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TENNIS MASTERS CUP

November 15, 2007

Richard Gasquet

SHANGHAI, CHINA

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What part of his game made it that you could not play your game?
RICHARD GASQUET: I think everything. 1-1. 6-1, 6-1. I think everything in his game was horrible for me today. I start horrible. That was the key of the match for me. I start horrible.
But he has the game. He played incredible. With Nalbandian, I think he's one of the guys, most difficult for me to play against because, yeah, he never miss. He play a lot with his forehand.
He runs a lot, so he played unbelievable. And me, I didn't play good. I was a little bit -- after I lost 6-1 I lost my confidence. I was a little bit -- it was difficult for me. I wanted to play a good game. I played bad. So it was difficult for me. And him, he took a lot of confidence.
After, it was impossible for me to come back in the match. He was maybe too good for me.

Q. The other day the fans gave you some presents. How do you feel about that? It's your first trip to play in Shanghai, in China as well. How do you feel about the atmosphere here?
RICHARD GASQUET: It was wonderful for me. Everybody was really kind with me. So I had a lot of fans in China. It was really nice for me.
I enjoyed a lot to play here. It was my first time in Shanghai and in China. So, no, I will keep a good memory from Shanghai. I hope to come back next year. For sure I will try.

Q. Will you play in Beijing, like China Open or the Beijing Olympic Games next year?
RICHARD GASQUET: Yeah, I will come to play Olympic Games. It's important for me to play well there. So, no, I like to play in China. I played a great tournament here with a lot of people. It was really nice for me. I will come back for the Olympics, for sure.

Q. The French designer of the terra cotta said they made yours in one day because you were the last one. Do you feel satisfied about your terra cotta statue? How do you evaluate your whole Masters Cup experience?
RICHARD GASQUET: No, it was really nice for me. I wanted to see this statue. It was important for me to see my face. We never know what I look like, you know (smiling). It's nice. It's a nice statue. I think, yeah, I'm okay. My face is okay. I am really happy with that, yeah.
No, no, yeah, it was wonderful for me to play the Masters Cup. It was great. I finished bad for sure, but I won Djokovic. I was near to win Nadal. It was, for sure, a great experience for me. I learned a lot with this tournament for sure and I will try to come back next year. It was a wonderful tournament.

Q. There's some talk in New Zealand that you may be considering playing a warmup tournament to the Australian Open open there in Auckland. Is this true? Would you consider such a tournament?
RICHARD GASQUET: Yeah, I will try to play before Australian Open. I don't know yet where I am going. Maybe in Sydney, maybe in Auckland. But, yeah, I've never been to New Zealand. I will try to come for sure. I will see.

Q. Now your matches are finished. Do you still have any plan to go around the city maybe with your uncle or your girlfriend?
RICHARD GASQUET: My uncle? No. My girlfriend, no. I have no girlfriend, so I will try to find one, one Chinese girl. Why not? Why not? I lost 6-1, 6-1. It will be very hard for me tonight. I'm ready to lose, you know.

Q. Who is the girl watching your match with your uncle?
RICHARD GASQUET: Not my girl. I don't know. Not my girl, for sure. No, no, no, I have just friends. Men friends, but I'm not gay.

Q. We have three newcomers in this group. You, David and Novak. How to you evaluate the performance of the other two?
RICHARD GASQUET: I think the best of our group was David, for sure. He played better than Rafael. He played better than Novak. Maybe than me. I'm not sure (smiling). Two games.
No, no, I think David can win the tournament. For sure he's playing really well. So I think, yeah, for sure, he can win the tournament. He's maybe, with Roger, the favorite.

Q. What about yourself? Evaluate your own performance.
RICHARD GASQUET: I wanted to come here to see what happen. I played well. The first match was good for me. I was really near to -- really close to win Rafael. I was leading 6-3. I could win. After I did a great match against Novak.
Today it wasn't incredible. I lost. But, no, I learned a lot for next year. It was important for me to play this Masters with a lot of great guys. For sure I took confidence, even if I lost in my group. No, it was important for me to come here.

Q. We know you are going to have a rematch with Rafael Nadal next week in Malaysia. How do you think about this match?
RICHARD GASQUET: It was maybe more important for me to win here than in an exhibition like next week with Rafael. I will try to win him.
No, it's really nice for me to go there. There are a lot of fans in Malaysia, too. It is incredible for me to play with Rafael after it's Federer and Sampras. I have nothing to say. It's just incredible for me to do this exhibition, yes. I am really, really happy to go there.

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