TMS MONTE CARLO

April 20, 2003

Guillermo Coria

GUILLERMO CORIA: Yes, of course I can't say otherwise. I couldn't say no, because he was really above me. But what happened is the weather affected me a lot. It was not like the other matches. The court was harder, and I was not able to relax properly. Also, my shots didn't come out well for some reason. He took advantage of that, and he never let go.

GUILLERMO CORIA: It might be true, but today the ball was very heavy and the court was not as fast as yesterday. I was not feeling like the other days on the court. I was tense when I stepped on the court, because we had to wait, we didn't know when we were going to play and everything. Also, I was playing very short shots and he took advantage of those shots. I was not feeling good on the court today.

GUILLERMO CORIA: I know the final is the most important match, but it had nothing to do with the fact that it was a final. It was a problem of waiting. I was even thinking we were going to play tomorrow, so I was not really ready. But you learn a lot after those experiences, and in spite of my loss today I still am happy because I believe I had a very good week.

GUILLERMO CORIA: Well, I saw he was extremely professional. He played very well from the start of the match. Since I was not feeling well, as I said, I was not able to put into place my tactics. I let him play and he took advantage of it immediately. This is something I must take from him, I must copy from him, because this will help if you want to have better results.

GUILLERMO CORIA: Except for the fact that today I didn't play as I wanted, I still remain positive about this week. I played good matches, and I must remain positive and I must continue in the same way that I've been doing this week. I hope I will have a good year and I will improve every week.

GUILLERMO CORIA: Of course I have to change many things if I play him again because otherwise it's going to be as fast as today. I know it's going to be a very difficult match if I play him in Barcelona because he's one of the best players on clay right now. You have to play perfect in order to be able to win against him.

GUILLERMO CORIA: Well, during the rest of the week I served very well. Against Moya I didn't drop one single serve. But today the balls were very heavy, and also I had breakpoints and I didn't convert them. This is something I must change. I must serve better.