TMS - CINCINNATI

August 9, 2000

Marat Safin

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Marat.

MARAT SAFIN: What do you mean exactly?

MARAT SAFIN: Well, first of all, I was playing very bad before Toronto because I make second round in Stuttgart and first round in Kitzbuhel. I play bad, so I went there to try to get my confidence back. And of course it depends -- the ranking depends how you play. If you play well, the numbers will come. The money, the points, everything will come. So I think of course you want to, when you are No. 9 in the world, you want to be a little bit more -- a little bit up. So you start to think about this also. But I think most important is the confidence. If you have confidence, it's much more easy to get upstairs and everything. Life is much easier in the court and out of the court. I think your confidence is very, very important. Because it's numbers. It's only numbers. It depends how you feel inside.

MARAT SAFIN: No, just very simple thing. I went for holidays because I played a lot of tournaments. I played two months. I start in Barcelona, I won this tournament, another one. I had some good results. I need to rest a little bit. Otherwise my head, I was going crazy little bit with tennis, with the balls, with the racquet. The same people each time. I was just -- I went to holidays. And I lose three kilos. For me, three kilos is too much. Normally my weight is 85 kilos, so I came to the Tour back, in Stuttgart I was 88. I couldn't move. For me, they players I played, I play against, they are playing very fast. So they are not like the kind of guys that you can pass the balls and just keeping the ball inside the court and not run. You get confidence with each set, you get your confidence. Because you run, you are more concentrated. But when they guys, they hit each ball 200 kilometers per hour, you don't understand what is happening because they don't let you play. I mean it's difficult to get confidence because the confidence you can get only in the practicing, but most of the time it's on the tournament. But with a draw -- with the draws, that's what I mean, there's lots of big names. Also in the ranking of these guys, they are not very high. But the problem is their style of tennis, everything is too fast. It's too fast and it's gone. They don't let you play. You can't get confidence. You start to miss balls. You get nervous inside. So that's how -- that's why I came to Toronto, to play tennis. I practiced, I played first two rounds, I mean it was tough match. I get power, I could make some rallies on the baseline, so it gives me confidence back. I won those two matches and after it's becoming much more easier. I get my game back. I get my confidence and everything was perfect. In the final, I played good tennis I think. This is just very simple. You just need to have good draws, try to keep your tennis and try to keep your confidence always with you. That's it. I know you don't have to worry about anything more.

MARAT SAFIN: Everybody, they have different personalities. What he going to help you, how to play tennis? I mean I know how I have to play, but of course I learn some things. But is not from him, it's from everybody. You cannot come to the court and think, "It's okay, I'm gonna beat this guy," because everybody is playing. If you play better, better ranking, more guys, they want to beat you. If I say I don't care, okay. But when you're five or six, whatever, Top 10, if they beat you, they get motivated. It's tough. I beat Sampras, I beat Kafelnikov, so each time you have to play 100 percent so that's the people -- they have to respect you. Otherwise --.

MARAT SAFIN: Everybody.

MARAT SAFIN: No, because we have different life. He has kids, he has family. I'm just a young guy, new. Big kid, yeah, and I just have some other interests. So it's little difficult because I am little bit much younger. So the life, when he start, it was different life than when I start.

MARAT SAFIN: Okay. Is very simple I think. If you want to play not like him, I know it's little bit exaggerate, yeah? Play 35 weeks. But you have to practice anyways, right? You have to practice. It's better to come to the tournament, you have a good hotel, you have a swimming pool, you have sauna, you have a gym, you have a good room, and I mean normally the tournaments, they are nice places. Also, he's winning money. I mean if you want, you can stay at home. It's more expensive. I mean doesn't matter if you have 20 or 2, you don't have any money. Expenses, you practice, you win money, and it's boring to practice like this. I think when you spend one or two years on the Tour you start to think, "What I need to do to stay at home just for practice? I can be here, I win some matches, I get money, I get points." Is also good life. Is not so bad to come for two hours to get what we get. I think it's better than be at home. Also you have a big crowd with you. They come and enjoy tennis. You go to practice, you start to sweat, nobody's watching you. It's a little boring.

MARAT SAFIN: Yes. I was there.

MARAT SAFIN: No, he goes sometimes of course. You need to go home. But not for long time. Because when you go for long times, you -- I mean it's difficult to come back. You need two weeks to get your way back, to be in the right physical condition, technique and all these small things that they help you. Holidays sometimes are dangerous.

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, I think it's because this question about the -- I mean it's completely -- he already come not from Communism. He already become a normal person. If he hurt, he have nothing to do. In Communism, you can ask Chesnokov. This is the generation of Communism. They can you explain you many stories you say, "How is possible?" Everything is possible. But Yevgeny and other guys, me, we come little bit later. So they didn't bother us. It was little different.

MARAT SAFIN: Of course sometimes it's not the best way to act on the court. But I think, first of all, I was like this since I was -- since I start to play tennis. Second, because you need this. You're gonna play tennis, you're not a machine. My mind, sometimes I get scared. Sometimes I get -- I'm afraid on the court. I'm afraid with the ball. So I need to do something, you know, to be little bit more relaxed. Because more you get afraid, more minutes you're still playing and playing. You can't play any more tennis. Some moments of the game you get scared, you get upset because you are missing easy balls. So it lets you -- you become a little bit more relaxed. I mean the people, there are a lot of people there in the stands, and I think they don't shout at me when I am breaking racquet. I didn't destroy racquet, they start to shouting and everything is bad, I don't like this crowd. But I just broke my racquet; that's it. It's not so dangerous. I didn't kill anybody. But also you need this for -- I think it's -- many guys, they understand. They also do this. But maybe not so much on the court, but not in a tournament, but in practice. So many guys, they swing the racquet. It's only racquet; it's not -- it's just a piece of graphite. That's it.

MARAT SAFIN: I lead the Tour, yeah. This year around 30. I can make some records.

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, I was there. When I was 10, I went to Indianapolis to see this tournament, actually. It was interchange of the guys Americans to the Russians. I went there and for me, it was, you know, McEnroe, these guys. It was nice, big names. But I didn't -- it was little bit different. I have even -- I have a picture with Boris Becker when he was in '90.

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah, it was '90. If I had to come there, become like a player. I don't know what I'm going to feel, but it's little bit...(Inaudible.)

MARAT SAFIN: Yeah. I was really -- feel really bad when I won there because I was too far from home without family, but just living in also with the family. They don't understand anything in English. But then they start to talk little bit. So it was -- but it was good for the language, but not for my tennis because I didn't know how to take the racquet. It was horrible. But at least I saw some people and make some good pictures.

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