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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 24, 2011

Marin Cilic

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA

R. NADAL/M. Cilic
6-2, 6-4, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How was it psychologically going into the match knowing you had this 1-0 advantage over Nadal, but also knowing he hasn't lost a match since the last Australian Open at a Grand Slam?
MARIN CILIC: Well, I mean, didn't make too big a difference as we played year and a half ago, and it was a time when he was also coming back from an injury. I mean, completely different match this one was.
I came into the match, of course, with a belief that I could do well. But I'd say it was really tough conditions to play, pretty cold. It wasn't as quick as the other days that I played. So it was a little bit of a change-up for me. Didn't found my way on the court.

Q. How would you compare Rafa's level now with what he was doing last year?
MARIN CILIC: I mean, it's tough to say. From this match, I didn't push him too much. You couldn't see how much does he have in the tank and, I mean, especially as I didn't play great. So it's tough to say.
But definitely he's got good confidence. I think conditions this year are a little bit slower this year and could suit him a little bit more.

Q. Were you tired after the match with John Isner?
MARIN CILIC: Not really. I didn't feel too much lacking in physical abilities. I felt all right. Just as I said, it's more the conditions that were suiting him a little more than me as the ball wasn't flying through the air as much, and it was really tough to put an aggressive play into the game.

Q. When you say 'the conditions,' you mean the weather or something different with the court?
MARIN CILIC: The weather mostly. I mean, it was pretty cold last few days. Tonight was also pretty cold. The ball wasn't as bouncing as much as when I played my last match. So it was a little bit different and more rallies were coming into the play. That, of course, suits him.

Q. I know you were not a member of the winning team in 2005 of the Davis Cup, but do you still feel the benefits of that victory for Croatia?
MARIN CILIC: Yes and no. Yes, those first couple years big attention came also to the Federation and everything else, to the juniors as well, of course. I benefited from that.
But this time not really. I mean, the tennis has maybe even a little cooled down. In past years we had some good successes in Davis Cup for past years. But not as big as that year. It didn't make too big a difference.

Q. What are your plans for 2011? What are your hopes? What do you hope to achieve?
MARIN CILIC: Well, hoping that I'm gonna come back closer to top 10. With this loss here, I'm going to drop a little bit in my ranking. I was defending semis over here. So, I mean, it's not easy for sure. But just hoping to get my good form back.
This was my first tournament in a while that I won two, three matches in a row, so I'm pretty pleased with that. I can take these positives out of here and push myself a little more for next tournaments.

End of FastScripts

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