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BARCLAYS DUBAI TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS

February 24, 2009

Mohammed Ghareeb

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

G. SIMON/M. Ghareeb
5-7, 6-4, 6-4

Q. Are you pleased you played so well, or disappointed that you lost?
MOHAMMED GHAREEB: Well, first of all, I would like to thank Sheikh Hasham, the president of Emirates Tennis Federation, and Salah Hussain Tahlak, tournament director for giving me the wildcard and opportunity to play this big event here, and the match now is playing really well, especially the first set, I was -- I think I had a good percentage of first serves. And second set, I had a bad start and the first serve wasn't really good.
But other than that, I think I played really well, and was a great experience.

Q. Did you surprise yourself out there, the level that you hit out there?
MOHAMMED GHAREEB: Yeah, actually I played better than I thought I would. I'm very happy about the way I played, and it's a great experience that I played against these top players so that I can learn a lot and try to improve on my game.

Q. It would surprise a lot of people that you can play so well against the Top-10 player, but your ranking is down near 500.
MOHAMMED GHAREEB: Yeah, actually I started professionally quite late, I think about two years and a half, I just started because I had to finish studying back in Kuwait high school and college. That's why I started a bit late.
But trying my best, and I will keep on working hard and the way I played today, and hopefully I will improve the ranking.

Q. You keep getting Simon in the first round, do you hope for a better one next year?
MOHAMMED GHAREEB: Like I said, to play against these top players, it's a great experience and it's fun to play against them.

Q. So would you prefer tough player or do you prefer an easier?
MOHAMMED GHAREEB: All of the matches are quite tough, no matter what the ranking is. All are tough matches, and it's good to play these big events.

Q. Did you think you had your chances in the second set?
MOHAMMED GHAREEB: Yeah, maybe didn't serve the best game, but other than that, I think the final set, also, was a great set. Maybe I was going for it a little bit more, and that's why mistakes was coming, because I know Simon. He's a great player, and that's why he's the top five, and it's very well known that he gets every ball. That's why he was beating Federer and Nadal, all the top players.
He's a great player, so I had to do something with my game. If I keep on volleying with the guy, he will not miss until tomorrow, so I have to go for it that way, and the mistakes was coming.

Q. What sort of positives would you take from this?
MOHAMMED GHAREEB: I was serving very well. I'm happy with the way I served, and I was moving good, and like using the forehand more and more. I should do that more often. There's still a lot to learn and a lot to improve.

Q. A better match than the one you had against Federer?
MOHAMMED GHAREEB: It's a different kind of player. Federer may be a little bit more aggressive and goes for the ball maybe a little bit more. But all depends who you play against.

Q. Are you going to tape the pictures on your wall?
MOHAMMED GHAREEB: Yeah, why not.

Q. Do you live outside Kuwait for training?
MOHAMMED GHAREEB: I'm traveling most of the time with the Swedish coaches. They have been coaches for ten years, so it's a great experience to work with them.
I'm traveling most of the times, sometimes I go back to Kuwait to train with the guys, because sometimes I need to play the GCC tournament or Asian games and I need to go back and play with the guys. But other than that, I'm traveling most of the time in Europe.

Q. Did you expect more support from the fans, especially you are playing in an Arab city?
MOHAMMED GHAREEB: Well, it was a great -- the support, it was really great. My brothers, they were here, also, with their friends and they were screaming, also.
No, the crowd, they were great today and I would like to thank the crowd today for supporting me.

End of FastScripts

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