REPUBLIC NATIONAL MONTE CARLO OPEN

April 24, 1998

Alex Corretja

Q. You had beaten him twice before. Never took a set off you. What has changed, if you compare?

ALEX CORRETJA: It changed that he played much better than me. He get his chances. I personally served very bad today. I don't know the statistics, but not even 50 percent. I didn't put pressure to him. The balls were heavy. He has much more power than me. It was an easy match. At the beginning of the second set, I had some chances there. But then easily escaped. He was the clear winner.

ALEX CORRETJA: This year I'm not going to play that much on clay. Last year I've been playing a lot. I won a lot. But then I came to Paris a little bit tired. This year I'm going to do it a little bit different. At the moment, I didn't find my rhythm as well as last year. But I have two more tournaments, Hamburg and Rome, then Paris, the three big ones. I think I can be ready for that. But at the moment, I don't see myself moving that well on the court. I think I'm a little bit slower than before. That makes a lot of difference in my game. I have a week next week to recover a little bit and to try to work a little bit on not my physical condition, but maybe my movements are not that good. Let's see if I can go to Hamburg and play better.

ALEX CORRETJA: No, it's a plan to don't play that many tournaments, because if not, I get really tired before the Grand Slam. It's not because I'm preparing just for Paris. I mean, to win Hamburg or Rome, it's important as well. But I don't want to play that much tennis, because if not, I get tired. I don't enjoy myself on the court. It seems like I'm not having that much fun. That's because I'm losing now, because I'm not moving really well. Mentally, I'm not --

ALEX CORRETJA: Yes, and with the power that I want to be.

ALEX CORRETJA: No, I'm not worried at all. No, no, because I think it's just a matter to be focused again on clay and try to play a little bit more matches. I have to relax. I don't care. I mean, I don't care if I lost points or if I drop on the rankings. I just want to be happy and enjoy with my tennis. Now, I didn't find this moment. You know, I've been playing much better on hard courts. I was enjoying much more. Now on clay, which normally it seems it's going to be easy for me, I've been playing badly. It's no problem. I'm not worried. Don't worry. I'm going to survive.