He definitely has the talent. With that serve, the way he can rip his forehand, volley - he does everything well. I mean, this is the first time I've played him in a match, but he's a lot faster than I expected too…he moves so well for a big guy, and you know, he's been there before so I definitely wouldn't put it past him to do it again. I just hope I don't run into him when he's playing at that level. -James Blake 2004 Hopman Cup

For me, the best player in the world is Marat Safin because I think he can play well on all the surfaces and he has great potential. Jiri Novak

2003

It's hard, because he's so talented as a player that you can't worry too much and think too much what he's going to do. "Is he going to miss after four or five shots?" He can do that when he's in his best form, as well. It's all up to his mental stage. I think today it looked like he was hitting the ball pretty well. I mean, he was serving good. Not because I beat him, but it felt like that was probably his best match since he started. I mean, it is always hard to play him. But I was always trying to sort of more focus on my own thing because otherwise it's tough if you focus too much on what he's going to do. -Jonas Bjorkman 2003 Tennis Master Madrid

You are my god! When you play, I love to see you. When you loose, I am even sadder than when it is me. When you are wounded, I suffer. When you speak to me, I drink your words. When you come to see me playing, I am with the angels. I hate to hear or read something evil on you. I know that you are a worker and that you do all that you can to be number 1. For me, you have the greatest talent of all the players and I have not half of yours. The only thing that I have moreover than you, it is that I like working a bit more than you. I can do that during 24 hours per day, but it is not your case, I know that. In any way, if you do not train during 3 days, you are always also strong. Me, if I miss a training, I regress and I am unhappy. That makes me cry, as when I went to school with bad marks. I want to do everything perfectly. The approximation makes me crazy. -Dinara Safina, 2003 L'équipe Octobe.

I can't compare this with my other wins over Marat. That's not the real Marat out there. He's been hurt and is lacking in confidence. -Fabrice Santoro, 2003 Lyon.

Marat is very far from his best. It hurts me to see him like that. I think he will need a long time to get back to the top. - Fabrice Santoro, 2003 Lyon.

2002

"He's got a great backhand-one of the best in the world...He's very solid from the back court. He hits the ball very big and very deep and he's got that big serve that kind of sets it up for him. He's a powerful player, and mentally, at times, he can be fragile, but tonight he was strong. He kept his composure when he needed to and played a great match. But he's got a lot of talents and he's put it together this week."-Pete Sampras Australian Open 2002

If Marat plays as he can play, you know, some of the matches in the Australian Open like he did then, you know, then he's probably going to win. -Lleyton Hewitt, 2002 Nasdaq-100 Open.

Marat? I thought he played pretty well against Mark and then also well the other day. But who knows with him? He can blow anyone away on any given day, so... -Lleyton Hewitt, 2002 Nasdaq-100 Open.

Marat is a tough player to play because I feel like he's getting better and better at the areas that he's had slight weaknesses in, I think, since he's come on the tour. He's more aggressive. He comes to the net a lot more now. He's, you know, and I think he's becoming a more all-court player. You know, just really tough to find too many weaknesses in his game. I tried to hang in there. He played great in the first set. Wasn't much I could do about it. Second set, I feel like I lifted a couple of pegs. Third set was just tough. It's tough to try and serve it out because he didn't give me any cheap points at all. Against most guys, they push the ball around or go for the big shot. When he went for the big shot, you know, couple backhands up the line and hit clean winners. -Lleyton Hewitt, 2002 Nasdaq-100 Open.

He hit a couple of huge backhands up the line, as I said, then came up with a dive-volley to break me. That's the type of player he is. That's the talent and flair that he plays with. You just got to try and accept that. I was able to get my mind back on the job. I broke next game, lost my serve again. It's a good thing for me, you know, the positives that come out of it, even though a lot of players would get down after they served for a match twice. Yet I was able to get up and stay positive and guts it out and win in the breaker. -Lleyton Hewitt, 2002 Nasdaq-100 Open.

Oh, well, yeah, he's one of the best players in the world. There's no doubt about that. I don't think anyone here can disagree. He made the final of the Australian Open. It's nice that I can go out there and play against these kind of players, you know. Obviously, the Australian Open, I would have loved to have been playing him in the final. It wasn't to be, and I can't do much about it. But for me to match myself against a guy who's made the final of the Slam and made the semis of the one before at the US Open, so he's obviously up there, and, you know, when he is playing his best tennis, he's extremely hard to beat. -Lleyton Hewitt, 2002 Nasdaq-100 Open.

Marat, if he's on, as I said before, he's in the top one, two, three players in the world when he's on. We've seen that in matches like he beat Sampras at the Australian Open. I thought that was one of the most incredible matches I've seen. A guy plays -- you see it so many times with him, but he is still that little bit up and down. That's why he probably lost the Australian Open final. But, you know, it was really good to be part of it I think. -Lleyton Hewitt, 2002 Nasdaq-100 Open.

His forehand is as good as his backhand. His backhand is extremely good though. He can go either way. He's probably getting more and more consistent on it as well. We had a lot of, you know, a lot of backhand rallies just cross-court tonight waiting for -- sort of playing cat and mouse out there a little bit, waiting for who was going to go down the line first. I think he's becoming more and more consistent with it anyway. -Lleyton Hewitt, 2002 Nasdaq-100 Open.

I just sort of told myself, "Marat played too good in those two games." I said, you know, "It's 6-all. Now we're even." It's tough to put out of your mind for anyone. -Lleyton Hewitt, 2002 Nasdaq-100 Open.

He is among the best players in the world. It's not easy to play against such a player. -Richard Gasquet, 2002 Masters Series Monte Carlo.

But in the important moments, that kind of player always fights a lot. It was very difficult playing today. Especially if you're not at your best against such a player, you don't make many games. -Richard Gasquet, 2002 Masters Series Monte Carlo.

Usually I can read serves pretty well and all that. But such a player serves super well. I was able to read his serve, but it was still very difficult to return afterwards. -Richard Gasquet, 2002 Masters Series Monte Carlo.

You try to get a good percentage in there. You are going to mix it up with him because if you give him all one speed he's too good of a returner. You have to do a lot of work out there. You have to do a lot of running, a lot of scrapping and just be really patient. -Greg Rusedski, 2002 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, Cincinnati.

Well, I don't think he likes playing me particularly. I have a pretty good record against him, 4 and 1 something like that, career victories. So, it's hard to play a lefty who mixes it up a little bit with him, but he's a great player and you know, I think he has been pretty consistent this year. He's led the race most of the season this year as No. 2. So he's proved himself to be a good player. I would be pretty happy where he is right now. -Greg Rusedski, 2002 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, Cincinnati.

All he needs is one or two hits here or there and he's back so you have to stay on top of him. You can see him sometimes he will get very upset on the court but then all of a sudden -- I mean, I nearly got broken. I hadn't made one unforced error on the game where I was down 15-40. I hadn't -- he had hit two passing shot winners, one good approach shot and next thing you know I am down 15-40, so he does have that thing where it can go up-and-down a little bit but I think he is a lot better now. -Greg Rusedski, 2002 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, Cincinnati.

It was a great match, so we can talk about the great match. Good atmosphere outside, good spectators. I think it was very fair for both of us. It was just great to be out there. -Nicolas Kiefer, 2002 US Open.

It was nice that he came up, because we were playing for four and a half hours. We are also good friends out of the court. What can you say? He won't say, "Get up, one more point" (laughter). -Nicolas Kiefer, 2002 US Open.

Well, I think he also had tough weeks, but it's good to see his confidence is good. He's playing very good tennis and he's strong - as you can see - his serve. From the baseline, he's playing very aggressive. -Nicolas Kiefer, 2002 US Open.

Then after playing Marat, it was a little like I had nothing to lose, you know? In this situation he was much more favored than me. -Gustavo Kuerten, 2002 US Open.

It's tough to judge other guys. I don't like to talk about other guys' results or how playing. But I think he will be all the time a contender for every tournament. So that's because of the talent he has. So I'm sure he would be around for many years as far as he wants. -Gustavo Kuerten, 2002 US Open.

First of all, I thought I would save Fabrice for the doubles because I knew this match would be very tiring, especially if Safin was going to play. -Guy Forget French Captain, 2002 Davis Cup Final.

He (Guy Forget) said that I gave everything I had and that Safin was a great player today, he played a beautiful match, that's all. -Paul-Henri Mathieu, 2002 Davis Cup Final.

I think today he's the best player in the world. When he plays like that, it's a rollercoaster. I mean, today he played very well. If he hadn't played so well, maybe I would have had some opportunities, but I didn't have them today. -Paul-Henri Mathieu, 2002 Davis Cup Final.

I believe during the first match, Marat was a lot above Mathieu. He was moving well, he was hitting hard. I don't believe Mathieu has anything to regret. -Guy Forget French Captain, 2002 Davis Cup Final.

Marat was hitting very hard from the baseline. Mathieu was making some mistakes. He was playing too short. After, Marat started playing better and better. Marat was playing ping-pong standing on the table. Also Mathieu didn't serve well enough to win easily his service games. After, the trend turned completely in favor of Marat. In the end, Marat is a lot stronger. Against this level of player, Mathieu doesn't have enough cards in his hands. -Guy Forget French Captain, 2002 Davis Cup Final.

Against Marat, you have to try to mix it up a bit more. It's difficult to play only with your power. You have to mix it up, try to hit harder every time you can. His shots are very heavy, so you have to stick to the score and maybe sometimes he loses his concentration, misses one or two points, and this is the moment you have to take advantage of it. -Sébastien Grosjean, 2002 Davis Cup Final.

You know, Marat proved again, you know, that he's the best player on our team by winning the first point. - Yevgeny Kafelnikov, 2002 Davis Cup Final.

I think that the pressure will be totally on the French team's shoulder because they're defending champion and playing in their home crowd. That's first. Second of all, you know, me and Marat, we've been playing a big number of years on the tour. For us it's not unusual to play three matches in a Davis Cup tie, especially in the final. We know how to handle situations. We know how to put up with it, the physical pressure. You know, it all will come down to which team is mentally stronger. I don't think the physical factor will be playing any big role in the match. - Yevgeny Kafelnikov, 2002 Davis Cup Final.

When we cross people from the Russian delegation in the corridors, we can see they're completely different from us. But I believe maybe some of these people suffered more than we did. Maybe they are more careful. Marat Safin is a wonderful guy. You have to learn how he is, to learn to know him. But sometimes when the players are winning or losing, among them I didn't feel special emotions, whereas I was suffering in my seat. -Guy Forget French Captain, 2002 Davis Cup Final.

He was impressive with everything: service, returns, from the baseline, he was hitting off both sides. When he plays like that, he's very difficult to beat. -Sébastien Grosjean, 2002 Davis Cup Final.

But in difficult moments, he served very well, he played very well. When he's in this state of mind, he's able to beat anybody. I remember his match against Hewitt in Bercy. He's very difficult to destabilize in those cases. -Sébastien Grosjean, 2002 Davis Cup Final.

He was hitting hard from both sides. With this power, it's difficult to counterattack. -Sébastien Grosjean, 2002 Davis Cup Final.

I was really not far from bringing him to a fourth set. I don't think I have to be ashamed of this loss. I think he was very impressive. - Sébastien Grosjean, 2002 Davis Cup Final.

I think on fast surfaces, he beat No. 1 in the world in three straight sets. It's not a problem of surface really, it's just his level of game that was impressive during three days. The same during Bercy, on a different surface, fast surface. When Safin is confident, when he wants to play well, he can beat the best players in the world. Also Lleyton suffered from it in the finals in Bercy. - Sébastien Grosjean, 2002 Davis Cup Final.

I think both Safin and Youzhny were very strong mentally. It's more normal for Marat because he already won the US Open. But it's more surprising with Youzhny because he's young, like Paul-Henri, and he showed enormous mental qualities. Both of them were very strong in different aspects. - Guy Forget French Captain, 2002 Davis Cup Final.

For two sets, Marat was playing well. Sometimes I was watching Fabrice behind me. I was sort of thinking, "What can I say to Sebastien?" I couldn't see what he could do better. This is frustrating when you are on a court with a player who is playing well and it's not enough. What can you say more? It's a bit like a Formula 1 driver who has the best car, and he does his best round after round, he just has to expect an accident for the other ones. - Guy Forget French Captain, 2002 Davis Cup Final.

2001

But we played really nice matches, and I like to play against him because the matches are always close and there are so many interesting rallies and so many nice rallies, so that's why I play tennis, because of these rallies and this kind of game. And when I going to play Marat, I already know it's gonna be fight and it's gonna be nice game. -Dominik Hrbaty, 2001 Australian Open.

It's still a tough draw to play Marat in the first round, even if he's not serving a hundred percent. He can still move really well on the court. He hits very hard both on backhand and the forehand. -Thomas Johansson, 2001 Masters Series Indian Wells.

You never know because you always have on your mind that you are playing with one of the better players in the world right now. He's Top 5 in the world, and any way he's not serving great, but he has a great kick serve and it's very difficult, as this score shows, that you are playing well with big player. And the match, I think, was very difficult for me because he hits so hard from the back side, you know, and it was very difficult match. -Juan Barcells, 2001 Ericsson Open, Miami.

"He's catching, but he's young, you know. He has very good potential. He's a great player, and his potential is n°1. I assume he's doing to play a lot of matches, he's going to break other racquets. Is going to be big fight, you know. Depends how long I going to play, you know...I think he throws the racquets with emotions. That's how you should throw the racquet."Goran Ivanisevic

On Safin who's not playing well is worth ten times a Di Pasquale playing well. That's what I believe. I was very tense in the beginning. I played my forehands, short shots, good ones. I noticed that he was playing the same way at one stage, and I said, "I have to keep the ball in and see what is going to happen afterwards." I was very concentrated. It was not bad. It was even good. It's good to put on my curriculum vitae. It shows off. I mean, I can say, "I beat Safin." -Arnaud Di Pasquale, 2001 Tennis Masters Series Monte Carlo.

Of course, you never know what's going to come next. I think we are very similar. Me, too, also a little bit. So we get cross on the court if we're not happy with our games. We are disappointed when it's not going well; we are happy when it works well. I think we can both hit shots, like, you don't expect. So I think we have something similar. Of course Marat is, ranking-wise and result-wise, in a different league, but I hope I can catch up with him. - Roger Federer, 2001 Tennis Masters Series Rome.

Well, I mean of course not everything is similar because I play a one-handed backhand; he plays a two-handed. That changes a lot the game. I play much more slice, I try to mix up my game more. He's playing more flat from both sides, I try to use the slice, the spins. But I mean, I don't know, reaction-wise, if we play well or bad, it's pretty similar I mean.. - Roger Federer, 2001 Tennis Masters Series Rome.

Is going to be tough, interesting match. He is a great player. He's the one that I like on the tour, you know. Unpredictable. He can play great tennis, can play bad tennis, something like me. Hopefully he's going to be this bad Safin on Wednesday, you know, who's playing. But he improved a lot on grass. I saw him in Queen's start to serve and volley. He can play back. But I looking forward. Is a great match. A great opportunity for me to go even further. -Goran Ivanisevic, 2001 Wimbledon.

Yeah, he's a good friend. We have a same manager, you know. But hopefully I'm older. He has enough time to do well in Wimbledon. You know, he should give it to me this time. -Goran Ivanisevic, 2001 Wimbledon.

“He’s the prototype for the new generation of tennis players. That’s the body. If you could pick one, if you could design one...that is exactly the body that you want. Because he’s fast and he’s smooth, and he doesn’t move like a guy normally moves 6-4 on a tennis court. You see those guys who kind of lumber around. This guy, man... He’s a real natural” “If he could put it all together...who could stop this guy? On his best day, I don’t think there’s another guy who’s as good as he is...It’s really just a question of him putting it all together and keeping his head together. He’s young, there’s no reason he can’t have a beautiful career. It’s really gonna be in spite of himself if he does not.” Jim Courrier

I want to see Safin become the real deal. He is a great story. He comes out of a country where people have struggled for so long, is sponsored to go to Spain to learn the game, the language and the culture, he develops a sense of humor in three languages. He shows a lot of emotion on the court, a fantastic smile, he's a big, good-looking guy who plays in his first Grand Slam final and hardly misses a passing shot. Tennis has someone special and I hope it doesn't waste him.John McEnroe

Is not too much to say about Marat. Everybody knows his game. It's just when he's playing well, his game, everybody knows what he going to do. But it's still good, you know. We all know he's big server, he can hit every angle, better backhand than forehand, but forehand he's still not missing. -Yvan Ljubicic, 2001 US Open.

He finally put a lot of things back like racquet, these changes. He's healthy finally. I know that he going to be big again. Especially on that central court, he's probably feeling very confident because his biggest win in his career just happened there. - Yvan Ljubicic, 2001 US Open.

But today I play against one big guy, you know, like Marat Safin, he won last year and he's very good player. -Mariano Azabaleta, 2001 US Open.

Yeah, I think he play unbelievable today, no? He play, he serve good, he return very good. I think for that he won last year. And maybe he won this year, too. -Mariano Azabaleta, 2001 US Open.

In a Slam final, yes. Slam finals, that's where you have the most pressure. But as a young guy, and your first one, you don't really -- you're not sure, you know, what it all means. I was pretty much blown off the court last year. I mean, he was on fire and, you know, I wasn't quite that fresh in the legs. You just have to accept it. It was one of those days where everything he did was he was on and I wasn't quite there. But in a Slam final, you don't expect to play in the zone. It's youth. It's not feeling the pressure. But you just have to accept it. Last year, I just said, "Too good." - Pete Sampras, 2001 US Open.

Obviously, his game isn't quite as big as Safin when he's on. He (Hewitt) doesn't have quite the 130 mile-an-hour serve. -Pete Sampras, 2001 US Open.

But I think no matter what I -- how well I would have fought against Safin, the way he was playing, I think would have been tough to beat him anyway. -Pete Sampras, 2001 US Open.

And certainly Safin being the defending champion, he was going to be one of the threats. It's been a lot of hard work. -Pete Sampras, 2001 US Open.

Yeah, well I think last year was the first time I think it's ever happened that I couldn't do anything. And I feel like when I play most guys, if I'm playing well, I should come through. I think last year, no matter how well I played, because he possesses a very, very big game. Anyone that can serve 130 in the corners, there's not much you can do. The way he was returning and passing, I was a bit overwhelmed there. -Pete Sampras, 2001 US Open.

And I feel like, you know, playing these great players so early, emotionally, I looked at them like finals. And I was pumped up. I mean when I played Pat and Andre, now Marat, I was keyed up. This is what I play for, this is what I do all the training for, are for these moments. And that's where I'm at in my tennis. -Pete Sampras, 2001 US Open.

I mean, last year he just zoned against me. And it's just too good. You just have to accept it. -Pete Sampras, 2001 US Open.

2000

"With such charm, such a nonchalant smile, this guy is twice as dangerous... shortly he will eclipse Agassi if he continues this way... Never before has a Russian tennis player been so interesting as a personality." I’m hoping he will (fulfill his talent). It’d be big for the men’s game if he did. He’s a very smart guy.. he speaks a lot of languages. He’s obviously a great-looking young guy. If people could just make him understand... how big it would be for him to step up and play with the type of fire that a Hewitt plays with. It would be incredible for tennis. If he could embrace that even for a few years. Safin happens to be a very very intelligent young man. He speaks a number of languages, very quick on his feet. He's got it all. He's got the talent, he's got the looks, he's a very intelligent young guy. And he's got a sense of humour. John McEnroe

Marat is ten times more powerful than me. So if I want to play fast, he gonna be much better than me so I just have to mix my game and to make him think a little bit on the court. My strategy work pretty well. -Fabrice Santoro, 2000 Tennis Masters Series Cincinnati

According to me, the best player of the world is Marat Safin. He is able to push tennis to another dimension (another level). It is not normal that he loses against me.Fabrice Santoro

I think Marat, all his life, this type. I think Marat a little bit craziness. But he always play the same level, no, 5-4 in the tiebreak or 1-0 in the first set. He think he must concentrate in his tennis right now. I think more organized in his life. - Juan Carlos Ferrero, 2000 US Open.

Yeah, he went to go to Valencia in 14 years old. I know him from this 14 years old. I think it's six years, 14 to 20. I think it's a good friend for me because he has the same physical training in Valencia than me. I go so many times to Valencia for practice with him when we stayed there. I think is a good friend for me because I know him so much time. -Juan Carlos Ferrero, 2000 US Open.

I think it's not easy to have a strategy against Marat because he hits every ball, he goes for every shot. As soon as I get to the T line, he goes for it. -Nicolas Kiefer, 2000 US Open.

I knew that he goes for every shot. He has a great serve. I also knew that I have to serve very good because his serve is not easy to return. I know that I have a great return. Well, also with his serve, he's serving every time over 200 or 210. It's not easy. -Nicolas Kiefer, 2000 US Open.

Against Marat, there's nothing but to expect that. It's a little bit more like grass court tennis when you play Marat. You understand there's going to be some Love games on the other side of the net, but you also understand that if you hang in there, you might be able to create some opportunities for yourself. -Todd Martin, 2000 US Open.

He's an engaging personality, he's the type of male player this tour should promote and market better. And as you saw against Todd Martin, when things get tight, he's got more variety to his game than you may think. And we all know about the power, but this guy is one of the best and quickest athletes in the men's tennis tour. 6' 4, he covers a lot of ground and here, as he's learnt specifically and particularly in the last 6 months or so in his tennis career, is that he doesn't have to put holes in the court, put holes in his opponent; that he can mix it up, take something off it, god forbid, mix up the angles, play longer points. He's, as Mary said, advancing literally, by the week. I mean, I firmly believe the man you saw yesterday, Hewitt, or Safin, is going to be the number one player in the world in the next year.John McEnroe 2000 US Open

Well, just, you know, different games. You know, I served and volleyed a lot more. But Marat possesses a huge first serve, big second serve. Much different player. Stays back. Has a great backhand. Competes well. Hits the ball big off both sides. Me, I was more of a slasher and shot-maker. Marat is more of a baseliner, counter-puncher, but has a lot of power. -Pete Sampras, 2000 US Open.

Safin possesses a big serve. I need to get that back. You know, he's a powerful player. If you let him play, you give him high shots to the forehand or backhand, he'll crack it. I need to be a little bit more aggressive. With Lleyton, I can get away with a little bit. Safin will punish you much more. -Pete Sampras, 2000 US Open.

I think Marat matches up not too bad. He does return very well for such a big guy and does move very well. We all know the power that Marat generates from the baseline as well. He has a big serve, as well. -Lleyton Hewitt, 2000 US Open.

It's impressive to me that somebody can ignore what the environment is, what the situation is so well. You know, other guys, like Pete is very good when push comes to shove. But you can tell that he knows that push is coming to shove - not necessarily the knowledge of it, but he's aware, and he's focused on the fact that push has come to shove. With Marat, you know, he plays the first point of the match as loose as the last point of the match, breakpoints as loose as he plays 40-Love points. You know, you go out and practice with somebody, and everybody plays that way. Everybody basically hits a serve, takes a swing at a couple balls, and it's great. When we get into matches, that's when we see who's really -- who are really the tennis players and who are just those who hit the tennis ball. You know, so many opportunities that I had. I actually made good plays. It seemed as though he was laughing at me. (…)I don't think it's ignorance. I think he's able to ignore. I don't know if you can understand the separation I'm trying to make there. He's able to ignore that importance, the weight of that point, or he just executes under pressure better than most guys.(…) I don't think many very good players do. I think the guys who have that are simply guys who are knuckleheads and don't play well. But Marat, for as disappointed and dejected as he looks on the court at times, at least today, he was a hundred percent there. I know he taps out completely sometimes and goes away. There wasn't a bit of that today, despite being extremely upset at times. "All right, next point, things are fine." -Todd Martin, 2000 US Open.

I think against Marat, you have to really come and be on. You not only have to be focused and play the points the right way, but you need to also hit the shots, execute the shots. (…) But I actually think against Marat, (…) You need to bring everything you've got, mind and body. -Todd Martin, 2000 US Open.

I was pretty impressed with his discipline as far as playing from the back court. Once again, I don't know how much that is due to not being so threatened by my groundstrokes as he is against maybe some other guys. But, you know, I thought he went down the line well, and at good times, not just swing at the ball and see if it goes in type of swings. That's why I said what I did about him being able to hit, you know, just a pretty strong groundstroke and have it be a winner. He was hitting it to the right part of the court and hitting it accurately. -Todd Martin, 2000 US Open.

With Marat, I think he's so well-equipped physically and technically that he just has to go out and try physically sometimes to get through matches, where I think Yevgeny a lot of the times has to try physically and mentally. With as much as he plays, I don't believe he's capable of that all the time. You know, Marat proves that sometimes, too, but I think -- I also think that Marat's got better nerve and eventually will be a better tennis player than Yevgeny. -Todd Martin, 2000 US Open.

At one point, there was. I mean, I was trying everything against Marat. I mean, trying to chip-and-charge, stay back a little bit. Whatever I tried, he had the answers, he really did. I give him all the credit because he returned my serve and passed me just about as well as anyone. You know, I wasn't on top of my game, but I think he had a lot to do with it. I mean, he was serving huge. Really never had any impression on his service games. As a result, he was able to be pretty free on his return games. Hit a couple good passes to break me in the first and kind of steamrolled from there. You know, he was on. With his game, as big as he hits the ball, when he's on, he's very, very tough to beat. -Pete Sampras, 2000 US Open.

Well, like I said on the court, it reminded me of when I was 19 years old and steamrolled over Andre. I was steamrolled today by him. The only time he showed any nerves was the last game. But he hardly missed. I mean, he really -- I don't know how many errors he hit, but it seemed like he hardly missed a shot. You know, certainly if it's closer, one set all, maybe he'll miss a little bit. But he got off to a good lead and he grew with confidence. But he hardly missed a shot. -Pete Sampras, 2000 US Open.

He hardly missed. I mean, I was hoping, in this big match, that he might come out a little bit tight, miss a couple shots here or there. But he really didn't. You know, it will be a little bit more difficult next year for him. But the way he's playing, he's the future of the game. I think he's a good credit to the game because he's a nice guy and will represent the sport of tennis very well. -Pete Sampras, 2000 US Open.

I didn't feel old. I felt like I was standing next to a big dude (laughter). I was talking to Trabert. He goes, "He's a big man." I said, "Yeah, he's got a big game." - Pete Sampras, 2000 US Open.

It hasn't happened very often that I've been on a barrage of shots like that. I'm usually the one that's doing that. It's a bit of a humbling feeling to have someone play that well for that long. -Pete Sampras, 2000 US Open.

I mean, he's just more powerful, I think. He serves harder than I did at 19. Our games were different. I was more of a slasher coming in, serve-and-volleying more. You know, I think with Lleyton, they're the future of the game. Doesn't have very many holes. Moves well for a big guy. Got some great gets today. I mean, he's going to be a threat here. He's going to be a threat at the French, at Australia. The grass might be a struggle. But he's going to win many majors. -Pete Sampras, 2000 US Open.

I was doing the best I could to give them (the crowd) something to cheer about. But he had all the answers. I mean, I tried everything. He had a barrage of shots that I haven't seen in many, many years. -Pete Sampras, 2000 US Open.

He's going to be a marked man for the next year. Guys are going to be wanting to beat him even more now. But he'll handle it fine because his game is good. He'll back it up fine. You know, things will change, but I think he's got a good head on his shoulders. He'll handle it very well. -Pete Sampras, 2000 US Open.

He moved well. He's a big guy. He covers a lot of court. -Pete Sampras, 2000 US Open.

He came out swinging away, served huge. You know, the guy's got one of the biggest serves in the game, he really does. I mean, couldn't read it. Just has got a lot of power. -Pete Sampras, 2000 US Open.

I mean, the way he played today and played these two weeks, you know, he can be No. 1 for many, many years. Because of his game, he can play well on the clay, obviously; on the fast hard court; grass, he can do pretty well, I think. I mean, he can really be dominant because of his power. -Pete Sampras, 2000 US Open.

I mean, he's much more of a developed player than I was at 19. You know, he's done well at the French. He's been around, in the Top 10. I came from nowhere pretty much. You know, his game is just more developed than I was. I think he'll do very well. -Pete Sampras, 2000 US Open.

Oh, yeah. I mean, beating me the way he did, I mean, he's going to have an aura about him for the rest of the year and beyond. Being so dominant, playing so great in such a big match. But things will be different for him. Once you win that Grand Slam, you know, the pressure definitely is inflated a little bit. We all have experienced it. I think he'll handle it fine. But I'm sure he'll go through his lulls over his career. I think all in all, he's going to be in contention for Grand Slams forever. -Pete Sampras, 2000 US Open.

I mean, Marat is a lot more powerful. Lleyton has the quickness and the heart. It's two contrasting kind of personalities and styles. But, you know, it will be an interesting match if those guys ever play. -Pete Sampras, 2000 US Open.

I think he's a good enough player. You're 19, you win your first major, I think -- I mean, he's got great chances I think at all the Slams. Maybe Wimbledon might be the most difficult for him to win. But I think he can win any one of the majors. He's very physically gifted. He's very strong. He's improving all the time. You know, he really hasn't played that well indoors in his career, but he's getting better. You know, he's a great player. I'm sure it's not a one-off. - Greg Rusedski, 2000 Tennis Master Stuttgart.

He's a great player. He hits the ball very heavy off the ground. (…)I felt like against those top guys you only get sort of a point here and there where you've got to take it, you've got to take your opportunities. In the past I've pretty much been able to do that in the big matches. Occasionally you falter. I felt like I didn't come up with the big points out there today. -Lleyton Hewitt, 2000 Tennis Masters Cup, Lisbon.

Well, I think, as we've seen this year, especially at The Open, he's got the game. He's got the big serve. He's got the big weapons. In order to dominate consistently, you know, be No. 1 in the world for years, it takes a pretty good mental attitude. I think he has it, but it's definitely difficult, the demand of each week, the pressure is on you. It's a feeling I think we all, when we got to No. 1, felt. I felt it when I was 21, 22. I'm sure he'll go through his moments, but I think he's the future. He's one of the guys. It's hard to say if he'll dominate each year, but, he's got the game. - Pete Sampras, 2000 Tennis Masters Cup, Lisbon.

He has been known to be a little bit temperamental. That's the nature of his personality. I think that's just part of growing up. He's gotten better at that, but he had his moments today. You know, there's still plenty of time. He's only 20 years old, I believe. Look at his game, that's what you look at first, then you look at his mental side, which I think is still pretty strong. - Pete Sampras, 2000 Tennis Masters Cup, Lisbon.

What you do, you move, you try to stay in control of the points. If you're not, then you find a way to make him hit one more shot. (…) You can't play him short on purpose. He hits the ball too big. That's not my style of game. -Andre Agassi, 2000 Tennis Masters Cup, Lisbon.

You know, he still hits the ball well off both wings, he has a lot of power. He's 6'5" and moves great. He has a huge serve. I mean, the guy has weapons that can come together on different levels on any given day. -Andre Agassi, 2000 Tennis Masters Cup, Lisbon.

1999

I think Pete Sampras, of course, is a very good player, and sometimes he can play unbelievable tennis. The reason why he's six years in a row number one is because I think he's by far the mentally toughest player on the Tour. You cannot be six years in a row No. 1 on your talent only. I think mentally it's much -- the percentage is much higher of importance than the tennis. I think maybe he's still young and inexperienced. Yesterday he wins two tiebreakers, he can tough it out. But maybe he has a problem of doing it consistently for a whole tournament. I don't know if he's won a title yet, but maybe he needs a couple of those wins, that he maybe wins a title, that he believes he can do three, four, five, six matches in a row, that he can be mentally tough. I believe he can be mentally tough, but he has a letdown like this against me, and he had it last week also against Philippoussis. I think he just needs endurance in his mental toughness. I think he has it, but you need to have it match after match or at least you can have 10, 15 matches, one match a little bit less, but you cannot have one good match and one bad match. I think maybe that's the only thing he needs to improve. He hits the ball unbelievably hard. He's strong, physically very strong player. If he can be mentally tough, more consistent, then he can be easy Top 5. -Richard Krajicek, 1999 Lipton Championships, Key Biscayne

He's a very loose player. Once he's very confident, he just goes for all the shots. (…)He really can hit the ball well. -Boris Becker, 1999 Lipton Championships, Key Biscayne.

I mean, obviously against a caliber like Safin, my concentration, everything has to be at a very high level. -Boris Becker, 1999 Lipton Championships, Key Biscayne.

He has very raw power. I mean, you sometimes don't know how to use it yet properly. If he's able to use it in a proper way, he's a future No. 1. I haven't seen anybody hitting that hard from both wings for a long, long time. -Boris Becker, 1999 Lipton Championships, Key Biscayne.