US OPEN

September 5, 2000

Marat Safin

MODERATOR: Questions for Marat.

MARAT SAFIN: Yes.

MARAT SAFIN: Of course. I passed one match from four sets and two matches in five sets. The last one was in the tiebreak. I was lucky to win two days ago, so now I was lucky to win this match so easy. I think if you work very hard, you have a difficult match definitely in every tournament. I hope it was two days ago. I hope it will never happened again to me. I hope also that it's going to be much more easier. I'm not sure, but I hope so, that I can play much, much better than I played two days ago, like I played today, so I can have some chances at least to be in the final. I said already that I'm not coming here to make fourth round, not quarters, not semifinal, I came here to win, and I'm going to do everything to do this. If somebody going to be better than me, I have no problems with it. But I'm here to fight, to win this tournament. So if I play like this, I can do it. I think so.

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah. I think because you cannot describe with other words. I think he played not his best tennis, for sure. Also, I mean, three sets, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2, it means something that I also can play tennis, and I can play very good. So it's not only his fault that he didn't play well. Yes, that's true also. But you have to say also that I served well, I didn't let him play since the beginning. I played very good from the baseline. Also I didn't let him play. I didn't let him to make his game, which was very important since the beginning, just to start to put pressure on him. Otherwise, it's very difficult to beat him if he's playing his game because he's very fast player, very good hands, and he's always played two, three shots. It's always difficult. He played very good also. He opened very good angles. If he's in good shape, it's no chance to beat him. So I did my job. I didn't let him play. That's it. That's why I think he couldn't play, he couldn't play better.

MARAT SAFIN: If I would be a spectator, I would go home not because of the match, maybe because it's too cold to stay there definitely.

MARAT SAFIN: I don't care. Of course it's much more fun to play with a lot of spectators. But if I win 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 without the spectators, it doesn't bother me. I think the spectators, they have some other things to do. I think if they're not here, they have to be somewhere, no?

MARAT SAFIN: Two years ago, everybody told me that I can play only on clay. Now the people, they say I play better on hard. It's means that I can play everywhere, not because I'm 6 in the world. It means that I won two tournaments on clay, so I can play there also. I won one Super 9 on hard court, so I can play also on hard court. I can't play yet on grass, but I'm working for this. I think I need a little bit more of experience. If you propose to yourself something, I think you can get -- maybe when I'm going to be 30, I will play better on grass. At least I'm trying. Definitely I can play on clay, and I'm not playing very bad if I'm also in quarters at US Open. So you decide.

MARAT SAFIN: Okay, like this? You build the question like this (laughter)? Doesn't matter. When you're playing good, you can play everywhere, I think. When you are out of shape, you cannot play anywhere. If it's clay, there is a lot of bad bounces. If it's hard court, it's very fast. You cannot find the best surface when you're playing bad. But if you're playing good, you can play everywhere. Not yet on grass, but I hope next year.

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah. I get a lot of stuff here. I hope I will do it next day the same, to be a little bit more professional.

MARAT SAFIN: Because I make the five sets?

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, I think I need the coach definitely for this only (laughter).

MARAT SAFIN: I cannot say because if I said bad about Chesnokov, he going to kill me, otherwise Volkov going to kill me.

MARAT SAFIN: Of course. Of course. Let me think. I think Chesnokov, he's a hard worker, definitely. I mean, he can run thousands of kilometers on the court. He was a big fighter, not so much talent like Alexander. Alexander, he live in a different world. He can see the tennis from other dimension. Nobody can understand tennis like him. For him, tennis is very simple - too simple. Did you ever seen him play?

MARAT SAFIN: I mean, the guy, he never move. You see the court, how can he get these balls? It's amazing. He make the tennis very simple for him. I don't know if it's the job of his coach. If it's his coach, it's unbelievable. If you make the guy so good, you take from the guy so much talent. For him, if he can explain to you about tennis, tennis is so simple. There's just different vision of tennis. Andrei is just a hard worker. He just show you how to work, how to be professional. Alexander, how to make tennis much more easier. I think I'm right.

MARAT SAFIN: From the beginning, I couldn't understand him. What are you talking about? Now I start to understand.

MARAT SAFIN: I think I'm the same like it was in Roland Garros. I just getting a little bit more of experience each time I'm playing. I'm much more stable on the court. I can play, I can realize situation when I'm in the fifth set. I can play tennis. I'm not going crazy. I'm not breaking any more racquets. It just help me a lot to be hundred percent concentrate on the court. In Roland Garros I wasn't the way to where I am now. Now is another level. I have to step to another level if I want to be better than now. Just you have to build something more. You need something new, you have to work on your mentality definitely. It's not the end; it's just the beginning to where I want to be.

MARAT SAFIN: I impressed you, huh? Also myself (laughter).

MARAT SAFIN: If it's possible, if the God will let me, No. 1 in the world. Why not? I am 6. I think is not enough. If the people will let me, I will be there. Otherwise I will be satisfied with No. 2 - but I will fight for it, for No. 1.

MARAT SAFIN: No. But if the people will not let me, I have to be satisfied with No. 2. Right now I want to be No. 1. When it's going to be my time, I will try to do this.

MARAT SAFIN: I think so. But we'll see - we'll see (smiling). Not this year, because there's other guys like Kuerten, like Norman, they start to play tennis from January. I start to play tennis from April. Four months, five months even, it's difficult now to think about No. 1. Next year we can talk about this. I hope I will start from January like normal person, normal tennis player - not like somebody somewhere who starts from April.

MARAT SAFIN: And you believe him? You think we are stupid here on ATP Tour? Everybody wants to be No. 1. Is only 15 or 16 guys that were No. 1 in the world. How many?

MARAT SAFIN: 17, sorry. It must be tough to get there. But definitely I'm a hundred percent sure you can take everybody to the same question, "Do you want to be No. 1 in the world?" I don't think they're going to say, "No, no, no, I don't need this." Of course, they will say yes, I'm sure. If you say no, it's because you are too nice guy.

MARAT SAFIN: Nothing. I don't feel anything. There's how many, three more guys who wants to be in the final. Martin is playing unbelievable tennis. Kiefer, he beat Norman. I think is a huge win. Johansson, he beat Arthurs with probably the best serve on ATP Tour. Everybody's playing good tennis if they're in quarterfinals. So is nothing. Just for spectators, for the fans, for you guys. You can say that somebody's a favorite. But it's a little bit different story in the locker room because we know each other, we know how we are playing. Even the guy who is 100 in the world, he can be in the final. You just have to make your job. Next round I play against Kiefer. I have to respect him. After this, if I will beat him, we can talk about other two guys. Favorite, it's just a word, nothing more. Nice word to me. Thank you very much.

MARAT SAFIN: Like I said before, he's in the forefront. He beat Magnus Norman. It's a huge win. To beat Magnus, he's a big fighter. He beat him in four sets. It means he's playing great tennis. But I can also play good tennis. The question is, who going to start better? Who going to be less nervous since the beginning? Who going to make his game first? Who going to build his game as soon as possible in the first two games? You have to build your game already. You have to make your tactic. If you can make it, you can beat him. If you don't make it, you have to fight, definitely. The problem is you have to build your game very fast, don't let him play because he's on good conditions. If you let him play, it's very difficult to come back. It's very tough. If you don't want to have a headache on this game, you have to build very fast your game, make your tactic, hold your serve and put pressure. That's it.

MARAT SAFIN: The last one? Against Guardiola.

MARAT SAFIN: No (laughter).

MARAT SAFIN: I become a good player.

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