TMS MONTE CARLO

April 21, 2001

Guillermo Coria

GUILLERMO CORIA: It was a very positive week for me. Of course I'm disappointed for today because no one likes to lose, but I fought until the last point. He played well. I have to improve all my shots, but still it was very positive this week and now I have to look at Barcelona, which is starting on Monday.

GUILLERMO CORIA: He's not only the best on clay, but also on cement. In a Masters, it's the first time I was confronted with Guga and I was not overwhelmed by respect. I tried my best, but he was really impressive and I think he really deserves this victory.

GUILLERMO CORIA: He has an excellent serve and a very good backhand. He serves very well and he follows with a solid backhand, so it's very difficult to play against him and win a point.

GUILLERMO CORIA: It's a dream of every player to reach the semifinals of a big tournament like this. As the question was, it's true that three months ago I was playing challengers. I've been working very hard, I've been making many sacrifices, and I've been able to step forward thanks to the whole group with which I'm practicing with and which is around me and which has given me a lot of encouragement to be aware of my possibilities, to be conscious that I'm able to reach that level.

GUILLERMO CORIA: Yes.

GUILLERMO CORIA: Well, the first sacrifice is to be far from the family because Argentina is very far from Europe, and all the major tournaments are played in Europe. So it's very difficult for South American players to be far from their family. And also, the other thing is to play day after day, to practice a lot, and to do your best possible effort every day to be able to improve every day.

GUILLERMO CORIA: Well, in fact it was good until the game where he broke me, then it made the difference. And that was lack of experience on my part, because that's what happens against big players, top players. It's that they win two points and then they're ahead and they give you no presents afterwards. So I hope I will play another big player next time so I won't lose my concentration. But anyway, he deserves to be credited for this game where he broke me because he played very solid on that game.

GUILLERMO CORIA: I was the fourth player, so I didn't get to play. But it's a dream that I have since I've been a kid. I really practiced strongly this week and it's a dream of mine to play the Davis Cup and to represent my country. But we have a very solid team. We beat Mexico 5-love and another team 5-love. If I get the opportunity of playing, I will be delighted.

GUILLERMO CORIA: Yes, I'm going to Rome and Hamburg.

GUILLERMO CORIA: Yes, I'll ask the question, but it's a very small city where I live. We don't really know.