NASDAQ-100 OPEN

April 2, 2004

Guillermo Coria

GUILLERMO CORIA: I also won in Basel, indoor.

GUILLERMO CORIA: I'm working hard every day. Last year I had good results - quarters of Cincinnati, quarters of the US Open. But I feel it's great to be in a final here, in a big tournament like this on hard court, but I still feel I need to improve day by day.

GUILLERMO CORIA: We have been working more on attacking, getting to the net, keeping the points shorter. Of course that's the difference between the preparation between playing on clay and playing on hard.

GUILLERMO CORIA: When I go on court, I never give up. I will continue to fight throughout the match. The match is never over until I shake hands with the opponent.

GUILLERMO CORIA: Many times. They told me many times that. But if you look, Hewitt was twice year-end No. 1. If you look at the history, maybe you'll find smaller guys finishing No. 1 more often than the big, big ones.

GUILLERMO CORIA: I let it come in here (indicating one ear) and leave right there (indicating the other ear). I cannot change my physical attributes. I cannot stay home just because I'm small. I just worked hard. They must have told Grosjean and Clement the same thing various times, and they are great players. I'm sure the way I do things is the way they do things; they go out there and compete.

GUILLERMO CORIA: (I/He) went on court maybe a little too flat because it's very hard to play against a guy who doesn't give you any rhythm. Luckily, I was able to react early enough, at the right time, and start getting the balls a little deeper and move him a little more. But without any doubt, it's very hard to play someone who doesn't give you any rhythm like Fernando.

GUILLERMO CORIA: At first, I gave him good results, Fernando. I was missing a lot of the short balls. Once I got into the match, I think I felt pretty comfortable hitting those shots. But I hope Fernando doesn't ever learn that (laughter).

GUILLERMO CORIA: Either one is going to be a very tough match. It's a completely different matchup with those two guys. But with either one of them, it's going to be very hard. But I would like to have revenge against Roddick.

GUILLERMO CORIA: Well, I think it's not bad, it's not bad. I feel that maybe the Chileans give a little more importance to the rivalry, but especially in football. But the crowd was pretty good today.

GUILLERMO CORIA: Especially if I play with Roddick, I prefer to play five sets. It gives you more chances to come back in the match when you play five sets.

GUILLERMO CORIA: He's going to have to win every point. I'm going to fight very hard every point. Roddick is going to have to earn it. It was very important to win this match, to come back in this match. I feel pretty good about that. I also am still pretty hot about my loss against Roddick in Houston. But, also, I still think that Roddick has to go through a very tough opponent today, Spadea, since Spadea beat him in Scottsdale last month.

GUILLERMO CORIA: Well, he's a very good player. He can hit from both sides. He's very consistent. But the same thing - he's going to have to earn every single point because it's my first final here in a Masters Series on hard court, and I would love to take the title of a Masters Series hard court home.