TMS - FORO ITALICO

May 12, 2000

Magnus Norman

Q. Magnus, you are in the Semifinal, you have not lost a set, and nobody seems to notice you except your opponent.

MAGNUS NORMAN: Yeah, well it's like that, a little bit like that every tournament for me, you know. No one really seems to take notice of me. I'm always playing on the Pallacorda, and, I mean, that's -- that's the way everybody like it, I think. But I mean, you know, tomorrow I'm playing on center court, so tomorrow I hope everybody will notice me.

MAGNUS NORMAN: I don't care. I mean, I'm a pretty laid-back person, so, you know, I'm not trying to create the spotlight to be on me, you know. I'm pretty laid-back. And if the spotlight comes on me tomorrow, I don't mind because I had it on me a few times and I know how to handle it and I actually like it. So, you know, it's not going to be a big deal.

MAGNUS NORMAN: Not really. I mean, I think Andre deserves to be No. 1 in the world, he won a few Grand Slams. I never won a Grand Slam. But I'm getting close to him, you know. And as a matter of fact, no one would notice me, that's even better. I kind of like it that way; that I'm sneaking from the background. That's the perfect situation for me.

MAGNUS NORMAN: Yeah, we're used to no Swedish media. Swedish media is kind of bad to us all the time. It doesn't really appreciate what we are doing. If they're going to write something, we have to win a Grand Slam. If I made a Semifinal in Australia, they're going to compare me to Borg who won six -- many, many Grand Slams.

MAGNUS NORMAN: Six Wimbledon, I was going to say. (Laughter.) But we are used to it, you know. If they are going to write about us, we have to win a Grand Slam.

MAGNUS NORMAN: Sorry?

MAGNUS NORMAN: I feel great. I feel great. I had a lot of matches this week, I played doubles as well, which was great for my tennis I think. And I had some easy matches, so I'm feeling fresh for tomorrow. You know, obviously I think Hewitt is leading, but I don't think -- it doesn't matter who I'm playing, you know. I just try to concentrate on my own things. If those things are clicking, no one can beat me.

MAGNUS NORMAN: Yeah, I think one year ago I would say clay is probably my best surface by far, but last year I improved a lot on hardcourt. I would think it's 50-50 for the moment. That's an advantage that I have: I can play either on hardcourt or clay, it doesn't matter. So that's something I improved over the last season.

MAGNUS NORMAN: Grass is -- (Laughing) -- is not really my cup of tea, but, you know, I'm improving. I actually won a few rounds in Wimbledon. And who knows? You know, miracles have happened before, so maybe I can start playing good on grass as well.

MAGNUS NORMAN: No, no. The only thing when we talk about grass is soccer. (Laughter.)

MAGNUS NORMAN: Really? Is that true? That's good. And Hewitt, that means that you're winning, so... It's a good thing.

MAGNUS NORMAN: No, no, I'm feeling fresh actually, so hopefully I hope I can play tomorrow the way I've been playing the last week as well.

MAGNUS NORMAN: Absolutely.

MAGNUS NORMAN: I mean it's different, it's a different ball game really. I mean I'm -- last year I could win a few matches. I could win titles on clay, but from, like, Wimbledon on last year, I've improved very much on hardcourt as well. You know, it doesn't really matter like if I play Krajicek or a baseliner. I think I have an answer to everything today. And I'm also more stronger mentally, which helps a lot on the Tour.

MAGNUS NORMAN: Probably be something really, because I'm the ambassador of the city, you know, so will probably be something. Tomorrow's Saturday as well, so, you know, I think there will be something.

MAGNUS NORMAN: I just try to -- yeah, exactly, promote the city and --

MAGNUS NORMAN: I had to organize like an ice hockey thing, like an All-Star Game in December, which raised money for the city. I have to do things like that to promote the city. It's a very small city, so anything you can do really helps the city a lot.

MAGNUS NORMAN: Yeah, yeah.

MAGNUS NORMAN: No.

MAGNUS NORMAN: Yeah. I don't know really why that is, but there's a lot of tennis clubs in Sweden, and we have an old tradition and a very good tradition, so I guess I don't know why really.

MAGNUS NORMAN: No, no.

MAGNUS NORMAN: Never.

MAGNUS NORMAN: No, I never played him on clay.

MAGNUS NORMAN: Well, let's see first if he wins. But if it's going to be Hewitt, you know, he's like me, you know, one of the younger players coming up. So probably we're going to play against each other many times. Hopefully we're going to play against each other many times. So... I think maybe I have little bit advantage on clay because I'm more experienced on clay. But he's playing good for the moment as well, and I have to play 100 percent tomorrow to be able to win.

MAGNUS NORMAN: Puerta is a good claycourt player. That's probably by far his best surface. It's the same there, you know, I have to play 100 percent to win. That's the way it is even from the first match to the Finals. So... It's just as simple as that.