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On the Marc : Interview with Marc RossetMarc Rosset of Switzerland recently launched a terrific website, detailing his great career. The 30-year-old has won over 400 matches since turning pro in 1988. He has defeated top pros Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, and Jim Courier, and finished 11 of the past 12 years ranked inside the top 45. In 2000, he won two tournaments, Marseille and London, in February, and finished the year at No. 28.

Rosset is probably best known for his height (6'7"), his Olympic triumph, and his decision to postpone a fatal flight. In 1992, he captured the gold medal at the Barcelona Games, besting Spain's Jordi Arrese in the final match. Seven years later, he changed his flight plans after his first-round U.S. Open loss, and luckily wasn't a passenger on the tragic Swiss Air Flight 111, which crashed in the Atlantic Ocean killing all aboard.

For many years, Rosset was a stalwart of the Swiss Davis Cup team, but recently has refused to play for his country. He writes in depth about his rift with the Swiss Federation on his website.
 

Rosset answered rowztennis.com's questions after a heartbreaking first-round doubles loss at the Australian Open. He and partner Andrea Gaudenzi fell to Wayne Ferreira and Yevgeny Kafelnikov, losing 10-8 in the final set.

We found out about Rosset's 2001 doubles plans, what it's like to face your best friend on court and how he rates fellow Swiss player Roger Federer's game.

 Marc Rosset
Marc Rosset RowZTennis: Your new website is really, really thorough and fantastic. How involved were you in developing it? What can we expect from www.marcrosset.com in upcoming months?

Marc Rosset: I was more of an idea person. Most of the work was done by my new sponsors at Umbrella Media in London, in collaboration with my agent at SMS. However, I will be contributing articles to my site as well as to tennis.net and will make sure it always represents me and my ideas. Also the people at tennis.net will make sure it's always up-to-date.


RZT: You've posted wins over Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and many other top players. Who has been your most difficult opponent? Why?

MR: No match is really easy. The competition on the ATP is so fierce that you can no longer go out there and just play. It takes a lot of work, energy and concentration. It's great though, as spectators can go to any court at an ATP event and be sure to see a great match at any given time.


RZT: Surface specialists are rampant on the ATP. Why does your game translate so well to all surfaces?

MR: My game doesn't really translate well to all surfaces, it's more efficient on fast surfaces. I like to play tennis a lot though, so I just try hard on all surfaces and it seems to have worked out. Most of my success has come on fast surfaces though.

Goran Ivanisevic RZT: You've faced best friend Goran Ivanisevic 15 times. Is it difficult to play against your friends?

MC: Yes. Because you have to forget your friendship for the period you're playing. But really, you want to win every match, so you play hard all the time.


RZT: Tennis journalists have recently suggested that Ivanisevic should retire. What do you think? How would you approach the possibility of retirement?

MR: Goran is my best friend on tour and he's still a world class tennis player, so I don't want him to retire! I would miss him terribly. Retirement? My own retirement? I don't approach it; it will end up approaching me someday. That's soon enough.

Roger Federer RZT: Fellow Swiss player Roger Federer is one of our favorite up-and-comers. How would you rate his game and future?

MC: He's got the game to go very far and to win Grand Slams. Now it's up to him to see what he makes of it. He's one of the most talented players of all times, that's for sure.


RZT: For much of your career, you've been the icon of Swiss tennis. Has the arrival of George Bastl and Roger Federer lessened some of the pressure on you?

MR: In a way, yes. We've had Martina for a while though, so tennis in Switzerland wasn't just about me. Men's tennis is looking great now in Switzerland. Roger is one of the biggest talents, George is working his way up, Ivo Heuberger qualified and won a round here in Australia, Kratochvil is in round three and Manta will hopefully play well again when he's completely healthy again. Also we have two good younger guys in Roman Valent and Michael Lammer.


RZT: What are your plans regarding Davis Cup now? Has anything changed?

MR: No, not really. I have certain principles I believe in and at the moment they keep me for playing tennis in a federation, which goes against those principles.


RZT: For mortals, it's tough to imagine winning an Olympic gold medal. What was your 1992 Barcelona experience like?

MR: It's difficult to describe. When you are in that environment at the Olympics you see all these great athletes all over the place and you suddenly realize that you are one of them. And then you go on to win... it's very impressive. I loved the whole experience in Barcelona, even the housing, which was very spartanic....


RZT: The ATP Players Council is a bit of a mystery for tennis fans. What are the Council's responsibilities? What do you do on the Council?

MR: We represent players from different categories, for example singles 11 - 25 ESP [Entry System] and so on. We discuss and decide on their behalf of all issues regarding the ATP and the players. There is an equivalent for the tournaments called Tournament Council and on top of the two is the Tour Board, which makes the final decisions as it consists of both representatives of the players and the tournaments.


RZT: Why did you start playing tennis? Who were your favorite tennis players growing up?

MR: My parents and my older brother Eric played tennis, so I just tagged along. There were a lot of players. I liked [Bjorn] Borg.


RZT: What are your goals for 2001? How often will you play doubles this season?

MR: I want to be able to compete on the highest possible level. I want to stay in the Top-30. I will play doubles as much as I can, it all depends if I can get in, though. My doubles ESP isn't that great.


RZT: What is your favorite tournament to play? Why?

MR: Gstaad. Because I feel at home there. And French Open because I love Paris.


RZT: We're both trying to improve our serves. Any tips?

MR: Come to Switzerland, and we'll work on it together.


RZT: What is the goal of the Marc Rosset Kids Foundation?

MR: Sometime late this year we want to start a grassroots program for tennis in Switzerland. We'll keep you up-to-date on www.marcrosset.com.


RZT: Is there anything your fans don't know about you, but should?

MR: Maybe that I'm playing my second round match here at the Australian Open tomorrow (Thursday). I play Carlos Moya second match after 10 a.m. Melbourne time (6 p.m. EST, on Wednesday) on Show-Court 3 and I need everyone's support!


Don't forget to check out www.marcrosset.com! A special thank you to Marc Rosset for the interview. We appreciate Claudio Hermenjat of SMS Sports Management Services and his efforts in arranging the interview.