|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
MEDIBANK INTERNATIONALJanuary 7, 2008Fabrice SantoroSYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. That was a nice way to start the year. FABRICE SANTORO: Wonderful. Q. Tell us about it. FABRICE SANTORO: I mean, it's a great win for me, first of all, because it's the beginning of the year, and you don't exactly know where you are in the beginning of year. You're expecting for good results, for a nice feeling on the court, but you're never sure about anything. Playing against James today was a good challenge for me because he's one of the best player in the world, and also because I never beat him in the past. So first of all, I was there for the challenge and I won for the first time, so it's a great day for me. Q. James said you played very intelligently and you have lovely hands. FABRICE SANTORO: He came already? Q. Yeah. He said you're a good player and you played intelligently and you have lovely hands. What do you see as your key today? FABRICE SANTORO: I just play my game, you know. I have to use the cool, use topspin on the backhand side, use the slice on the forehand side, try to move well. I just played my game as I did against him last August in US Open. I remember when we played that night match, five sets. It was a fantastic match for me. I lost this one, but it's probably one of my best defeat ever. Today, once again, I came on the court with this match in my mind. I said, Okay, just try to play the same kind of tennis and try to get the same level and we see what's going to happen. I think I was playing very well. Q. James almost thought the courts played rather slow. What was your impression? FABRICE SANTORO: The court is pretty slow, and -- I would say the court is slow but not that slow, but the combination between the court and the balls make it very slow. I think if you put light balls and fast balls the court is going to be quite quick. Q. You're 35 now. FABRICE SANTORO: Yes. And you? Q. Quite a bit older than you. How do you approach each year on the circuit? What's your mindset? FABRICE SANTORO: Just enjoy my job and enjoy playing tennis, keep smiling on the court and stay healthy and try to have fun. For sure it's more funny to win than to lose, but I can also have a lot of fun when I lose some matches, like I said, in the US Open. For sure one more thing is it's always when you played so many years on the Tour, because it's my twenty years and I start last week in Doha. The big matches against the top players on the big courts are very exciting for me. Today it was one of those. It's very exciting for me to play James on center court in Sydney, or maybe to play Federer next week in Melbourne. Hopefully not in the first round. But I love the game and I love to be in the center, I mean, on the court with the crowd around. I love to play, that's it. Q. So you haven't bit the bullet yet and said, This will be my last year. You just take it as it comes. FABRICE SANTORO: Yeah, this year I'm not going to play that much. I'm going to play a couple tournaments in a row and then quit for a few months, maybe three times a year. I will play maybe only five tournaments out of Europe, and I pick up three in January, so... But for the rest I'm going to try to be home a lot and play tournaments only when I'm ready. Q. It's your 16th or 17th Australian Open, isn't it? FABRICE SANTORO: I don't know. It's going to be my 62nd Grand Slam, which is quite a lot. Q. And you had a quarterfinal two years ago. FABRICE SANTORO: Yes, 2006. Q. It never becomes boring or mundane? FABRICE SANTORO: Playing tennis on the center court against James Blake or the top guys would never be boring for me. I love the game and I love to play and fight. I do all this smiling because I like it. What is going to push me out of the Tour is being in the hotel, take the plane, leave my daughter and my friends. Because I would say that my life on the Tour is a little poor obviously to the one I have at home. When I'm home I'm very busy and I have many things to do and I'm enjoying life a lot. When I'm on the tour it's -- you have to practice, but then you have to rest and go to the massage and go to the gym. You have a lot free time. I like to be on the court. That's the main important thing. That's the main thing. 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
|