Wednesday, 2 July 2008
Marat Safin def. Feliciano Lopez 3-6, 7-5, 7-6, 6-3 Q. You've beat him four times before. He managed only once to beat you. What was the difference this time? FELICIANO LÓPEZ: Well, he was the better player today than me, than the other times we played. I think after losing the second set I really went down, no? I lost all my confidence and he start to play better and better. That's probably the reason that he won the match. Q. When he played against you, has he ever bean up to this level, or that was the best tennis he showed in matches against you? FELICIANO LÓPEZ: I think, no, the best match we played I think was in Madrid. He also beat me. He was playing I think his best tennis at this moment. He won that tournament after and he won Paris, also straight. So I think he was playing a little bit better. But, anyway, Marat is playing very good now. Q. Do you practice with him when he's in Spain? Have you ever been hitting partners? FELICIANO LÓPEZ: Not much because he's in Valencia and I am in Barcelona or Madrid. But we hit sometimes in the tournaments. Q. How big a chance do you give him to go all the way? FELICIANO LÓPEZ: It's tough to say. Against Roger, is the king of the grass. Is difficult to predict what is going to happen, but of course he's going to have chances, no? If he plays good, he's gonna have chances. But, of course, Roger is the favorite, no? Q. Before the rain delay he seemed to be getting very frustrated. How did that help you? FELICIANO LÓPEZ: After the rain? Q. Before the rain you were much stronger. He came back after the rain much calmer. Did that affect your game? FELICIANO LÓPEZ: We came back 5-2 in the first and I still won the first set. In the second set I was playing okay until the end. After losing the tiebreak in the second, then I start to play bad, no? But I don't think it was because of the rain. Q. Did he surprise you in any way, or it was just your poor game? FELICIANO LÓPEZ: No. Q. Did he surprise you with coming in a bit more? FELICIANO LÓPEZ: I'm not surprised. Marat is a great player, no? He was No. 1 in the world, I think. Why I have to be surprised? Q. Did he offer something new that you couldn't handle? FELICIANO LÓPEZ: No, no. He played his game and that's all. I don't think he did something different today.
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