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ROGERS CUP

August 13, 2009

Eugene Lapierre

MONTREAL, QUEBEC

Q. How did you pull this off, top eight in the quarterfinals?
EUGENE LAPIERRE: Well, it's not my fault, really. I mean, I think I've said that before. A few weeks ago we didn't think we had No. 1 and No. 2 coming. Nadal, there was much question of him coming back any time. People were saying, well, he missed Wimbledon. Why would he play Canada? Why would he play Montreal?
Federer, well, everybody knew that this due time was just around the tournament. So it just happened that Nadal got back in shape, and I think he decided that he wants to play the US Open and play hard. That's the last Grand Slam event he's missing. He has to start somewhere. He cannot just play one tournament and expect to do good at the US Open.
So we got a bit lucky there. Well, yeah, he needs to start here. And we got very lucky that the twins came maybe early, I don't know if it was early or not. We'll see what was the real expected date. But we're really lucky that just barely three weeks after the family decides to make the trip.
I just helped making sure that the trip would be comfortable, so the time passed in Montreal would be comfortable for them.

Q. I've been trying to think whether this might be just dumb luck or you could attribute it to something. The only thing I can come up with, some of the players, not all of them, some entered this tournament fresh in a busy schedule.
EUGENE LAPIERRE: Well, I think we have a good date. I think we have a very good date. A few years ago people would say, well, the week 34 is the best. That's the Cincinnati date. Then everybody used to play that week, get a week off and play the US Open.
Now we have two important events in the summer. There's Wimbledon. Most guys, most Europeans, will take a long break after. They don't like to come so long in North America. They're not going to be traveling two months.
So they know that if they start in Canada, play Cincinnati, take the week off, take the two weeks -- it's five weeks. Talk to a guy like Roger, and to many other Europeans, even South Americans, that's the most they can take of North America.
Maybe Montreal doesn't feel so much as North America. They like it. But in that sequence, you have to start here. You have only two big tournaments in the summer. Why would you miss the first one? If you do good the first one, then you have less pressure in the second tournament.
So I think more and more, it's going to become week 33 that's the best date, but don't tell Cincinnati that.

Q. What's it say about your tournament that you've got this, you know, first time in history happening, top eight playing in the quarters?
EUGENE LAPIERRE: Well, it's a great tribute. I think it comes back -- I'm not thinking directly about the organization, but I'm thinking about the support of the Montrealers that have been supporting the event for 30 years, and they love the event more and more.
It becomes more than a tennis event. It's just a big happening, a big social event that people come here, have fun, get out, go eat something on the terrace, go see the players practice, go in the boutiques, come back to see matches and so on. It's a nice outing for the family with friends and with guests and so it's there in the middle.
We've elevated this event to the rank of one of the major international events like the Jazz Festival or the Just For Laughs Festival or the car race. I didn't think that it would happen when I started to work here more than 10 years ago. How long ago? 15 years ago? Wow. And now it's that.
I was sitting with Richard Legendre during this match, and we were just recalling all the different things that we tried to do just to achieve this, and just like small tricks like inviting artists and just making the place a bit hip and have different, organize different activities and to make tennis in the street and do this and do that, do all kinds of stuff to make this event become a happening and a feast, just as much as a tennis tournament.
Anyway, all these efforts, I think it's ended up paying and people love it. People of Montreal, they like also the international factor, the fact that we welcome the best players in the world.
It's (Speaking French). Quebecers like the fact that the top players in the world, hey, they want to come play here. That's great. Let's go see them, for sure.
So I think it's everybody that participated in the success of this tournament and for great spectators, for sure.

Q. You said earlier in French that in order to have the top eight in the quarterfinals you have to have them actually come to Montreal. How did you get them here? What does it say for you?
EUGENE LAPIERRE: Exactly. I think that's one thing we hear very much in the locker room that the players, they just like it here. I think that if they are going to be choosing to skip one of the Masters, we have a good date and we have a good organization and we have the stands full. So they're not going to skip this one. I think they like it here.
They're well-treated. It's easy. It's convenient. It's comfortable for most of them. Some details, when you talk -- you make sure that the transportation is easy. They go out, there's a car. They go, and 15 minutes later they're at the hotel. Things like that, it's very important for them.
They come out here to practice, they need the practice court. They want one hour, they have one hour. They want two hours, they have two hours. We have enough courts. They have indoor courts if it rains.
It's not like the days when Noah and Gerulaitis, there was the bars, the important stuff in town. Now they're really serious about their tennis and they like it, and I'm not -- I'm not very surprised that they are all here.
I'm surprised that the top two managed to be here, because -- but in the years to come, I'm very confident that we have an excellent date, a very good organization, and they'll be here.

End of FastScripts

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