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June 10, 2014
LONDON, ENGLAND
M. MATOSEVIC/M. Cilic
6‑4, 6‑4
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. What pleased you most about that apart from winning?
MARINKO MATOSEVIC: The fact that I was 6‑4, 4‑2, up Love‑40 and then got tight and then still managed to win.
Q. How are you feeling being off the clay and on to the grass?
MARINKO MATOSEVIC: I miss the clay (smiling). No, it's good to be on the grass. It's probably my favorite surface.
Yeah, it feels nice. I was in Nottingham last week. Made the final. Last to Baghdatis. He played too good in a really good match.
This is one of my favorite tournaments. Awarded last year 250 of the Year.
Q. When you got a draw like that, haven't been here before, is that a good record here? How do you approach it? Do you think, 'oh, shit'?
MARINKO MATOSEVIC: No, I have actually played him in the US Open 2012. I was two sets to Love up, 2‑1, break point to go ‑‑ two sets Love and break, lost.
Australian Open I played him, as well. I had 11 break points. Didn't take any. Lost like 4 and 5. It was a tight match. Monte‑Carlo just a month and a half ago, I was a break up in the third and lost to him.
I feel like I have been really close to beating him all previous times.
Q. You said in Paris after the first round you felt that win sort of freed you up. Do you think it really has made a difference?
MARINKO MATOSEVIC: Oh, yeah, for sure. Before when someone would mention something about slams or I'd hear the city or something to do with a Grand Slam, I would think about it. It would make me feel uncomfortable. Now I just feel free to play tennis.
Yeah, like I said in Paris, it's a huge gorilla lifted off my shoulders now. I just feel free to play anymore. I have no more worries.
Q. Even in a non‑slam?
MARINKO MATOSEVIC: Yeah. It's freed me right up.
Q. Is this a good tournament, a steppingstone into the rest of the grass season for what's to come?
MARINKO MATOSEVIC: Yeah, definitely. I'm not playing next week. I'm not going down to Eastbourne. Even though they put a good event on down there I'm not going down there.
Just concentrating here at Queen's. I don't want to think about Wimbledon yet.
Q. Can you put a target on this tournament now?
MARINKO MATOSEVIC: I don't know. I've got to wait to see who wins out of a fellow Aussie, Ebden, and Lacko.
I've got doubles soon, in an hour, hour and a half, so I have to concentrate on the doubles first.
Q. What are the key messages you have been getting from Mark?
MARINKO MATOSEVIC: You know, grass, he's about playing to win, just trying to be aggressive and come forward and play the old school Aussie way.
I'm trying to do it. In certain moments it's tough because I'm not used to it, so trying to force myself to do it.
Q. Is volleying natural for you?
MARINKO MATOSEVIC: Yeah, I have like a pretty good technique. And a Rochey, Mark, Pat, they are always helping me with my volleys and net game. They definitely make me feel like a player is going to come around soon and attack the net again. They feel like it's going to come around.
So, I mean, players I think just don't practice that anymore. When I speak to Rafter, when he'd have an hour hit, 30 minutes of that would be volleys, you know, for him. Then serve, return, another 15.
But now, if you go out and see someone hit for an hour, it's like players hit volleys for a couple minutes, two, three minutes. Yeah.
Q. Mark was a little more animated today?
MARINKO MATOSEVIC: No, just ‑‑yeah, he was a good supporter.
Q. You talk about the old school Aussie way is that about imposing your personality on your game?
MARINKO MATOSEVIC: Yeah, it's about being aggressive. All the older Aussies came forward, you know, and the match was on their racquet, you know, very attacking players because they grew up on grass.
But, yeah, it's kind of got lost in the last like decade since Rafter kind of retired. And Hewitt was playing a different style so it got lost, I guess.
Q. Plenty of, like you say, sort of strong will?
MARINKO MATOSEVIC: Yeah, definitely I got lots of help and it paid off today.
Q. Can I just ask what are your thoughts on Amélie Mauresmo and her appointment with Andy Murray? Is it something that ‑‑ obviously it's unusual, but is that...
MARINKO MATOSEVIC: Apparently there are a few guys in the top 100 who do have women's coaches like ‑‑ I think Kukushkin gets coached by his wife, Denis by his mum. She's done a great job with him.
I think there could be one more. Is there one more?
Q. Not at the moment.
MARINKO MATOSEVIC: For me, I couldn't do it since I don't think that highly of the women's game. But, yeah, you know, his mum coached him, and she did a great job with him.
So, I mean, yeah. We'll see what happens.
Q. Some people suggested there shouldn't be a sort of separation. Do you think it's hard to...
MARINKO MATOSEVIC: It's all equal rights these days. Got to be politically correct.
So, yeah, someone's got to give it a go. Won't be me.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
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