TMS MONTE CARLO

April 14, 2005

Juan Carlos Ferrero

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: Well, of course this victory is very important for me. But, you know, I was looking for, you know, working day by day and training hard, so the results have to come. Finally, one of this are here, you know. We'll see what's happen.

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: I think I played really solid all the time. No mistakes in important points, you know. I served with a lot of kick to his body all the time, you know. I returned his serve in important points very well. So I think I played a complete match.

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: (Translated from Spanish.) Yes, I remember the French Open on clay, I played very well this match. I played a complete match and I was believing in myself.

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: (Translated from Spanish.) Well, when you don't win many matches, it becomes more complicated. But it's been a while I've been feeling well physically; therefore, I had some hopes. Now the results are coming. But I will not be satisfied with simply a quarterfinal because I'm playing well, and I'm hoping to go further.

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: I don't know. When I play well, my backhand is, you know, I normally do no mistakes. I'm playing with a lot of confidence with forehand and my backhand. And I don't know if I improve, but I feel very comfortable in the court with both shots.

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: (Translated from Spanish.) He's a relatively complete player. I think what is dominating in his game is his very good backhand. Also, he played with a lot of confidence. I think when he played again Canas, it was good for him to find his own rhythm, and it made him very confident especially on clay. When he played against Puerta, Puerta is a player who puts a lot of rhythm into the shots, and he was able to counterattack very well against this. So I didn't see the whole of the match, but what I saw showed me that he was playing very well.

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: I answered this question a lot of times. Well, of course it's difficult when you were here (indicating a high level) and you're here right now (indicating a lower level).

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: I think 90-something. I don't know, 94 or something like this. It's really tough to see in the paper, weekly, to be 94. But, you know, I was preparing mentally for this, you know, because I knew that I'm gonna be pretty low in the ranking because I lose a lot of points last year and also at the beginning of the year, Australian Open and Rotterdam as well. So I was preparing for this. And after this, I want to play with no pression, you know, and try to be in the same position as when I was 19, you know - I was 90 or something like this, and to have a goal to get up in the ranking, you know.

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: (Translated from Spanish.) What helps is to believe in yourself. Being a favorite, it's more complicated. I don't think he is the favorite, and I am not either. I think it will be a match with a lot of fighting about the points and especially on clay. I won twice against him, and he never won, so maybe that makes me slightly the favorite. But, anyway, it's different every match. I believe in my possibilities.

JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: (Translated from Spanish.) Well, I always thought that when you had difficulties ahead of you, you were always gathering your strength to overcome them. Maybe that's the reason. I am a player with a lot of experience; many good things happened to me and bad things also, like last year. I think when you are feeling good, you don't realize how good it is. It's only when you are sick or something bad happens that then you realize and you hope to become better again. But I believe I'm a player with a lot of experience on the courts and also outside of the courts.