April 15, 2002
TENNIS MASTERS SERIES
Monte-Carlo, Monaco
H. ARAZI/A. Clement

6-3, 6-3

An Interview With:

HICHAM ARAZI
THE MODERATOR: First question, please.

Q. I suppose you are satisfied with your match?
HICHAM ARAZI: I am satisfied because I managed to win,
but I am not very pleased with my game. Maybe it was because it was
the first round. And
with the result I had last year, I felt some pressure. I have points
to defend, especially since those I won in the beginning of the season
have not been
wonderful.
Arnaud himself did not play a super match. He is in
exactly the same situation I am - he is looking for wins and
confidence.
I am happy I pulled out of that match that way. I
succeeded in remaining calm and playing until the last point although
today my level of game was not
present.

Q. Is it always special for you to play against a French
player, or are you used to it now?
HICHAM ARAZI: It's easier to play a Frenchman than a
Moroccan player, like last week in Casablanca. With Arnaud, we know
each other in the
tournaments. It's not as if I had played against Karim - we are
always together, we spend holidays together, we are closer to each
other.

Q. You said you were not satisfied and you lacked
confidence. Maybe there are some precise parts of your game you can
improve to go further?
HICHAM ARAZI: No, it's mainly a matter of confidence.
When you go on to the court with pressure ? although the day before I
felt the ball well ?
then the match is totally different. You have heavy legs, you ask
yourself 10,000 questions in one minute.
After this match I'm going to feel less pressure and I
will be able, I hope, to play as well as during practice.

Q. Do you have any particular objectives in this
tournament, or are you just happy to get your legs going to start off
and see what the rest of the clay
court season will be?
HICHAM ARAZI: Yes, I hope I will win a few tournaments
and not only a few matches. This week my first objective was to go
beyond the first round
and try to improve the quality of my game in order to be back to the
level I had last year. It can be here in Monte?Carlo or in the later
tournaments in the
year. Then results will come very simply.

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