TMS - MADRID

October 14, 2002

Tommy Robredo

Q. Are you happy with your win? You looked very loose.

TOMMY ROBREDO: I was really at ease. I played with a lot of confidence and I'm very happy to have started with a win in Madrid. We'll see on Wednesday. I have to play Novak, he's a very good player. I think it will be a hard match.

TOMMY ROBREDO: He's a good player on hard court, especially indoor courts. I returned very well. I kept him in the back. I didn't let him come to the net.

TOMMY ROBREDO: No, it's a different thing. In a Grand Slam, you have 128 players. Here you have only 48. In a Grand Slam, in the first round, you can play with a ranking of 120. All the matches are very hard because the standard is very high.

TOMMY ROBREDO: Yeah, the fact of playing in Spain, being home, Spanish food, it makes you feel better, more comfortable. It's more motivating to play in your country. If the crowd is supporting you, it's great. You have to have a good spirit and win as many matches as possible.

TOMMY ROBREDO: It's always different. I always try to play at my best standard, but every point is different. I'll try to play my best tennis. If I end up with a win, so much the better. It's good to practice on these kind of courts for the future.

TOMMY ROBREDO: Yes, now that we are at the end of the year, I played more indoor tournaments. In Moscow, I lost against the winner of the tournament. In Vienna, I lost to Federer, who was the champion. It's been a great preparation for this Masters, playing all these indoor tournaments. It's very important to be at those tournaments because they give you the Champions Race points. I'm doing my best.

TOMMY ROBREDO: Of course, it's good that we promote tennis in our country, the Davis Cup. An extra week in Spain is very positive for tennis.

TOMMY ROBREDO: I'll follow the same schedule, more or less. I'll try to play a lot on hard courts, fast surfaces. We've been playing more on this kind of court. It has brought good results. I'll try to play next year on hard courts in order to improve with this kind of tennis. First, I want to finish this season. When this season is over, we will plan our next season. Even Paris, we are very tired. We will reduce the number of tournaments before getting to Paris, if we have played with a very high rhythm.

TOMMY ROBREDO: I find that the ball bounces very high. It's a good court for us to play our tennis. I think it suits us very well.