TMS - MADRID

October 17, 2002

Alex Corretja

ALEX CORRETJA: Two different parts of the match. I had a very good set, I was moving very well, I was very aggressive, coming to the net, looking for the lines, trying to pressure Juan Carlos. The other two sets were very different, especially the second won. I lost faith in my game and my repertoire of shots. I had been playing well for a while and couldn't maintain this level. The third set, when he made a break at 2-1, everything was uphill. He started making me run a lot. The serve was gone for me in the important moments. That was very important. After that, everything changed. He was the one dominating the match, the one feeling at ease, running. That was the difference.

ALEX CORRETJA: Well, last week I had a few problems in my training because I had a stomach problem, and I couldn't train, but that's not an excuse. I'm quite satisfied with how far I've gone in my last matches. The first set today, until he broke, it was very good. The level I have had until now is the one I want to keep for the future. I think I can have a very good reaction, to use my repertoire and move very well. I've been slightly weak physically. Also he's been very aggressive with my second serve also because I didn't serve that well. My second serve wasn't that good, and he felt more comfortable. He took the lead.

ALEX CORRETJA: Well, this consistency, you find it day to day. I can't demand more of myself. The second part of the season has been very good. Maybe I should learn to have the last say, to resolve things in some crucial moments. Here I felt in the third round. I will start strong next year. I will start with the form I'm reaching at the end of this season. Maybe I can get back in the Top 15. This year, the first four months, it was hard for me to play and make all the results in the second part of the season. It wasn't easy. If you look at my points, the 310 or 311 I have, 170 of them are since Roland Garros. Next year I can start well from the beginning maybe. It's all a process. Today after that first set, I felt quite strong in the match. I thought I could win. But, unfortunately, I lost. I'm upset about that.

ALEX CORRETJA: Well, today is over. It's a pity I can't go farther. Shanghai will be difficult. It would have been great to be among the first eight. It's not such a challenge, because it wasn't feasible, given my first half of the season. The second half has been much better than the first.

ALEX CORRETJA: Well, you can see it from your perspective. Maybe he will sit here and say that he changed at a certain point. My opinion is that the first set, he had nothing to do. I served very well. When he served, I returned very well. When I came to the net, I made good slice approach shots. My impression is that after the first set, he went the other way. But I thought inside of me that I could pick up my level. I guess I was proven wrong. What I hate most is not being able to keep the same level as the first set. My serve was only -- I think the percentage was between 30 and 35%. On an indoor court, that's a quite low percentage of first serves. If the first set goes 3-1, 4-1 for him, it's very hard to pick up from that. But it was my fault.

ALEX CORRETJA: No. Sometimes you have to play with friends and partners. In a certain point of my career, I was a bit overwhelmed by him, by his person, but now that didn't play a part. I kept saying, my first set was brilliant. If I could have kept it at that level, I could have reached the finals maybe, but it didn't happen.

ALEX CORRETJA: Very positive, personally and globally, from my point of view, from the point of view of the tournament. There are certain aspects that should be improved, technical things maybe. The work of everybody is great. We are very grateful. We had the public on our side all the time. Today we both were Spanish, so it was a bit not so clear. I think they were a little bit supporting him more than me.