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MUTUA MADRID OPEN

May 12, 2017

Pablo Cuevas

Madrid, Spain

P. CUEVAS/A. Zverev

3-6, 6-0, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions in Spanish, please.

Q. It's the first time you made it to the semifinals in a Masters 1000 event. What are you expecting from either Thiem or Coric? Which one suits your tennis better?
PABLO CUEVAS: Well, first of all, I'm very happy being able to make it to my first semifinals in an event like this one. I was doing things pretty well during this season.

From the three previous events, I managed to make it to the quarterfinals. I nearly made it to the semifinals in those events, too. This is the third time where I finally managed to make it to the semifinals.

I think I'm playing, especially the last two matches, very good tennis. I have a very good level. In the semifinals, whoever I face, Coric or Thiem, both are excellent players. If they make it to the semifinals, it's because they have adapted well to the conditions here.

Really I don't prefer one or the other. Either of them is going to be a very tough match. I have to be ready for that. I have to play my tennis.

As I said, in my last two matches, that's what I've been doing. I've been very calm. That's what I've been doing in these past two matches. I just have to worry -- not to worry. I have to be focused on my side. That's all I have to do tomorrow.

Q. After the start of the season that you've had, being able to make it here to the semifinals, do you think you're in the best moment of your professional career?
PABLO CUEVAS: Well, somehow the season was a little bit irregular. It's true that the Masters 1000s, in one of them I lost in the first round, in the other three I did quite well.

In Australia and South America, I did well. In Rio de Janeiro, I was defending the title. I didn't have a good start back there.

In these last two years, I was pursuing a different calendar to what I'd been doing the previous years, trying to be ready for the Masters 1000s, to be able to sit here in this chair and make it to the semifinals. I'm glad for that evolution that I have experienced and the year that I've had.

Q. What do you think of the point that will be perhaps the best of the year? I don't know if you practiced it. We saw you out there making a really good shot.
PABLO CUEVAS: Well, I don't know. I mean, I don't practice it very often. It was just a last-minute thing that I hit. I thought it would work.

Very few times you do a great volley. Normally I never try that shot. Today I tried that shot. I thought I hit the ball pretty well. When I looked that I placed it in a good place in the court, I'm happy for that.

Q. You made it to the semifinals. Next round you don't face Djokovic or Nadal. It might be Thiem or Coric. Do you think that is a big opportunity for you to make it to the final?
PABLO CUEVAS: As I said before, I think no matter the names of the opponents, I think anybody that makes it to the semifinal, it's because at least this week they're doing really well.

The ones you named, Djokovic is still there, Rafa is still there. I don't know if you named another one. Well, Murray is not there.

I think it's an opportunity, yes, because I made it to a semifinal, no matter who I have on the other side of the court. I also know it's going to be a very tough match.

I'm not seeing it as the last opportunity. It's my first opportunity, but I don't see it as the last opportunity.

No matter who I have on the other side of the court, I'm happy to be in a final, because that would be great. No matter who I play, I think I always have chances. I'm going to try to go out there, to give my 100%, and make it to the final. That's what I'm going to try to do tomorrow.

Q. You had a knee injury in your career. How did it change your career after that injury? What does it mean to you to be in a semifinal after that injury? Are you stronger after that?
PABLO CUEVAS: Well, yeah, it's more than three years since that injury where I was two years without playing. I had two surgeries on my knee.

Well, of course I think it's not good to be two years out of the circuit. Given that it's bad news, I learned that you not only train when you're inside the court, you can also train outside of the courts. Especially in a sport like this one, which is very mental, very psychological, you have to stay strong.

Perhaps it was at an age that I took the advantage of the time off the court to mature a little bit more. I also learned to minimize when something is not right, either an injury or something mental.

If you're not doing things as you want, I don't get so mad about those things. When things are good, I take the positive things out of those situations.

Q. Was it your goal to make it to the semifinals in tournaments like this one?
PABLO CUEVAS: As I said, it's not the first year that I've been planning this. The last two seasons I have already been planning making it through in the Masters 1000. I finished in the top 30. That was one of my goals.

Especially the first year when I came back, I had a little bit of pressure that I wasn't able to handle in the best way. I would make it to these tournaments, and I wasn't playing at my best level. Perhaps I was beating good opponents, but it wasn't very regular. I was doing it in smaller tournaments.

This is the third year in a row where I have more or less the same goals. Of course, experience is a plus. It helps me quite a lot because now I face those situations in different ways.

This year I lost two times in quarterfinals. As I said, I was very close to making it to the semifinals. Today I was much more calm with the situation I had in the match. Now I know how to relieve my mind, not to have doubts. Then it might work or not. I know how to stay calm and to pursue my goals.

Q. Talking about age, you're 31. Rafa is going to turn 31. Federer, we're seeing his performance this year. I want to know what you think about the age. Years ago when a tennis player made it into his 30s, it seemed like he was finished, except for Andre Agassi.
PABLO CUEVAS: I think things have changed quite a lot. I think that the physical preparation is completely different to what it used to be back in the day. A lot of players have physiotherapists on their team that help them. I would say the top 30 players have physios on their team. That helps quite a lot because that way you can have a longer life inside the sport, inside the circuit.

For a guy that's in his 30s who is playing well, he has a lot of experience, so he's going to do it well. For the younger players, it's tougher. People above their 30s just stay there, stay at the top of the rankings. It's making it tough for the younger players.

Q. Talking again about today's match. You were behind in the score 6-3, then you won six games in a row. Do you think the crowd was behind you? Did they help you in any way?
PABLO CUEVAS: In general I felt very comfortable in this tournament from the very beginning, from the first round. Today I was comfortable. Yesterday I was comfortable, too. Today we had the Spanish crowd.

Apart from that I also saw some flags from Uruguay. There were a couple sportsmen from Uruguay, two of which I was with them in the Olympic Games. Also Alejandro Foglia, from sailing, and Martin Melconian, who is a swimmer. Also Godin, he was there. I felt support and very comfortable playing here.

It's good to feel the support of the people. Of course, that's very good.

Q. You were born in Argentina. You have been living a long time in Argentina. Do you feel half Argentinian and half Uruguayan?
PABLO CUEVAS: My dad is from Argentina. My mom is from Uruguay. I always played tennis for Uruguay. When I was small, I lived in Uruguay.

It's true that for 10 years I've lived in Argentina because it is much better for tennis, for training. In Uruguay we almost have no tennis players. That's the reason why I spend so much time in Argentina. But I feel 100% Uruguayan.

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