WESTERN AND SOUTHERN FINANCIAL GROUP MASTERS

August 17, 2005

Marat Safin

THE MODERATOR: Marat Safin. Questions, please.

MARAT SAFIN: Still hurts a little bit.

MARAT SAFIN: No, I don't read newspapers actually.

MARAT SAFIN: Just kind of a bad start actually beginning of second set. And then just started to play bad. I lost my game and I was just missing all over the place. And then after a while, after 4-0, I give up. I started little bit to concentrate on the third set. That's what happened.

MARAT SAFIN: Third set, you know, I was ready for it. I was -- actually, I was getting ready. It worked.

MARAT SAFIN: Well, I had worse feelings two months ago. So it's kind of, you know, I'm used to it. After a while you start to -- I know not to pay attention to the pain and try to concentrate a little bit on the game. But still of course after, when you sit down on the changeover and when you are cooling down, then it start to bother again. So basically little bit not nice feeling to play, you know, when something is bothering you. But I'm working on that. I'm trying to -- you know, like the people, the physios from ATP are trying to do their best so I can recover maybe in one, two months to feel better.

MARAT SAFIN: No. I mean, like...

MARAT SAFIN: But it's also, you know, like I had a tear in my ligament. So they made it -- they put it together. But then I have a tendinitis. I have chronicle tendinitis (inaudible). I don't know like -- but everybody says different story. But it's really painful, especially when you bouncing all the time, you know, you running side to side, then when you jump, when you stop and everything. So just of course it's get irritated, so you need to treat it.

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, of course. It was a kind of -- just if I would lose this match, it would be a little bit bad loss for me. Because, I mean, even playing bad, I should have won this kind of matches because I am a little bit -- I have more experience and many other things that I'm better at. And he is a newcomer. He was a little bit nervous. Just not to continue, make the story short, you know, I just felt I'm a little bit older so that's why I should have won.

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah. Well, he's a new guy on ATP Tour. You know, he made a good result on Wimbledon, but that's just pretty much it. Didn't make anything -- well, he had no time to do anything special. But let's see how he gonna -- what's gonna happen with him. But definitely he serves well. He has pretty good baseline. He can volley. Good touch. So let's see if he can develop everything and like the coach can help him bring his game to another level.

MARAT SAFIN: Well, I knew -- my coach told me how the way he is playing and I saw him a little bit in Wimbledon. So he definitely has a better backhand than forehand, so just had to play most of the time on his forehand. Yeah, I came up with a plan.

MARAT SAFIN: No, is not an option. Because I will try to finish and try to work with the physios during the tournaments and try to finish this year and take one months off after the season. Because now it's pretty much intense. I'm playing every week. US Open is coming, then we have a trip to Asia, then we having Davis Cup semifinal which is very important for us. Then of course I have a tournament in Moscow which is very important for me. And then Masters Series - Madrid, Paris, Masters Cup. And if we gonna be in the final again of the Davis Cup. So it's not many weeks you can just skip. Every tournament is quite important and, you know, we have to deal with that.

MARAT SAFIN: One hour. One hour, a little bit more than one hour -- no, actually more than one hour. Because when I come before the practice, it takes like 40 minutes. After the practice, another half an hour. And after the match is one hour. Two hours.

MARAT SAFIN: Two hours every day.

MARAT SAFIN: Massages, stimulation, put the hot cream, make some exercises, everything. Like it's a little bit pain in the ass, but I have to deal with that unfortunately if I want to get better. Some of the exercises are pretty painful.

MARAT SAFIN: Well, we'll see. We'll see in a few weeks. Otherwise, I know where to find them (smiling).

MARAT SAFIN: No. Just, you know, like I said before when she asked the question, after three games in the second set I felt like I really lost my game, so I tried to focus a little bit on the beginning of the third set. I tried to get ready mentally for the third one and try to be straightaway, you know, put the pressure on the guy and try to make him another break so then I would have no pressure. And that's what happened. So after, like I said, after few games, I gave up the second set.

MARAT SAFIN: Hmm, could be better. Because still I am feeling a little bit afraid. I didn't practice four months and a half. I didn't even -- I played 15, 20 minutes each day for the past three, four days before I came here. So is not -- I'm a little bit out of it. I didn't really serve, I didn't do any special exercise, no fitness, nothing. I came here, practiced two days, and that's it. So it's difficult to feel comfortable on the court. So that's why it's so much, you know, ups and downs during the match.

MARAT SAFIN: No, but that's why I came here, Cincinnati, New Haven. Try to play as many matches as I can and then so get ready basically for US Open. I can't expect big results here in Cincinnati. I can't expect big results in New Haven. But just play matches and try to get used to the courts, to the pace, to the rhythm, get better physically, and get ready. Let's see what's gonna happen in U.S.

MARAT SAFIN: Well, I've been suffering -- I had even worse feelings for the past five months before the -- it started from March and until Wimbledon when I gave up because I couldn't handle it anymore. Just it's little bit difficult to play with the pain. And it was much worse. So now, now compared to what I had, just it's okay. So of course it's not really nice, you cannot really enjoy it 100%, the tennis, because you are afraid because, you know, sometimes you don't run for the balls because you don't want to, you know, you don't want to hurt yourself. So it's not really nice feeling, but it's a job.

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah. Well...

MARAT SAFIN: No, everybody like Andreev, Tursunov and Davydenko, they grew up outside of Russia. The only one who was made in Russia was Kafelnikov - but after a while he left also Russia - was Youzhny. He's still practicing there. I don't know how he manage it because there is nobody to practice with, everybody's away and everybody is trying to practice abroad, you know. Spain, go to Spain, go to America. Tursunov, he grew up in America; Andreev, Spain; Davydenko, Germany. So because we don't have actually -- it's a mystery for me that we have such a big country but we have a really bad system. We don't have any -- I don't see anybody young coming up soon. We have a terrible system of coaching. We have nothing. Basically Federation is just -- it's a joke. But that's how it is. Hopefully, when I retire, I can do something. For me, it would be a challenge. So it's one of the things that I thought just to, you know, like make the kids, you know, like the Russian tennis, male tennis, bring it up, bring it a little bit up.

MARAT SAFIN: I will have plenty of time to think about it after (smiling).