly, you see opportunities. I can see the match, I can read what was going on; the only thing I need to do is maybe go for it sometimes. I stayed on the baseline, was going for it on the wrong shots. So these kind of things made the score 7-6, 6-Love.
If I would win the first set, then it's going to be a different ballgame because he would be a little bit nervous and then I have a little bit more confidence, the whole picture change.

Q. After playing him now, would you play him differently if you played him again?
MARAT SAFIN: No, the same way. I have to use my power and be a little bit smarter, maybe wait for an extra ball. But it was a little bit too windy for me today, so kind of a lot of miss-hits. But otherwise it was a pretty good match because it's pretty comfortable for me to play against him because he leaves the ball too high up, so for me it's easy to play. He doesn't play too fast, as fast as I thought he was going to play.
So I expect a little bit different game plan from him and I was a little bit surprised so I didn't really -- I was -- I thought it was going to be a different game from him.

Q. Did you expect more power?
MARAT SAFIN: I expected more power. I expected the game is going to be faster, the level of the game would be a little bit faster and more intense. He let me play for basically the whole match.

Q. You were dominating the rallies.
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, but he's a good (indiscernible). He knew the opportunities. He went for the right one on the set point where I had the first one. He went down the line with the backhand. I think it's pretty good shot. But otherwise he knew what he was doing and he was waiting for me to make mistakes.
Now I know, and for me it's easier to see the picture for next match. I hope is going to be a little bit different.

Q. What are you going to do now between now and the US Open?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, of course, Cincinnati. It's another tournament, another opportunity, see how it's going to go. Hopefully it will get better with my game.
The thing is just more or less I know where my level of tennis is. It's just a few things I have to correct and that's it because otherwise I'm moving pretty well, moving the ball pretty well. But some shots I'm a little bit maybe more scared because I didn't use them for a long time.
I need to bring them back.

Q. Andy Murray is coming back from his wrist problems. You've had several injuries, including your wrist. Can you explain how difficult it is physically and mentally to recover from something like that?
MARAT SAFIN: Well, it's a little bit pain in the ass actually frankly because it takes a while until you completely recovered, you start to really feel the power in the wrist or on the knee or on the shoulder again, you start to believe in it and you start to be confident with these parts of the body because is the most important thing to feel comfortable, that you're going to go hit on the backhand and the wrist is not going to hurt, that you're going to run to the left side and the knee will not hurt, will be stable. The shoulder, when you're serving 220, it needs to stay on.
So to come back from injury, to recover completely, completely, it takes a while. More you spend in rehab, the longer it gets to come back. Look at me, I'm one year and a half and still like for probably couple of last months I more or less started to move all right and I really started to really believe in my knee. Before I couldn't move.
So for him to hit the backhand, get the confidence back, is gonna take a while. So he needs to be patient. But he's still young. I'm pretty sure he has a good quality of game and he's going to be patient. But he needs to be patient.

Q. Is it more a mental thing than physical?
MARAT SAFIN: Both. A little both, but more mental. I think more mental than physical.

Q. Just convincing yourself that you're okay?
MARAT SAFIN: That you're okay, you can trust your wrist, can go for it. Because when you start to be scared, of course it's not tennis that you want to play. You start to get pissed, nothing doesn't really make sense.

Q. Did you feel the first set, the tiebreak, being close to winning that set, changing how the match would turn out, did that take too much out of you?
MARAT SAFIN: I really want to believe in this way because I was really close to winning it. I just didn't go for it. I should have pushed a little bit myself a little bit more. My serve fell a little bit.
But I think it will be different story if I win the first set because I will have more confidence and I will get more chances in the second set to break him, my serve for sure would work a little bit more.
It's all confidence, it's all mental. The first set, of course, was the key. And second set, even though it was 6-0, but still I felt that I could play with him. But a lot of mistakes. Is not like he was killing me on the court, I just missed everything.

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