INTERVIEWS

Round 3: Defeated Jens Knippschild.....6-4, 7-6(7-2), 6-3

Q. You looked like you were having at least some fun out there chasing the drop shot all the way down to the other end?
A. I am enjoying the way I am playing, so there is no reason not to have fun out there and it is beautiful to play, the temperature, it is fine.

Q. How are you feeling about your game? Can you just go through the match and tell us what your thoughts were on it?
A. Well, I think he started particularly well and he played a very good game from both sides, forehand and backhand, and pulled out great serves and I didn't know how he was playing and it took me a few games to figure out where his weaknesses were and I came back strong in the first set and then had an early break in the second, but he came back strong and then I played the tiebreaker, I served well in the tiebreak and being down three set points is probably pretty close, but my thoughts were already in the third set, I thought maybe I will get a set all, but then he made a few unforced errors, and the third set was more or less clear until 5/0 and then he started playing well again. I think it was a pretty solid performance and I am looking forward to the next match now.

Q. Were you at all concerned about the fact that he did have a number of break points against you and at 5/0 he then came back at you again. Were you at all concerned about your inability to end the match earlier?
A. No, not at all, but it is like first of all he had no pressure to play against me because of his goal, he has reached the qualifying and then winning two rounds, so I mean what does he have to lose, not much, and then being down even 5/0 in his third, he just went for the shots and mostly they go in when you play like that and so he just played awful well from 5/0 on when he hit winners and drop shots and all kind of good shots and there is not much you can do, just try to play steady and concentrate and focus on your game and that is what I did.

Q. You said in Bercy when you had to pull out of a match after one set that you had a recurrence of a problem with your left hip and that it was a bit like a recurrence of something you had as a child, you had to have it x-rayed. It sounded pretty serious at the time. Can you tell us what happened? Do you have the x-ray and what did it show?
A. It is still the same problem, but it is not a chronic injury and from time to time it is going to be better and then it is going to be worse again, but at the moment it is great. I took some time off and had some rehabilitation and it is good.

Q. So it is not worrying you at the moment?
A. No.

Q. There is no danger, long term danger of playing on?
A. Professional sport is not a healthy thing, you know, but we will see. So far so good.

Q. Have the doctors said that there may be long term repercussions later in life?
A. Well, professional tennis is not healthy and whatever you do on your body, your back and your hips and, I don't know, shoulders, elbows, whatever you use to play, I mean we know that once you get older that things start hurting, but that is the way it is. I mean we are using our body a lot and we are playing a lot, we are putting a lot of strains on the body so that is the price you pay for it.

Q. In Paris I got the feeling that it might have been career threatening. Did you ever get to that stage? Did you ever think --
A. I just said it is a pain which I suffered from when I was a child, it is coming from when I was a child and now it just sort of got worse and I had it before, but so far I have had not much of a problem. It is just at the end of the season I put a lot of stress on it playing indoors, so it comes from time to time.

Q. It is one thing, like you said, wear and tear that generally players have to put up with, but it can come back later in life, but it is another thing if a doctor has said to you that you have the hip, if you carry on playing with the hip in 20 years time it will be a major problem in terms of --
A. If I'd listened to doctors I would have stopped 15 years ago.

Q. Has any doctor advised you to stop playing?
A. Doctors would always advise you to take it easy, but if I would take it easy every time a doctor tell me I would be ranked still 600 in the world, probably.