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BNP PARIBAS MASTERSNovember 4, 2012Guy ForgetPARIS, FRANCE GUY FORGET: Do you want me to answer your questions right away? As you wish. You know that I'm a good client, and if you ask questions I will give you very long answers. Q. So for your first tournament, you were spoiled? GUY FORGET: I always see the bottle half full. And, yes, indeed, I watched exceptional matches, and for some players a beautiful story was written. The future will tell if this was "the" fabulous moment. But of course a certain number of things makes us think about the future of this tournament. But I was not disappointed. I was never bored. Immediately I was thrown into the middle of the matters, but this is why I'm here. When you're lucky enough and you have the privilege of managing a tournament like the BNP Masters in Paris, as I always said, you are ready for everything. Q. For a tournament director, that final is a good surprise or is it, on the contrary, a problem? GUY FORGET: When you see the career of certain players. The first time Kuerten reached the final in the French Open he just came here with his blue and yellow shirt and his strange hair and his very special technique. People were saying, Who is that Brazilian player? So very strange things already happened in tennis. Janowicz in the beginning bluffed me. Just before the second round, someone had asked me a question about him and I hadn't seen him play at all. I didn't even know what he looked like. So I thought I had to watch him a little bit. And I looked at him, and he bluffed me from the beginning to the end. I believe that if he played the way he played against that series of extraordinary players, I know that Ferrer today is worried, and Ferrer is a reference in tennis. After the Big 4 he is the most consistent player. He never loses against a player who is lower ranked. He won twice or three times even the Davis Cup ‑ or four times. I don't even know. The French players too had a great tournament. It was fantastic. We can say that the absentees are often wrong. And at the same time we have opportunistic people. Remember in football in France Quevilly was a club that went to the final. Everybody was saying, It's incredible, it's incredible, and they kept beating very good teams. So it was a beautiful story. When I see that giant player here from Poland kneeling on the court, I'm thrilled. I mean, it's extraordinary, and I'm thinking, What is happening to me? This is the dream of my childhood. Of course we could talk at length about the withdrawal of other players that are injured. Well, too bad for them. I believe what is happening is important. Michael had his dream, too. Of course he lost in the semis, but he lost after a very tight match. It was a beautiful match with one player attacking a lot, the other one defending beautifully. Once again, the record was broken this year in terms of tickets sold. People were able to watch a beautiful show. Of course, some players didn't play well. As a tournament director, I was a bit unlucky with Roger Federer's stomach problems and of course the withdrawal of other players. But we'll talk about it later. In spite of all that, in that stadium, beautiful things happened. This is how I see things today. Q. But honestly, weren't you a bit afraid in the beginning of the week? Because Federer, Djoko pulling out? GUY FORGET: Well, you know how I am. I am someone who is always worried. In Davis Cup when I had to choose between Gilles Simon, Gaël, Jo, I spent sleepless nights. When a player has to see the doctor several times I was worried. I was thinking, My God, is he going to pull out? But when you're a tournament director it's part of your job. I was talking with Jo a few days ago, and he told me, It took me five years to get my final here. So you don't always have the final you dream of, but both players who are going to play today deserve to be there. Q. So the best players pulling out, is that just unlucky, or are decisions going to be made to avoid the same situation? GUY FORGET: We were a bit unlucky, and I'm going to London next week to keep talking with the ATP directors and the players. They wanted to have the Masters a bit earlier because they wanted a longer off season, and I'm going there to talk about the future. Some of them are aware that what happened this year was not what they expected, even at the players' level. Brad and the other ATP managers are totally aware of this. So what we need to do is prepare the future, prepare for what is coming. But the great news is that we sold many tickets. We had a very good result here. So in spite of the absence of some of them and the loss of others, this Paris Masters is a solid tournament. But you're right. We are going to keep defending the interests of our tournament and to fight for its place. You heard about the 2014 calendar that is spoken about. I mean, there are rumors, so we believe that this tournament might be postponed a little. We are following that very closely, of course. But of course the players and ATP are in control of the calendar. Q. So the season has been shortened, too, because the players are tired, but you had players playing exhibitions in Brazil and elsewhere in December. GUY FORGET: Well, this is something we are going to talk about with the ATP managers. We are going to show them that I'm not bothered that players play exhibitions, but then our tournament should not pay for it. Players always play exhibitions, but it's not the same intensity and psychologically. It's different. They just enjoy themselves and have a good time. But when Federer, he comes here, he wants to win the tournament. If he doesn't go to the final he believes it's a counter performance. This means he has to prepare physically to fight. Remember his match against Julien Benneteau three years ago? There are no easy matches in a tournament like this. In a Grand Slam over two weeks you can see Nadal just having easy matches and having time to recuperate in between two matches, but here it's different. You need to be at your top level from the start. So it's normal that people ask these questions and that people think, Oh, well, we have to tackle those problems. But we are going to prepare our future. Q. Do you agree that having over two weeks, the Paris Masters and the London Masters, is not possible back to back? GUY FORGET: Technically it is possible, but when Roger plays in Basel with two very difficult matches, of course he's affected. And he's a 31 year old and it's more difficult than when you are 22. Novak Djokovic came on Wednesday before this tournament. He was fresh and you knew he came here to go to the final if he could. And London postponed the final on Monday, so technically it's possible. When you see what Novak did here, he was not feeling well for reasons that had nothing to do with tennis. And Andy, who wasn't focused at a certain moment of his match, well, then you understand that people are asking questions. But it's not because London was just after. It had nothing to do. So physically I believe it's possible, even if I'm going to say the ATP that some people are wondering about that. We should be careful about what happens, because I'm going to defend the interest of this tournament. Q. I will ask this differently. Are you going to fight with the ATP to have a week in between? GUY FORGET: Yes, I am. Q. So February is out of the question? GUY FORGET: No, of course not. When we suggested to change the calendar, I mean, the players and the ATP did, because there is an important reform that is implemented by the ATP trying to change the American tour, having a tour in Europe, and among the best players many are favorable to this reform. But I know clay courters are against this reform for some reason. But ATP need to have a majority in favor of the project, because if more than half the players are against they can't put it into place. But when this possibility was offered to us, I mean, it was spoken out about February, we of course agreed. But if it's not the case in 2014, what we want is to at least have a week rest in between our tournament and the London Masters. Those who want to play Basel or Valencia ‑ I'm thinking about David Ferrer ‑ he won in Valencia, in fact, and he's here in the final. He's going to play at his best level in London, I'm sure. If there is a week off in between this tournament and London, it's certainly going to be less worries for me and for you. Q. Clearly you prefer February, but if it is not possible you prefer a week rest in between? That's what you want? When are we going to know about the ATP's decision? GUY FORGET: I can't tell you that. I thought it would be announced. Now it's not the case. I'm like you sometimes; I don't know about the secrets; sometimes you hear about it at the same time as I do. So what I heard is that they were trying to gain some time. I'm going to try ‑ I'm not going to say to fight ‑ but I'm going to try whatever I can to get one week rest after our tournament. But I believe they realized with what happened this year that having both tournaments back to back might be a problem, given the results. Q. So maybe you would have Bercy a week earlier, but then you will not be during the holidays, the school holidays. GUY FORGET: No, because then you would have to change everybody else, Basel, Valencia, and Basel and Valencia will yell, saying, We don't want to be right after the Asian tour. So Roger and the Basel tournament would be opposed to this. So, I mean, it's difficult. Everyone tries to fight for their own interests. Q. So you want to keep this tournament at this state? GUY FORGET: Yes. It seems easier for me to have the ATP final back to the last year's date and having a week in between rather than changing all the rest. Q. Isn't there another solution? GUY FORGET: I believe if they have some hesitation it is because they have not been able to talk with the clay courters enough; those players are not convinced. So they need to give more information to all the players. Some in this tournament would like it to be in December, but some players would have to go back in December to South America. And even if they don't want to play they will have to go. Otherwise other players might play there and get some points. So this reform has to deal with all that. Q. About the work that has to be done here in this stadium of Bercy, is this going to make things more complicated? GUY FORGET: These works will have an impact on the organization, of course, but this Palais Omnisport de Bercy is ready to make sure we will not be affected. But as long as we don't know at what date we're going to have the tournament, it's difficult to plan any kind of work. As far as we are standing now, the work will be organized so that the tournament will take place in this week of the year. Once a final decision will be made, I'm sure they will do their best to suit us and to adapt. Q. You were a player and now you're on the other side. Don't you have the feeling sometimes they act against their own interests? Talking about ATP. GUY FORGET: Well, you know, some players are older and are more mature; others are a bit young and a bit crazy and excessive sometimes. Of course this is also why this tour is so rich. We don't want players without personality, of course. And as a player myself, sometimes surely I said things that were not very mature either. So it's up to us, the tournament managers and the ATP leaders, to have a lot of contact with all the players and make sure everything goes well. So when they say something, you should be able to say, Yes, I understand what you're saying. But if you do this, you have to understand that this is the type of problems that you might cause. We have to explain that what we are trying to do is the best for the tour. At the time we were talking about Richard Krajicek. These players know the tour extremely well and they are bright. We need them because tennis has to be protected. Of course a player who is lower than top 100 has different interests than the No. 1 in the world, so we need to make sure ATP will make the right decisions for the next 10 years in the interest of tennis. Q. If ever this tournament has to be played in February and the work here makes a problem, where are you going to play it? GUY FORGET: I would like to have that problem, you see. It would be annoying. Of course we will talk with the town hall of the City of Paris and this stadium to organize the work so that we can play here, of course, or else find an alternative. Don't cross the bridge before you get to it. But if we had to leave this particular stadium, we will find a solution. We will know more in a month. Q. Well, the tournament is called Paris Masters, so it has to be in the Paris region, doesn't it? GUY FORGET: Well, we're not there yet. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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