PILOT PEN TENNIS

August 25, 2005

Fernando Verdasco

F. VERDASCO: Yeah, with love love then I make the first break in the third set and I have chances in the next two serves with his serve because I have break ball 15-40 then second serve and he make ace like 200 kilometers per hour. After he make good point and I have some chances to make the second break, but finally I didn't do it. And then with, I think 4-3 or something, he make me break back and then I start to play. I start to play not that good. He played so good. I have with 6-5, deuce, then I make two aces, very important for me. To have confidence to the tiebreak. After I think I would play so good the tiebreak in the third set to win the match.

F. VERDASCO: Yeah, he's a very big match, because I lost against him in Monte Carlo this year first round. It was clay, but for me it's very important, it's the same, you know, the -- whether it's clay or hard court, to have more confidence than I have now it's good, to win against him. He is a very tough player, on all the courts, for me it's very important to win this match.

F. VERDASCO: Yeah, he's very special match because like he said, we are like brothers and we know, I think ten years ago or more, and I practice like five years or four years with his father when I was young like 12 to 16 or something. We stay all the time together in the tournaments all the year, we play like the similar tournaments and, you know, I have a lot of confidence with his family and with him and we are, you know, very good friends, all the family. Tomorrow is quarterfinals of one tournament and then when you are on the court then you must win. It's the same with the opponent. Then in this time he's not your friend, you don't have friends and then you need to win the match. It's the same as if I play with another player. It's special. Always is special to play with one friend like this and I hope to win the best player tomorrow to stay in the semifinals.

F. VERDASCO: We have similar hobbies. Yesterday we go together to play golf like 10 minutes from here. We go to the cinema. We like very similar hobbies. I think that to do -- to have a friend like Feliciano you need to have similar hobbies like him because if you don't have the same ones then it's difficult to stay a lot of time with him, but we are good friends and then after we have the similar hobbies and we stay more time together.

F. VERDASCO: Yesterday, he won. I will take revenge tomorrow on the court. (Laughs).

F. VERDASCO: Yeah a lot of time because both of us from Real Madrid. He practices in Barcelona. He doesn't stay a lot of time in Madrid but when he comes if they are playing at home then we go to watch all the matches week can. In the tournaments too, you know, we are only two from Madrid. He's practicing in Barcelona but all his family is from Madrid and we are only two from Madrid then a lot of from Catalonia, from the Barcelona and Barcelona football club and we have a lot of conversations, you know, in all the Spanish players about the soccer and we are always together to against all the Barcelona players, but it's okay. Only joking.

F. VERDASCO: I don't know. There are a lot of good players like Barcelona. I think that in Barcelona it's easier to take one because Ronaldo (Ronaldho) it is one of best ones now in the world and from Barcelona I think is the best but in Madrid, I don't know, maybe Ronaldo (Ronaldho) is the more decisive player because he make a lot of goals and he can do unbelievable things, but he doesn't run a lot. He only wait for the ball and then go but he doesn't run down to take the ball but he's good.

F. VERDASCO: Always when there are a lot of Spanish players playing good and win matches then it's better for us and for me and for me it's good like all the Spanish players staying in quarterfinals, if there are three it's better than two and if there are two it's better than one. I am happy that Spanish -- Spain is one of the best countries in the world of tennis. -- I don't know -- we have a lot of players in the top 100.

F. VERDASCO: No. I am not because year by year I think the Spanish players are more complete in all the court. Maybe ten years ago they are only clay court players, or only a few that play well in hard court. Now there are more Feliciano, he's very good player, I think he's better in hard court or grass than clay. Ferrer semifinals in Miami, Nadel, you know, Ferrero he makes very good results in hard too. There are a lot of Spanish players now that he can make a good results in hard court.

F. VERDASCO: I don't know what -- because you know when I was young I practiced all my life in Madrid in hard court and after when I had start to play futures and challengers all those tournaments from Spain then it was all clay in Spain. But I think I can play same in one court like this than clay court, but fast, you know, I prefer clay court fast than clay court so slow because my forehand and my serve is better. I make -- when I serve and my forehand is more spin then it is better when the clay is fast and -- it's better for me and bad for the opponent. I don't know how to explain it. It's an advantage in clay court fast than slow.

F. VERDASCO: No, I feel good here. I played in my last tournament that was in clay court in Europe, Kitzbuhel and Stuttgart and Gstaad, but I played too the Championships of Spain and this year it was in hard court, I won. I feel good and then after Kitzbuhel I was like five days holidays in the beach and then I come back to practice in hard court in Madrid, but Madrid is very fast because there are like 700 meters altitude and the ball is very fast in Madrid. After you come here it's slower than Madrid. For me this is good because I feel better when I play, I have more time to hit the ball better.