Sourpuss

Day 13 - An interview with Ivan LjubicicFriday, June 9, 2006


Q. Was there anything that you were unhappy about with Rafael's play today? You looked a little bit unhappy with things at the end of the match.
IVAN LJUBICIC: Oh, no. I was just disappointed that I lost the match.
Q. You weren't worried about the amount of time he was taking between points?
IVAN LJUBICIC: That's not my issue. That's umpire's problem. I am surprised how much they let him do it, because, you know, they give him one time violation, but didn't seem like change something. I think the umpire should be more aggressive on that because it's ridiculous how much time he takes between points.
Q. He was only warned once.
IVAN LJUBICIC: My feeling is that the umpire does it just that he can say he did it and then, you know, nothing anymore, because it's not like something change after that. He just kept doing what he was doing.


Baby Bull
Day 13 - Interview with R.NadalFriday, June 9, 2006

Q. Obviously, Ljubicic is not a big fan of you because he said he would love that Federer beat you on Sunday.
RAFAEL NADAL: Okay. Is okay. I don't have any problem.

Q. Ljubicic said that it's ridiculous the amount of time you take in between points and that the umpire only warned you once because he had to do something. But then he let you do that, and he would love Federer to win and that everybody wants Federer to win.
RAFAEL NADAL: Is that what he said, that everybody wants Federer to win? Well, great. Great. That's not a problem, you know. Everybody is free to say whatever they want. They'll make friends in the course.
No, I know that everybody does not want Federer to win. I know that. You've got to learn to control yourself when you lose a match, not after you lose a match you can just go about saying anything. I get on well with Ljubicic. I don't want to lose that good relationship with him. I don't think that will be the case.
Now I think that we'll have to put pressure on the umpires so that he puts pressure on me if there's a problem with time. The umpire maybe didn't manage the situation properly, because I was going much faster than the other days. Carlos Costa said, "C'mon, Rafa," when his coach was also calling.
I don't know, you know. Each person does what they want. I realize that there are a lot of people who want me to win, and I'm very relaxed and I'm playing well. I've been on the circuit for many years, probably more than him, and I've never had any problems with anybody. I've always behaved properly. So I'll go on behaving the way I behave, and I'm very happy the way I relate to other people. I also get on very well with all the umpires, so maybe, I don't know, he just had something against me this one.
I'm just relaxed, just as relaxed as I've always been. That sort of statement doesn't really affect me. I have never spoken badly about him. I thought he was a nice guy, and so all I'm saying is that, you know, when you lose, you've got to control yourself and not just go on to say anything. That's what I try to do when I lose, you know, just keep under control.

Q. Do you still play with your PlayStation? I've seen this is something that you do.
RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, I play from time to time, you know. When I've got a bit of free time in my hotel room, I play, yeah, my PlayStation.
I can see that some players drop out, so you've got to end up playing on your own. It's a bit complicated.

Q. If you don't have rivals to play PlayStation with, maybe you can ask Federer to play with you?
RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know whether I will go that far (smiling).
But, nah, I don't think so. I don't think he can beat me in the PlayStation. I don't think he trains enough for that.

:P