TMS - MADRID

October 20, 2005

Ivan Ljubicic

IVAN LJUBICIC: Well, I think it's good. Physically it's fine. I think my body is now used to playing every day. I'm recovering much better now than I did maybe before because you can practice as much as you want. But if you don't have competitive matches, when you play a competitive match after a long time, you struggle in the beginning. But if you play a lot of matches one after the other, your body gets used to it and it's perfectly fine.

IVAN LJUBICIC: I always paid a lot of attention to my body. Really, if I have minor pain of any kind, I always want to know exactly what it is, where it's coming from and how to deal with. That's maybe one of the reasons why I don't have major injuries. I'm really careful about. I know my weak points in my body, shoulder and back, and I work on them every day whether I'm feel good or not. Just to keep them strong, and it works perfectly well.

IVAN LJUBICIC: Well, yes, I mean, I was not in trouble at any moment on my serve. I had a lot of chances to break him. I break him once in each set. It was fine. The conditions compared to Vienna, it's very different. The courts are much faster and the ball is flying through the air much more than there. Have to get used to it a little bit. But at least the balls are the same, so that's good for me. You cannot go for too much from the baseline because it's too risky. But, you know, to adapt a little bit the game, I know it's very good for the serve. I win my service games quite easy so far. Against Olivier and Alberto Martin in the first round, I was lucky I didn't play against a guy who was serving big, so I was always in the rally. That's been important for me.

IVAN LJUBICIC: No, not really, because I did also the good stretch in the beginning of the season, so this is more or less the same situation. It's just that instead of playing all those finals, I'm winning the tournament, so it's just one match difference. But I really feel comfortable. No, not nervous. You know, for me, what I'm really happy about is like I'm a little nervous the first round and the final, and that's perfect combination I think. For me every match now it's very important, as you know, for the Masters Cup. I know if I make a lot of points now, next year is going to be much easier. It is very important I'm not relaxing because I won so many matches. I want to win every match I play. The feeling is nice, as I said. You know, I'm not afraid about the numbers, how many matches I won in a row, because I know that it's just a number.

IVAN LJUBICIC: Well, I know that the best guys are not here, and that is a big opportunity for everybody in the draw. Nadal is the only one who has won Masters Series, and he's here. Obviously it's only Roger and him winning this year. Roddick is out. Marat is not playing. Lleyton is not playing. Agassi is not here. You know, I see myself on top of the list, and I'm playing that way. I think I can. Why not?