DAVIS CUP FINALS

November 27, 2021

Nicolas Mejia

Team Colombia

Press Conference

L. SONEGO/N. Mejia

6-7, 6-4, 6-2

Italy - 1

Colombia - 0

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. That was a really good performance. Unfortunate about the result. Only your second meeting with a top 100 player. What did you make of the level and the challenge of facing a top 30 opponent on this stage?

NICOLAS MEJIA: Yeah, appreciate. Good afternoon or good night, good evening. Yeah, I think it was a very good first set. Second set I do think I didn't play bad. I just, 40-15 game was just really stupid. I kind of rushed a little bit, and I think that was the main thing that happened in the third set as well.

I think just the experience that I'll get playing with these guys, with these type of players, I mean, I do realize today that while my game is there, my physical part is there, attitude is great, mentally I do have to keep getting better as I have been doing for the past couple weeks and months.

But I do, I mean, I do think that I could have win this match if I could have maintained the same level I did in the first set, but I think that's the main thing I have to keep working on, setting up goals each day, getting better, because certainly my game and my mental and attitude is right there.

But, yeah, I'm just really sad I wasn't able to give this point to Colombia, but, I mean, I'm proud that I left everything out there. I love playing for Colombia, and, yeah, and that's just the minimum I can do. But certainly I will learn a lot. As I said earlier in the last couple of days, I haven't had the chance to play with many players this level to see what my level is, and, you know, proving it that I'm right there, it's certainly a very comforting thing. So I just have to keep working my ass off and get better and hopefully tomorrow against the U.S. I'll get the win.

Q. You mentioned yourself, but Lorenzo in press earlier described your level as clearly inside the top 100. Does that sort of boost your morale, as well? Does it help to hear fellow pros talk about you in those terms?

NICOLAS MEJIA: Oh, very nice of him. I appreciate him. Certainly very nice to hear that.

Today my ranking is 275 in the world, and that's my ranking right now. I have to do this day in, day out, week in, week out, to be in the top 100. You know, as I said, I really appreciate those words from Lorenzo. He's top 27, top 30 in the world. He knows what he's talking about. Certainly that brings my morale up.

But as I told you, I have to do this week in, week out, day in, day out, to be in the top 100, top 50, and higher. That's what I want. I appreciate those words, but I have to get back to work and do this day in and day out.

Q. Did the hand injury at the end of that first set, did that affect the way things happened thereafter?

NICOLAS MEJIA: Actually, I kind of just wanted to rush it a little bit. The guys on the team just told me to chill out. It was bleeding a lot, and I wanted to keep on going because I didn't want the momentum to go away.

Thankfully this time I was able to play a great game, and it was just smart to stop and put a band on it. But no, it didn't affect me at all. I wish it was that, but no, it wasn't.

Q. You played Davis Cup before, but this is the first time in the finals. Could you just talk about what it's like actually playing in an environment like this, on a stage like this?

NICOLAS MEJIA: Unbelievable, man. It's crazy. I mean, the first time I played it was also against Argentina in Argentina. It was pretty packed, as well. But the tie was dead already, so we had already lost the tie, so certainly completely different than playing in an arena of about 15,000 people.

I don't know how many people were there today, and then so many Colombian flags. I was pretty nervous at the beginning. I didn't know if I was going to be up to the challenge, like my performance-wise, but certainly I think I did a good job on that.

I left my heart in the court, and it's amazing. I love this feeling. Yeah, I hope Danny in the moment keeps the match right there against Jannik, and hopefully he can get the surprise that I couldn't do it.

Q. Considering what you have just been saying about your ranking and how much you've got to work and also the fact that you're playing Davis Cup, how much of the level that you produced today was because it was Davis Cup and you weren't playing just for yourself?

NICOLAS MEJIA: Well, that's a very good question. I tend to -- you know, every match that I'm playing, I dream about this, about this. I have always said that playing for Colombia, playing Davis Cup, it's the best thing or just representing Colombia is the best thing that tennis has given me.

I cannot answer you like how much it was because it was Davis Cup or how much it wasn't. Like the way I think or the way I have been raised has been to play a final and to play for glory every single time. So with this said, and as I mentioned earlier, what I did today and what I have been doing, I believe in the past couple weeks and months, sometimes I have lost some matches, not this way that I win a set and it's very strong, but I'm right there competitive.

I think I'm in the right way. Just time will tell how much I can do it. As I mentioned earlier, I have to prove myself day in, day out, week in, week out, that I am capable of sustaining this level or else I will have to, you know, stay in the ranking that I'm at.

But certainly playing for Colombia, playing for, you know, the country, thankfully it lifts my level, and I appreciate that. I really enjoy that. Sometimes players go down in the level, but I appreciate and I really look forward to playing many more ties and many more matches for Colombia.