We caught up with Marat over the week-end in Moscow just
before his departure to Barcelona.

We wanted to discuss his feeling regarding the beginning of the
clay court season.

Q. Hi Marat.
How do you feel and when are you leaving for Barcelona?

A. I'm feeling good. I feel like I have my energies back
after the disappointment in Monte Carlo.
I even thought about skipping Barcelona after my loss in
Monte Carlo because I felt completely drained of energies, but
the last few days at home have recharged my "batteries" again.

Q. What really happened during the match in Monte Carlo (Vliegen)?

A. I felt that I had full control of the match. However always after
winning a set 6-0 it is a dangerous position because you know that
the opponent is going to change his game and start to attack more
and play more aggressive and it is always important to try and
break in the second set in order to continue the momentum.
I didn't manage to get a break up in the second set and in the tie
break I had my chances (3 match points).
In the third set I was up a break but by that time it started to
get darker and the courts became very fast and I didn't manage to
capitalize my lead and lost my serve and lost the game.

Q. It must have been very disappointing?

A. It was one of my most disappointing losses because an easy match
turned into a very difficult one, and I was looking forward to
playing Nadal who is the "King" of clay and as I have never played
him before, I wanted to challenge myself by playing him.

Q. How do you re-group mentally after such a disappointment?

A. It's not easy as a lot of things were going through my mind but
with the support of Friends and my Team and with my experience I
decided to go home for a few days, clear my head and start all
over again.
Now I'm just trying to be competitive in all my matches and get
as many wins under my belt and to hope that my confidence
will return, and with that a good streak of wins.

Q. Who is going to be traveling with you to Barcelona?

A. My long time childhood friend Danny Gomez who I grew up with
together in Valencia, as well as my fitness coach, Miguel will
join me in Barcelona.
Sasha Volkov my coach, will most probably join me at the
Masters Series events in Rome and Hamburg and on to the French.

Q. What are your plans for the week after Barcelona?

A. I am not scheduled to play the week after and will probably go to
Valencia to practice and get ready for the Masters Series event.

Q. Going a step back to the Davis Cup tie against France, can you
explain to your fans exactly what happened during the tie and why
you were not playing the entire tie and then came up so brilliantly for the final and decisive rubber?

A. We have great depth in our Davis Cup Team and don't forget that I
had been traveling overseas sincere the trip to Chile. I was very
tired and the Captain decided to play the singles with two other
players and I was scheduled to play the doubles. I was also
suffering from serious blisters on my feet. This happens to me
sometimes when I change surfaces until I get adjusted to the new
surface.
A Davis Cup always has an element of surprises and when Davydenko
could not play the rubber on the last day and Andreev stepped in,
we were all sure that he would beat Grosjean and close the
tie. It was a risk, but don't forget that Youzhny was not fit for
the last rubber due to his tiring match on the first day and I
was not fit because of my blisters.
After Andreev lost and the score was 2-2 I was shocked that I
would have to play the decisive rubber in my condition, but like
always, in Davis Cup and especially playing in Russia with the
support of the great crowd, I put the pain and inconvenience
aside and really played a terrific game.

Q. How do you feel about the semi final tie against Germany?

A. Tommy Haas is in great shape this year and Germany has a very
in depth squad and a good doubles team, but I feel that in Moscow
most likely on clay courts again, we will be the favorite team
and will probably make the finals again for the second year in a
row.
I think this will be a tremendous achievement because many times
after a team wins Davis Cup there is a natural let down so if we
can make it again it will show that we have a team with very
positive character.
There is only one problem with reaching the finals again this
year!

Q. What is the problem?

A. It will mean that my vacation at the end of the year will be very
short again for the second year in a row!!!

Thank you so much for giving us of your time.
Have a successful trip to Spain.

Marat - thanks and regards to all my Fans