ROLEX PARIS MASTERS

November 2, 2020

Feliciano Lopez

Press Conference

F. LOPEZ/F. Krajinovic

7-6, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Tell me about the match today. Was the tiebreak the key to the match?

FELICIANO LOPEZ: For sure (smiling). It was a very crazy match, I have to say. It was crazy.

I started very bad. I had a very tough start of the match, losing my serve with three double faults. I managed somehow to come back and go into the breaker.

Then it was over. I think I was 5-0 down, and a lot of things just happened sometimes. And I was a little bit lucky, I have to say, during this tiebreak.

And then I think it was very tough for him to handle, you know, the situation after losing that set that he was only one point away a few times to win it.

Q. Next year, what sort of schedule do you think you will play next year?

FELICIANO LOPEZ: I'm ready to play full schedule again. I feel great on the court.

As soon as I'm physically ready, I think I can still compete. I feel good, and especially on these courts, indoor, grass, hard courts where I feel more comfortable, I think I'm still able to perform and to enjoy and to play against the best players in the world.

As soon as I'm able to do that, I will continue playing. It will be a very special year, because my wife is giving birth by either December or January, first week of January. This is the due date.

So I'm planning to play full schedule as I was planning to play this year (smiling).

So this is the idea, and we will see. Step by step. But for now this is what I want to do.

Q. You feel comfortable with it, with your job as tournament director? Did you think it helps you in your job to be still playing and playing against, mixing with other players?

FELICIANO LOPEZ: It is very challenging, because it's something I was not used to do in the past, so there is a lot of things that I'm learning.

I was able to see tennis on the other side, and it's really interesting for me as a person, you know. I think it's a big challenge for me to be there, to learn a lot of things.

So far I'm so happy with my job as a tournament director. I think it's a great opportunity that was given to me a few years ago, and, yeah, I'm really enjoying, no?

But it is really challenging, of course, because it's very difficult sometimes to focus on things that you never heard of sometimes, and you have to be ready for so many things that -- it's a process, you know.

But so far I'm so happy. It's a great event in my city, Madrid, and, yeah, I think it's a great opportunity. I'm really enjoying this process (smiling).

Q. At the moment prize money has dropped a lot in most tournaments. How long do you feel it will be like this in tennis? Do you think things will eventually move back, or is this completely new normal?

FELICIANO LOPEZ: I didn't hear the first part of the question, sorry.

Q. Prize money has dropped in tennis, and do you think, like, things will...

FELICIANO LOPEZ: I want to be clear. I think this is what we -- this is the best we can have right now. We have to be aware of the situation that the world is living and how everyone is facing these challenging times around the world.

Yeah, the prize money had a significant reduction, of course, but it will be the same I think for beginning of 2021, because I don't see the virus, you know, going, you know, away. It's gonna stay there for a while, I think, until they find a vaccine.

So for now I don't see any hope on prize money. I think it will stay the same for a while. Yeah, I think the players will have to accept that this is the situation that we have to live with and to appreciate also the huge effort that the tournaments are doing in order to deliver the events, because I know how difficult it is right now to find sponsors and to have this help from governments, private companies and stuff.

So, yeah, it's going to be like this for a while, and hopefully by about, I don't know, middle of next year the pandemic is going to get better and everything is going to get back to normal.

But for now I think we have to stay strong together, stay united and hope for the best, because this is not only tennis. It's a problem that is affecting every single person in the world. People are dying, you know. And especially in Spain where we are suffering, you know.

I think it's fair to say that we are very fortunate and we are very lucky. First of all, we are able to play, and of course we have a significant reduction in the prize money. But, yeah, I think it will stay the same. It has to stay the same, because the tournaments, they cannot do better, you know. This is what it is right now.