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SHANGHAI ROLEX MASTERSOctober 17, 2010Jurgen MelzerLeander PaesSHANGHAI, CHINA MELZER-PAES/Fyrstenberg-Matkowski THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. You played with a lot of doubles players in your career, Leander. Did you sense this one was going to work from the beginning? LEANDER PAES: I actually have tremendous respect for Jurgen. I think that he's one of the most hard-working and talented tennis players I've seen over the last 20 years that I've been on the tour. The reason I say that is because I've played against him so many times. And now playing with him, his work ethic, the way he comes out there. Either on the tour you see guys who are talented who don't have the great work ethic or you see guys who are maybe not so talented and are work horses. Jurgen has an amazing blend of the two. This week is just a sure example of that. He's beaten two No. 1's in the same week: Rafael Nadal. Rafa hasn't lost too many sets, yet matches. Then the Bryan brothers last night. For me it's a big honor to play with Jurgen. Not only is he a Grand Slam champion at Wimbledon this year, but I consider him one of the great talents in tennis and a good guy. Q. Jurgen, great tournament in Shanghai. Do you agree? JURGEN MELZER: Of course I agree. Well, as Leander just said, beating two No. 1's in the same week is great. But finishing it off with a title, it's my first title in a Masters Series event. LEANDER PAES: No? JURGEN MELZER: Yes. Thanks to you (smiling). So I knew when we decided in Bangkok that we play together, I think we can match up great. It's also nice have so much experience next to you. You learn a lot. Although I won a Grand Slam this year, but still, you know, the way doubles is played, it's a pleasure. You always feel comfortable. He most of the time has your back. So it was a great week. I enjoyed it. Let's hope that there's many like this to come. Q. Leander, you're always one of the most famous players from Asia. I'm wondering if you watched some tennis match of the Chinese young guys and do you have any suggestions for them to be a tour player? LEANDER PAES: It's great to be an ambassador for Asian tennis for so many years. It's a big honor for me to represent not only my country, India, but Asia. Jurgen played against a Chinese boy in his first match in singles here. I went out and watched a little bit of that. That young boy actually trains outside China. He works outside and then comes back and plays for China. I think that Asian tennis before was mostly represented by the women, especially the Chinese women. I know in India, we've had a long run of Indian men's players playing. But now I can really say that we've got a nice blend of both men and women who represent Asia on the global tennis map. You've seen a lot of doubles players from Asia, the Chinese girls, the Indian guys. It's wonderful to have more Asian players out there. I think tournaments like are a big help to Asian tennis because when you have such a fan following coming to watch the matches and watch guys like Jurgen play, guys like Rafa and Roger play. For me, when I was a kid, I would go with my dad to watch big guys like this play and that's how I learned and lot motivated. I think tournaments like this are a big help. Q. I think you have probably the best year this year in your career. I wouldn't say that you're very young anymore as a tennis player. LEANDER PAES: What do you think of me (laughter)? JURGEN MELZER: That's right in his face. Q. I'm saying as a tennis player. Otherwise I'm old, as well. So would you say that you're probably a late-maturing player? JURGEN MELZER: I think you're right about that. I'm a late-maturing player. But having your best season, it's not only about working hard. Everything has to come together. I mean, you have to have the right team, you have to have a little bit of luck. At the moment this year everything comes together. I've been working hard. I switched coaches at the end of 2007. We have been working hard '08, '09. This year it pays off. You also need to have that luck you never get injured. This is also something, you work, you build up your muscles, you try to have a good off-season. This is everything that I had before 2010. So I was really confident coming into. The more matches you win, the more confidence you gain. It's kind of sometimes running for itself. You don't have to do much. Then it's also sometimes the other way around, where you have to work hard, and nothing gets together. It's a balance, and my balance this year was really good. Q. Jurgen, in singles you played at Roland Garros in semifinals and won at Wimbledon. What is your favorite surface? JURGEN MELZER: To be honest, I have no idea. I cannot tell you. I think that's my advantage: I can play on any surface. The surface doesn't matter to my game. I can adjust quick. If you ask me what I love to play on the most, I would say grass because it's for me the nicest game. It's a little bit old-fashioned. Stepping on Wimbledon Centre Court, for example, this has so much tradition. It's nice to be out there and be a part of it. That's the thing what tennis is about, I think. Doesn't matter surface here and there, it's more about the venues, where you have had victories in the past, and you always like to come back there. Q. Jurgen, we see you are playing so great in singles now. Are you considering playing a little less on doubles to focus more on singles? JURGEN MELZER: Well, I did this year. I've played a lot of tournaments in doubles, but there has only been a few where I've been really focusing on them. I played basically the whole year with another singles guy. So my focus was on singles. That's not why I'm playing with a doubles guy. It's a lot of not pressure, but when you play with a doubles guy, most of the time, I mean, he's a good friend, so you don't want to let him down. There is sometimes situations where you are fine singles or you're actually entered in the doubles tournament and you don't want to play. But playing with a doubles guy, you don't let him down. You keep playing, keep playing. I did that last year. At the end of the year, you're just dead. So you have to pick out the right tournaments and then, without the pressure of playing with a doubles guy, it's easier for me. So I'll play probably next year 15, 20 tournaments. But it's always a question of how does it deal with the singles. End of FastScripts |
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