Interview with Benjamin Becker at Gerry Weber Open
Interview with Benjamin Becker at Gerry Weber Open | 
Q: I guess you are quite satisfied with your first performance on grass?
BECKER: Yes, of course, winning in straight sets on grass in the first round is the way you imagine it before coming here. So, I can be satisfied.
Q: So, how do you sleep with a half started match?
BECKER: It was not the first time and the score wasn’t 5-5 or 6-6. It was at the beginning of the match. Actually, I was glad that we didn’t play another twenty minutes before it rained again. At 2-1 it is like starting a new match.
Q: Did you know him well?
BECKER: Yes, we practiced together last week. Sometimes he practices in Germany. And I knew that my coach knew him well because he hat practiced with Rainer several times. So, we knew him.
Q: Have you gotten over Paris or the clay court season in general?
BECKER: I wasn’t that unhappy with the clay court season. I didn’t have that high expectations anyway. I was happy with how things went at the big tournaments, Monte Carlo and Madrid where I won a few rounds. In Paris I could not really keep up the performance but that is past. I am looking forward to the rest of the season now.
Q: What are your goals for the grass court season. Last year you made the quarters here and won s’Hertogenbosch?
BECKER: I didn’t really set any goals because I have already been playing well during the first half of the year and collected a few points. So I have a cushion now and don’t need to collect so many points. I know that I didn’t play that well last year during the second half of the year but saved myself a little at the beginning of the year through my successes in Miami for instance or my successes on clay. So, I’m quite relaxed. I am looking forward to the three, four weeks on grass now and intend to play as good as last year.
Last year, I won s’Hertogenbosch when I had a lot of self-confidence by winning Challengers. Before Holland I had won a few Challengers. But, of course, it was a huge success to win my first ATP title. I was quite disappointed after my loss in the quarters against Rochus here and didn’t really have high expectations when I went to Holland. I had to play quails the next day. On top it started raining but I fought my way through and was quite relaxed. It is like a little milestone to know that you can play eight or nine days in a row and keep your level.
Q: Now Davydenko will be waiting for you. What do you think?
BECKER: Of course, it’s a huge task, that’s for sure. He didn’t play that much the past months. But he played really well yesterday. I watched his match. For sure he got some good preparation. He is very smart, didn’t start too early. I think he is fit. Tomorrow, I have to take the best out of me in order to have a chance against him.
Q: But is it good to play him so early in the tournament? It’s his second match?
BECKER: Yes, the earlier the better. It is said that it’s easier to beat the big players in the first rounds than later when they are already in the tournament and have found their rhythm. Maybe the chances will be a bit bigger.
—From the press conference with Benjamin Becker following his 6-4, 6-2 victory over Mikhail Ledovskikh at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle.
Topics: Benjamin Becker, Challengers, Clay Court, Few Rounds, First Performance, Gerry Weber Open, Grass Court, High Expectations, Holland, Madrid, Monte Carlo, Quarters, Rainer, S Hertogenbosch, Second Half, Self Confidence, Several Times, Straight Sets, Successes, Twenty Minutes
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