TMS - MADRID

October 15, 2002

Carlos Moya

Q. It was a hard match, wasn't it? It was a difficult player.

CARLOS MOYA: He had his opportunity to win in the second set, and he didn't take advantage of it. In these kind of matches, if you don't take your chances, you lose it. I could have made several breaks. I had chances to make breaks, and I struggled. It was a great struggle. I was very motivated.

CARLOS MOYA: Yeah, I think it was the most exciting match in my life, very exciting. I don't have any memory of any match like this one. It was really great. I was really motivated by the public.

CARLOS MOYA: I'm not that expressive. If I really celebrate, it's because it's worth it. It was a tense match, a lot of ups and downs in the score, many opportunities for both of us. It depends on the rival, as well. I think my mind has been very focused. I was very concentrated during the match.

CARLOS MOYA: I know he's a player capable playing at the same level the whole match. He's very consistent. But at one point I realized in the second set, I was more consistent and was dominating the match. I had many opportunities to break. It was in the third set where I had more break chances. I overcame my nerves. At the end, I did it. Let's see what happens next.

CARLOS MOYA: But it's only my first match. Of course, it's very important. The situation was difficult. I had everything against me because he's playing very well now. I didn't really get into the match until the middle of the second set. I was a bit tired because the last tournaments have been very hard. All this gets on your nerves. But what gave me confidence was that he didn't really take his chances. He lost them. Maybe if this match had taken place in a foreign country, it wouldn't have been the same.

CARLOS MOYA: I feel I need more power. Once the ball is in play, you are more careful. You try to take all your chances. If you are lucky, you win.

CARLOS MOYA: Well, it's a question of nerves. I also get nervous. They called two foot faults on me. That upset me a little bit. It's sad that they call you when you are at home for foot faults like that. I think when you have more , you go through difficult stages, and you keep overcoming all of them. That's why I say it's been so emotional for me. It was the first round. I'm still celebrating a lot. You can't help being nervous, but then I was able to hold my nerves.

CARLOS MOYA: The fact of being at home, being such a difficult match, the match depended a bit on me the other time. The fact the public was supporting me, my family was there, my coach, it makes it very special.

CARLOS MOYA: I think if he keeps on with this level, he's a player without limits, his capacity.

CARLOS MOYA: At the beginning of the match, I couldn't do anything against him. He won quite easily. But then after the second set, he started to drop his level a little bit. I think he has a lot of potential. He can be about five to 10 years in the circuit. At the beginning, everything is very nice, very exciting. I can't really tell if he will keep this level.

CARLOS MOYA: Well, my goal was to win this game. Each of us were winning our serves. If I had won this game, maybe the third set would have been easier, but I didn't. He won his serve, and he went on.

CARLOS MOYA: I think with the score 2-6, 7-6, 7-6, you win it. Compared to Miami, in this match, I was the difference. I struggled, and I think I deserve my win.

CARLOS MOYA: After all that I have struggled this year, my wish is to be there in Shanghai. I want to be there. This victory will help me. But the points of this match is sometimes more than I can win in a whole tournament. It was a good injection of morale.

CARLOS MOYA: It was a difficult tournament because I wasn't playing very well. It was great because I won 15 points there. It was maybe the starting point for this year. If I hadn't won there, I don't know what would have happened. After that, I started playing well.

CARLOS MOYA: I keep saying that I have been playing well for a while now. This year has been very complete. I played well for a lot of weeks. At that time I played well only in the big tournaments, but now I'm playing very well in a string of tournaments. I can even say I played better at that time. Two finals, four titles, four semifinals. Before I wasn't so consistent. I think if I go on like this, I can go very far.

CARLOS MOYA: I think it's good. It's not as quick as other tournaments. I would score it a cement surface, the speed you reach is like a cement court.