DAVIS CUP FINALS

November 27, 2021

Roberto Quiroz

Team Ecuador

Press Conference

A. RUBLEV/R. Quiroz

6-3, 4-6, 6-1

Russia - 1

Ecuador - 0

THE MODERATOR: What's your thoughts? A hard-fought match.

ROBERTO QUIROZ: Yeah. After yesterday, I told you guys I felt that I didn't have like a little bit of luck, and I think today I went a little more for it. When I had the only chance I had, I just really went for it. It went my side.

So, you know, you just learn from these moments. Of course I don't like losing, and, you know, even worse, when you're playing Davis Cup for your country, but it's a really positive for me.

I started the year really well, quarterfinals of an ATP. Then I had not a good year. Last couple months I have been having really good matches with really good guys, like on clay, on hard courts, Indian Wells, you know, and to finish out the year for me like this, you know, it's really, is really special, you know.

I know I'm 29 years old. Despite I went to college, and it's four years that it goes away from your tennis life, it's a lot, you know. So for me, I know it doesn't sound well for a guy who is 29, but you're still learning from these moments.

It's really positive. I felt like in the first set I started well, but then these guys have an extra gear that I couldn't match. So for me, it's just take the best from what I did this match, train harder, try to train at the intensity we play. The match was less than two hours, and it felt longer than yesterday.

So positive things, but of course nobody likes losing, especially for your country.

Q. I believe Andrey is the highest-ranked player you have played on tour. What positives do you take from how close it was, how many problems you gave him? And for your career and for next year?

ROBERTO QUIROZ: Yeah, you know, when you're playing against these guys, just gotta take care of your (indiscernible), my serve, trying to stay aggressive when I had the chance coming forward. I think I did a really good job. Yesterday I felt that I did the same, but I don't know, it just didn't go on my side.

Also, today my serve was what, 25, 30 kilometers more, the average? So yesterday when you're playing a guy like Lopez, that second serve, he's gonna chip and come forward, you try to play more with the first serve, you know, so that was my mistake yesterday.

But today I tried to leave it all out, and as you say, a guy that's top 5, it's a really good parameter for me coming forward for 2022.

I have no doubts that that's not gonna be my last ranking, and I'm really hoping to have a really good 2022 and bring my country back to this situation.

Q. Pride, you say you're representing Ecuador at the Davis Cup Finals. I guess the journey you have been on from beating Japan and then coming here, what has this meant to you this week?

ROBERTO QUIROZ: I have to say that the journey is way wider than that. It's been 11 years. My uncle was Emilio's father, Andres Gomez. So for us, Davis Cup has always been kind of like a religion. My far-away cousins were there. For me, going to a Davis Cup tie, it was like, I don't know, for religious people, going to mass on Sunday.

I grew up with that. I always tell the story, we play Great Britain in Ecuador. Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski were there. Me and Emilio were taking pictures with them. We're 10 years old, I believe, or less. And then they ask my uncle for a picture. Like, who is this guy?

This journey has been amazing. Of course it's far from over. To be here in this position with our rankings, it has a lot of what Davis Cup means to us, you know. We have always had like incredible results that people are like, Whoa, what's going on?

But I believe that's because the union of our team, that mystique that we have, our captain, 28 years, that's unbelievable. So it's a lot.

To end it, having probably the worst group that you'll ever get, we all saw it as an opportunity, as a reward for all the hard work, years when we are playing, you know -- I don't want to talk bad, but, you know, lower countries in really bad conditions. And to be here, for me and for the team, means a lot. It's a memory that we're gonna save it forever and hopefully, as I told you, come back to this situation.