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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 19, 2009

Marat Safin

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA

M. SAFIN/I. Navarro
6-3, 6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Please don't tell us you're going to retire. Is this a final decision?
MARAT SAFIN: I don't want to speak about this because already I've been asked so many times this question that I'm just a little bit tiring to answer it over and over. Let's leave it.

Q. Happy with the game today?
MARAT SAFIN: It's a little bit tough. First match, big tournament, crowd, first important match actually of the season, big crowd. It's a little bit tough to play.

Q. How is the injury?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, it's getting better, but a little bit sore in my shoulder. So it's kind of difficult sometimes to serve. Take some tablets, it makes it a little bit too relaxed on the court, so it's tough to move.
But it's getting better.

Q. You've had such a great record here. Are you excited about your prospects next couple weeks?
MARAT SAFIN: Well, like I said, the first two rounds it's always tough. We'll see what's going to happen next match, the way I'm going to play, the way Garcia going to play.
Of course I'm looking forward to do something great here, but it's not easy. It's getting tougher and tougher after each round.

Q. What are your expectations for this season?
MARAT SAFIN: I don't want to get stressed. I don't want to plan anything. I want to play and be relaxed, no stress. Whatever comes, comes. It's great for me. Just try to be in shape, be able to run around the court.
Like this it's much easier to play tennis. At least I want to enjoy it. I don't want to suffer anymore. I don't want to get stressed. I don't want to feel bad on the court anymore.

Q. You have no sort of...
MARAT SAFIN: No expectation. No stress. No drama. Just play, enjoy. Whatever comes, it's great. If it doesn't, it doesn't.

Q. Have the last few years been too stressful for you?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, it is. Tennis is stressful, of course. It's not easy because you're under continuous tennis pressure, which is traveling around the world, practicing every day, be in shape, try to be a little bit more responsible what you're doing outside the court.
Of course, if you're not winning matches, you're not really excited to come on the court and try all over again. Even though you're not winning matches, try, try, try till it's coming back.
It's getting tougher and tougher with the age, especially with the injuries I've had throughout the years. It's not an easy game, let's put it this way, especially if half of the time you've been injured.

Q. Is it still fun for you to play tennis?
MARAT SAFIN: It depends what match it is, depends under what circumstances. The whole thing, it's nothing new. When you are young, 20 years old, 19 years old, you're coming, everything is new. It's exciting come and play the big matches.
With the years, you start to feel the pressure. A little bit you start to be unsure in certain moments of the match, hit it down the line or play a little bit cross-court. So you start to feel a little bit uncomfortable on the court, and this is what makes you have doubts.
Eventually it comes to the errors. The young boys are not scared anymore. They will eventually be scared with the years, but it's tough to play against them in such conditions.

Q. Twice you have a Davis Cup final and twice you won it. Are you going to play Davis Cup this season?
MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, we're going to play. We're going to Romania. Looking forward. I think we have a great team. If everybody will be fit throughout the year, excited to play, we gonna give it a try. Why not? It will be great, I think.

Q. You touched on being stressed on the tennis court. Would you be stressed after 5 hours and 34 minutes like LÃ³pez and Muller were today?
MARAT SAFIN: I don't want to be in the shoes of LÃ³pez, be on the court five hours and lose 16-14 on the fifth set. It's not a really nice start of the season, let's put it this way. I don't want to be in his shoes, for sure.

Q. Why do you think we see some unusual finalists at this tournament?
MARAT SAFIN: Good questions. If I knew the answer I would give it to you. It looks like it happens at the beginning of the year only because on the rest of the season, normally it's the same Nadal and Federer finals. So maybe it keeps it a little more interesting this week.

Q. What are you going to do after tennis? You don't have to tell us if you don't want to.
MARAT SAFIN: Enjoy myself. Enjoy myself. Enjoy being out of tennis. See it in a different way. Watch tennis on TV, for example. Cheer for somebody else. I don't know.

Q. Don't do press conferences?
MARAT SAFIN: You see (smiling). Don't need to answer the same question a thousand times. This whole thing makes it more easy, more relaxed.

Q. Would you say you don't enjoy yourself in tennis, or...
MARAT SAFIN: No, I didn't say. You see, that's what I'm saying (laughter).
No, I'm enjoying, it's just a different way enjoying myself. You can enjoy in such different ways that it's not really you want to enjoy this way. You don't want to play any more because, like I said, it's too much stress. It's too much work. You need to keep yourself fully committed to the tennis. It's getting tougher and tougher.

Q. When you're done, will you spend the summer in the Himalayas? Are you going to do it again? Is it something that makes you excited?
MARAT SAFIN: It's interesting. I think it's a great experience. Everybody should do that. If the friends of mine are going to have a trip, another trip back there, I'm going to do it.
But you need to be really committed to it. It's not a walk in the park. It's a tough one. You need to be prepared for that mentally and physically.

End of FastScripts

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