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BARCLAYS DUBAI TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS MEN

February 24, 2010

Marin Cilic

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

M. CILIC/S. Koubek
6-2, 7-6

Q. Can you just talk me through the match? Your thoughts on the match? I didn't see it?
MARIN CILIC: Yeah, well, first I opened the match pretty good. I won the first set pretty comfortably. Facing just two breakpoints at the 4-1 or something. But overall I think I played really good.
Second set I was three times from the break up, every time by one. And I was little bit didn't serve as well as the first set. And he was start to play a little bit more better and didn't miss as many balls as in the first set. Of course it got a little bit complicated. But also tiebreak I was 5-Love down, managed to come back. I mean it was nice not to play the third set.

Q. Was that through him making mistakes?
MARIN CILIC: Well, on 5-Love I served two good points. So 5-2, and I won one point 6-3. And then also two good points by me. And I played one winner forehand for 6-All, and he made a double fault on 6-All.

Q. You must be pretty happy with the way things are going at the minute?
MARIN CILIC: Yeah. Well maybe I just let myself -- let my game drop the game a little bit in the second set. But overall I think I played pretty good today. Smart and I was aggressive when I had to be. And I was planning to do that before the match, and I'm pretty happy that I did some things the way I planned.

Q. There are many stars and players that came here to Dubai with injury. The last was Davydenko retired in the match. Everybody also had injured. Murray, I don't know what will happen next match even to him. What do you expect from this tournament, your chances?
MARIN CILIC: Well, it's part of the year where we get used to the heat. In Australia, we play a lot of matches there. Then some players get also exhausted. And coming back to Europe, then managing the cold weather. And then coming back to the heat, it's not easy. Sometimes it reflects like with injuries or some illness or something.
But for me, I'm still feeling good. I had lot of matches beginning of the year, but I had some rest as well and enjoying my time on the court.

Q. What are you expecting for next match?
MARIN CILIC: I play Melzer. We played two or three weeks ago in Zagreb. Also a tough match. We had two tough sets, 7-6, 6-4.
But here it's little bit different conditions, outdoor. I think he's playing well. He managed to go pretty comfortably through his draw.
So I think he's a dangerous player, lefty also. And some good wins before as well. We played four or five times, and I have a positive streak against him, but it's never going to be easy, yeah.

Q. You've mentioned a few times this week about being aggressive. Does that stem from that you've been playing so well that you go into matches thinking that you can control the match and take it to your opponent?
MARIN CILIC: Yeah, well, I think that's I'm thinking that way that I should be playing like that. And that I should build my game around those things, the serve. And trying to be aggressive with the points and trying to control them. That's going to be my best chance to improve and to get better.
Also, I mean, with hard courts it's never easy to be defending or try to do some other things, especially for me. That's the way I'm looking into my game for the future.

Q. Would you say that you're more confident now than you have been?
MARIN CILIC: Yeah, that comes with matches. With winning a lot, you are believing in yourself. Then when you're on the court, you get into some situations where you feel that you could question yourself. But with winning, that helps you to keep that away from you. Then you are managing points in a tougher situation a little bit easier.

Q. Like when you had the tiebreak today?
MARIN CILIC: Well, sort of, yeah. In some sense, yeah. But still that comes with you've got to be also responsible with that and do not go too easy. So that's what I have to be focused on.

Q. Your rank is 9 now. It was 10. How do you feel?
MARIN CILIC: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, it's just a number.

Q. Just a number?
MARIN CILIC: Yeah.

Q. Until you reach No. 1?
MARIN CILIC: Yeah.

Q. Until you reach No. 1, is that just a number also?
MARIN CILIC: Well, we'll see. But, of course, it's always nice. When you don't play a tournament, when you don't play a week that you get a point higher. But we'll see. Still have to do good in tournaments and especially the big ones to be able to move forward.

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