2006 US OPEN 2ND round interview (vs Nalby)

Q. Did you feel like things were slipping away a little bit in the third and fourth sets?
MARAT SAFIN: Well, I just had the match in control after two sets and I let him come back. I wasn't really got a little bit scared because I was playing too well, then I start to think a little bit too much, I stop to attack, I change a little bit my game, then he started to play his tennis. That's, of course, difficult to compete against him on his way.
Q 你是不是覺得第三及第四盤打得有點鬆散了
MS 嗯﹐頭兩盤我控制了局面﹐結果到了第三盤卻讓他有機可趁。那實在不是... 有點可怕﹐因為我打得太好﹐便開始想太多﹐停止了攻擊火力﹐改變了原有的戰略﹐之後便由他來主宰了。 當然在這種情況下﹐要跟他比就困難啦

Q. Up and down career at the US Open. How does it feel to be in the second week playing good tennis?
MARAT SAFIN: Thanks to the rain, I'm in the second week. Actually, it feels pretty well, especially beating good players like Nalbandian. Hopefully I will play much better next match and I can continue heading closer to the final.
Q 在美網表現上上下雨。進入到了第二周感覺怎樣?
MS 謝謝連日的陰雨﹐我進入到第二周了。事實上﹐感覺很不錯﹐特別是打敗如納班這樣的好手。希望下一場我能打得更好﹐向決賽挺進


Q. Was it hard to concentrate at the end of the match with Agassi's game and so many distractions?
MARAT SAFIN: Actually not. You're so much into the game, you don't really care. Because you have already enough of your problems, you're so concentrated, you don't really pay attention to that.
Q 在比賽的後段﹐因為阿加西比賽的緣故是否難以專注﹐使你分心
MS 沒有。你很投入自己的比賽﹐所以心無旁騖。因為你自己的問題就夠煩的了﹐你很專心﹐所以不會去注意那些。

Q. How did you feel you played in the tiebreaker in the fifth set?
MARAT SAFIN: Well, I started I was lucky to start with actually 5 1 in five minutes. I made double fault, he made double fault, then was the let. And the he shoot a couple of times and I played one lucky shot, 5 1. But then started went completely other direction.
But it's like a lottery basically. It can go any way.
Q 第五盤的搶七你自己覺得打得如何
MS 嗯﹐我一開始挺幸運的﹐五分鐘內就5比1了。我雙誤﹐他也雙誤﹐然後就是那樣。然後他打了幾球﹐我有個幸運球就來到5-1。之後﹐比分就朝著他那邊去了。總之﹐這好像抽獎樂透一般﹐哪邊會勝都有可能的

Q. He's so good countering, does he make you want to go for it on the points? Is it that you knew you had to be aggressive at that moment?
MARAT SAFIN: No, just the nerves are really like at hundred percent. Of course, you don't want to find yourself in a losing position serving. You go for a little bit too much, maybe you're a little bit too scared just to make sure you place it in the right spot. You are in control of the point. Of course, it's a tiebreak, so the nerves are there.
Q 他一向善於反擊﹐那有沒有激發你要拿下比分?是因為你知道他的這個特性所以在關鍵時刻﹐你採取更進動的功勢
MS 沒有﹐只是膽量(緊張)是百分之百的。當然﹐你絕對不想在發球時處於下風。你可能有點用力過頭﹐有時為了確保發進好的落點你變得有些緊張。你是在主導分數。當然﹐這是搶七﹐壓力是在的

Q. You have a pretty good five set record. You beat Grosjean. What do you tell yourself in a fifth set? How do you keep it together?
MARAT SAFIN: Just keep on trying, keep on trying. Not much you can do. You cannot start putting the balls inside the court and wait for the mistakes of other players. You have to attack. If it goes in, it goes in. If it doesn't goes in, it really doesn't. To be on the baseline, try to wait for mistakes, I'm not going to win a lot of matches anyway. That's my tennis. That's how I should play.
Of course, it's a lot of risk also I'm taking. That's my tennis. I have to live with that, and I'm living pretty well.
Q 你五盤的戰績非常好。你打敗格羅斯讓。在第五盤時你告訴自己什麼?怎麼讓自己專注
MS 只是持續地嘗試﹐再嘗試。除此也沒有別的辦法。你不可能只是把球打進去然後等對方失誤。你要進攻﹐如果球進了就是進﹐沒進就是沒進 (JS :MARAT 真是一個翻兩瞪眼的人)。站在底線﹐等著對方失誤﹐我是不可能贏球的。我的打法是這樣﹐那是我該採用的方式。不錯﹐我得要冒著風險﹐但那是我的風格﹐我要 習慣接受﹐而我一直也適應地挺好的

Q. Do you think at one point Nalbandian got a little down on himself, the dropshots he missed?
MARAT SAFIN: Well, the dropshot he missed on match point, of course it's nerves, it's nothing else. He did everything right. He gets too scared. He wanted to make it too perfect. But I was not getting any closer to the dropshot. He went for a little bit too much.
Q 你有沒有覺得納班在放小球失誤後士氣減弱了
MS 嗯﹐在賽末點他的放小球失誤了﹐當然那是他緊張﹐別無其他。他做的選擇都沒錯﹐他只是害怕﹐他想要打得更完美。但時時我離放小球的地方還很遠﹐他過於小心了

Q. As you try to regain your best form, how much has the coaching played a part in that?
MARAT SAFIN: Well, it's very important to have somebody right now in my position to have somebody to

push me and give me a little bit of confidence and try to understand me, what's going on in my head not

only tennis, but also some other stuff, to be able to support me and also in difficult moments sometimes

to speak to me in the match because it's pretty like it's a lot of pressure I'm going through. Also on

the matches, especially long ones, you need somebody behind you. You need somebody to be there for you

basically. Alex, he knows me pretty well from long time ago, so he's kind of just, in the sense, my

situation. We can speak the same language, in the sense, and he understands what's going on. So it makes

me really happy.
Q 在你重拾狀態的時刻﹐教練的部分怎麼幫助你
MS 在此刻﹐有個人敦促你﹐給我信心﹐試著瞭解我是很重要的﹐不是只有網球﹐我的腦子在想什麼﹐還有其他事情﹐

並且能支持我﹐在比賽困難的時候對我喊話﹐因為過程中我的壓力很大。另外﹐在比賽時﹐尤其是賽期比較長的﹐你需

要有人在背後撐著。基本上你需要有人在身邊。ALEX (這次跟MARAT 同行的朋友﹐2000年也是他跟MRAT 同行)﹐他瞭

解我﹐我們認識很久了。我們講相同的語言﹐而且他也知道我們在幹什麼。所以我很高興有他同行

Q. Have you been feeling more comfortable lately?
MARAT SAFIN: It's the only guy that we can speak about he is one of my closest friends, off the courts

also. He knows pretty much about my life. He also can he's a little bit older. He has a lot of

experience in life. He understands. He's been a player. He's been a great player. Just more mental part

so I can cry on his shoulder basically. He understands. He puts me together. He want me to win, which is

great. He's there for me from the beginning till the end.
Q 最近幾天有覺得更自在些嗎
MS 他是唯一的一個我能暢所欲言的好朋友﹐場外也是。他對於我的人生經歷瞭解深刻。他比較年長﹐經驗豐富。他理

解﹐他曾經也是名網球員 (JS 如果我沒記錯﹐ALEXANDER VOLKOV 曾打入大滿貫四強)﹐一名很好的球員。失意時我能

在他肩膀上哭泣﹐他能理解我﹐幫我振作起來。 他要我贏﹐那很棒。從開始到最後﹐他一直都在身邊。

Q. Having won a US Open title, do you feel that's the expectation for you every Qyear from then on, and

in other people's eyes, it's a letdown if you don't get that far?
MARAT SAFIN: I won it six years ago. I made the semifinal here 2002 I guess. Of course, every time you

come back, once you win it, you want to get closer to the final. You don't really pay attention to the

first couple of rounds. You just want to get there somehow.
But now these days, it's a little bit different story. A lot of things have changed. A lot of good

players left, and some other players came. The young ones, they're hungry. You have to run from day one

until the end. There's no any more easy matches. Anybody can beat anybody. You have to be really

focused. It's not easy as it used to be.
Q 自從贏了美網後﹐你是否覺得大家對你之後表現的批評對你而言很令你洩氣
MS 我六年前贏的。好像02年也打到四強。當然﹐每次你回來﹐又贏了球﹐你想一路打到決賽。你對前幾輪的比賽沒那

麼在意﹐只要打進到第二周就好了。但現在不一樣﹐情況不能同日而語﹐人事皆非。有些好球員退休了﹐新星們又篡起

。年輕的選手們﹐他們是多麼渴求成功。從比賽第一天起你就不能鬆懈了。再也沒有什麼輕鬆把握的比賽﹐你要完全的

專注﹐沒像以前那麼簡單。

Q. When did you start that relationship, player/coach relationship? Why did you ultimately choose him?
MARAT SAFIN: Well, because I was here for one month and a half. I was getting really not really lonely,

but I need some help. I called him because he's the only person that I can that I know him for really

let's say '97. He been great to me throughout the years. I just ask him to come and just help me, just

to be able to understand me.
He's the one that I'm playing with tennis with him when I'm back in Moscow. He's like a sparring and he

understands. He feels me. That's why I took him. I ask him to help, and he flew over. He's here and he

helping me, wants to make sure that I'll be winning.
Q 什麼時候開始這種 球員/教練 的合作關係。為什麼最後選擇他呢
MS 因為我在這裡長達一個半月。我變得越來越孤單 (後來又就NOT REALLY.....)﹐總之我需要人幫我。我打電話給他

﹐因為他是我認識的人中唯一一個真的能幫我的﹐這些年來始終對我很好。我邀請他來幫我﹐來瞭解我的情況。他是我

在莫斯科時練球的對象﹐他瞭解我﹐也能感受我。所以我跟他同行。我請他幫忙﹐他便飛來這裡。他在我身旁幫我﹐要

確保我能贏球

Q. What is your opinion on Argentine tennis nowadays?
MARAT SAFIN: Well, great players. I mean, not great past with all the doping things and all the other

things around. But I'm not going to judge it. Everybody takes their own sensibility. Otherwise you have

a great school. You have great players, I don't know how many players in top hundred, but also a lot of

players that are coming from 100 to 200 and higher. Everybody's great. Everybody's working hard.
I think it's just coming from a great school. Keep it up.
Q 你覺得阿根廷網球的發展如何
MS 他們有很好的球手們。當然﹐過去的一些藥物醜聞及其他消息不是好事﹐不過我也不去評斷這些﹐每個人有他的想

法。除了這些﹐他們是一群很棒的球員(來自很好的學校或訓練)﹐我不清楚有多少是前100﹐但也有不少100-200名的球員在往上爬。每個人都很

棒﹐都很努力在訓練。他們有著很好的傳承﹐要延續下去。