Thursday, June 6, 2002
M. SAFIN/S. Grosjean 6-3, 6-2, 6-2


Q. You seemed to be not feeling too well on the court today. Is that
a fact? You seemed to be suffering.

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: Yes, I felt a pain, and I couldn't push off on my
leg, it hurt. I'm going to have some tests done later on to see what's
happening.

Q. Is it the same problem as before or something else?

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: No, it's nearby. Since the beginning of the
tournament, I've been forcing. Today it was painful. It didn't hold well.

Q. At what time did you feel the pain?

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: At the beginning of the game. First it was just
a little, then got worse.

Q. But yesterday it was hurting more than usual, and this morning,
too, and you realized it was going to be more of a setback than for
other games?

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: Yes. The more I was playing, the more I was
hindered by the pain. I couldn't recover easily before the game.
Well, I didn't look after it well enough because I had to play.
But that's how it is. I'll try to improve things now.

Q. After the tests, in the very short-term, for the grass season,
will you be compromised?

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: I'll have the tests very soon. I won't play
next week, of course. But we'll see for Wimbledon.

Q. Despite the physical handicap, are you satisfied with your game here?

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: Well, at the beginning I didn't know whether
I was going to be able to carry on, but I managed. I played four
good matches. So it's a positive tournament all in all.

Q. What difference do you see between your Roland Garros
achievement this year and last year?

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: In the preparation, there was a difference.
Last year I had prepared very well because I was very fit. This
year it was completely different since I had to manage to play
with my injury. I didn't want to play too much, so that's already
one difference.

Q. Did you consider giving up?

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: Yes, I did. It hurt. I had difficulty moving.
I discussed it with my trainer. I watched the football games. I
wanted to carry on.

Q. Only at the beginning of the third set you felt maybe you were
going to stop?

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: No, in the middle of the second set because I
realized things weren't going well.

Q. Talking about the football match, did you watch it?

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: For 10 or 15 minutes.

Q. Wouldn't the best solution have been to interrupt the season
completely, give it up, not go to Wimbledon?

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: This is what I was saying. But at this stage,
I cannot say anything. I'm going to undergo the necessary tests
and we'll see.

Q. For two months you managed to maintain the Monte-Carlo points.
Same as Roland Garros last year. That was essential. This is why
you decided not to stop for two months?

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: No, it wasn't really the reason. It's because
I wanted to take part in tournaments I like. Monte-Carlo is fantastic.
Roland Garros, I like it, too. It's a desire to take part in those
games that really kept me going and postponing the rest time I needed.

Q. Do you know that the officials don't want the public to watch
the football games?

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: I didn't know that it was forbidden, but I
think it's good. Well, people come here to watch the tennis matches.
I think it's a good idea. Well, maybe the results are still shown
on the boards. I don't know.

Q. Were you surprised when you came in that there was -- the courts
were only half full?

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: Well, it's due to the schedules and the fact
that yesterday games couldn't be played. It's the result of circumstances.

Q. Was it not disappointing? The match was fairly cold, there was
no enthusiasm. Did you feel that?

SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: I got injured fairly early. In fact, I wasn't
very lucky. I think it would have been the same with or without a
lot of spectators.