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WIMBLEDONJune 27, 2008Marcos BaghdatisLONDON, ENGLAND M. BAGHDATIS/S. Stadler 7-6, 6-4, 6-2 Q. When was the last time you faced Lopez? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Doha before -- Doha 2006. Q. What do you remember about it? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Serving well. That's all I remember about him. He slides on the backhand a lot, comes in a lot to the net. That's all I remember. Q. When you're playing singles tennis, what's the one aspect of the one-on-one part of the game that is the most compelling to you? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I didn't get that question. Q. When you're playing singles tennis and it's just you against the other person, what is the most compelling part about that game that interests you? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: What is compelling part? Q. The most significant, and the thing that gets you -- that you like the best. MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Finding the solution to win. I mean, that's the most -- that's the best feeling. That's the best thing that you can do is always every day is different, the conditions are different, every opponent is different, so just -- that's what I like about tennis is just finding a way every time, every different way to win a match. Q. And different from team sports? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Yeah, much different, because you're alone on the court and coach cannot coach you. I mean, no coaching is allowed to you have to find the solution alone. I think that's the most motivating thing to this game. Q. What aspect of Federer's run amazes you the most, especially here at Wimbledon? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Consistency. Q. I was curious how you prepare, also, for your matches. Do you ever listen to music? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: No, I just stay in the locker, speak with the other players a bit, speak with my coach before the match, just have my own routines, that's all. Q. Do you have any specific -- MARCOS BAGHDATIS: No, not really. Q. Do you analyze the games of the other players beforehand? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: No, not really, we just speak. My coach tells me a bit how the other guy is playing. We discuss a bit how to find a way to win against the guy, and that's all. We say different things, good things that the other guy does or bad things, and then it's up to me to find a solution on court. Q. Is it difficult against a guy like Stadler because you don't know him maybe very well, so is it difficult to prepare? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Yeah, it's not easy, and that's why today it was a tough match, because you don't know the guy. The guy is not playing unbelievable, but he's solid, he's putting the ball -- I mean, on the serve he's serving pretty good percentage first serve, he's coming to the net, he's not, he's lefty, he has a weird game. And it's not easy with the conditions today, especially today was very windy, was dark, so it was very difficult to play good tennis. But I'm pretty happy I won. It's good to win ugly sometimes, you know? Q. You seemed to be a little bit tensed in the beginning. MARCOS BAGHDATIS: No, it was the feeling of waiting all day, and then it's cold and then it's windy. I played a player that I don't know, so I wasn't feeling so good in the beginning. Like I said, the most important thing was to win today, and I did my job, and I'm very, very happy I went through on this match. Q. Do you have any specific goals for this year in terms of where you want to be? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: It's to play better than last year, that's for sure, which was quarterfinals. That's my goal. But I know I can play big tennis; I'm feeling good, working good with Peter. I won't be surprised if I find myself in semis and maybe beat Roger. Q. I noticed a few times it was Love-30. He was serving, you had Love-30 and you lost those opportunities but you stayed very calm always even at critical times and then you took advantage of them when you did. It seems like in the past when that's happened you sometimes got a little either upset about it or your concentration broke? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Not all the time. Maybe you saw some matches that I wasn't playing good or wasn't feeling good. Maybe that's the reason, but not all the times. Q. But do you feel more focused now or not necessarily, just confident? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Yeah, when I feel good with my coach, with my team, then I feel I am all the time focused. It's just it's sometimes tough to stay focused, get tired a bit in the head, and now I have like three, four months off -- three months off with an injury, so it helps you come back stronger and better mentally. Q. Which is your best Grand Slam? Is it Melbourne or here? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Melbourne because of the atmosphere, but I love grass, I love London, and that's my second. Yeah, because grass is just unbelievable. It's like playing soccer on it. Q. But the atmosphere, the more energy you prefer? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Yeah, Australia. Q. When was the first time you played on grass, do you remember? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Roehampton in 2001, I think. I never played good on grass actually. Since I came here in 2006 and won the first round against Mackin. It was five sets, Mackin, Scottish player, British player. Q. Nothing between -- MARCOS BAGHDATIS: No, I lost in Halle the first round. Q. So it was a special feeling? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Yeah, yeah. That much made the difference, and I think I won that match, gained a bit of confidence and started playing good. Q. You mentioned beating Roger. What would it take to beat him? MARCOS BAGHDATIS: Everything. You have to just believe in it and stay focused. I played him in Halle, so I know a bit how he's playing on grass. I'll just try to find a way and a solution to win, but I'm pretty sure that I can do that. But I have to do it; that's another thing. End of FastScripts |
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