- You have already stated in the press that the next match, in April with the French, we will play on the ground. Why? Is it only because in the final of 2002 we beat them precisely on the ground cover?
- With the French, in principle, it is difficult to choose a coating. By the way, we beat them three times in a row in the Davis Cup (twice more - in the women's team world championship and Federation Cup. - “Newspaper”), including twice on the ground and last year on a synthetic court in the city of Pau. So you need to focus not on coverage, but on the state of players, both Russian and French. As for the soil, April is already almost the summer season. The last tournament in Miami on Hard will be completed by then, moreover, a week will pass after it, and tennis players will be ready to switch to unpaved surfaces. At the same time, I think we will have three or four extra days of advantage for training on the ground compared to the French. But again, one must guess the composition of the French. And I can’t imagine who in Miami we (or they) will finish earlier.
- The choice of coverage in Davis Cup matches is always a big problem for the hosts. Chileans, for example, are generally considered to be mistaken in choosing the ground.
- They wanted to raise the level of their second number, Nicholas Massa, but he never brought a single point. And Fernando Gonzalez, if a faster coverage were chosen, could count on three victorious matches. Indeed, it’s difficult to choose. Especially when dealing with a rival like us or the French: with a large selection of diverse players.
- France is generally a much more serious rival than Chile, if only because the French are unpredictable.
- In terms of the general class of the game and the evenness of the composition, the French are more difficult, but Chile has its own advantages, and above all, in home matches: this is acclimatization and the venue of the match, where physical activity is much higher for the visiting team.
- The fact that Marat Safin and Igor Andreev became the heroes of the match in La Serena makes them the first numbers of the national team a priori?
- Again, the issue of coverage plays an important role. I wouldn’t say directly who our leader is in the team, because recent matches have shown that we have our own leader in every match. Depending on the conditions and environment of the team.
- Did not play against the Chileans Davydenko and Yuzhny return to the team?
- Undoubtedly. But I would not be in a hurry to talk about the composition.
- From today, we are hiding from the French, do not announce who we will play with, who will bet on?
- It's not that we are hiding, it’s just not really clear yet who we will bet on. Tursunov and Yuzhny flashed in a match with the USA. Tursunov paired with Argentina. Davydenko at one time survived the match in the Czech Republic, when Kafelnikov and Yuzhny fell ill, and Stepaneka defeated in their debut match. We won the same match of the last match of 2003, the first after winning the Davis Cup. Andreev won the fifth meeting with the French in 2005 and the same decisive now, in Chile.
“ And you only call random" shots. " And you can still list how many predictable successes - first of all, the victories of Safin, who generally plays great in the Davis Cup, then the successes of the same Davydenko.
- And Kafelnikov was dragging the team with us when he was the only world-class player. The results of the team are primarily determined by a good united team and the atmosphere that is around it.
- Do not you think that preparing for the Davis Cup match abroad, as it was in La Serena, is even easier for our team than in Moscow ?
- Still, it is more pleasant in Moscow, but it is better to prepare on the road. At home, alas, sometimes the training system itself is eroded, because everyone wants to come up, shake hands, pat on the shoulder, say that we will win anyway and will soon drink champagne for the victory. This in a way breaks the psyche. It is especially difficult for girls in games for the Federation Cup. When we were the clear favorites in the 2004 match with the French in Krylatskoye, I simply did not know what to do, how to make them seriously prepare and not believe that the victory was already in my pocket. In the end, we barely won. And on the road, when you are sick against you, the nervous system is mobilized, the spirit of contradiction arises, which allows you to solve one or another problem against all.
Alexander SHMURNOV, "Newspaper"