TMS - MADRID

October 14, 2003

Nicolas Massu

NICOLAS MASSU: Yes. With Guga, everything is going to be spectacular always. I was concentrated throughout the match. I played my best tennis. I think in order to defeat Guga, one has to give his best. Today I did it. I hope to continue like this.

NICOLAS MASSU: Yeah. Our country is always united when someone plays - Argentina, Brazil, Chile. This is not the first time I felt this on the court. These are outside factors that motivate a player.

NICOLAS MASSU: Well, no problems.

NICOLAS MASSU: Gradually I'm feeling better on the surface. Every match I play, I feel I'm a little bit more comfortable. It's not that I don't like the surface. The thing is that I have little experience with it. Because in Chile, this type of court doesn't exist. So either you feel good on it, comfortable, or you feel bad. Up till now, I'm feeling well. It's not that fast. It's similar to a hard surface. On the other hand, at the beginning I started serving well. My serve was good. But Guga's serve is really impressive. Every time he serves, it's very, very hard to return the ball. I think I served well. During the second set I was a little more tired and he started serving a little worse, the same as me. We were tired. After one hour of playing, the legs are not the same as at the beginning.

NICOLAS MASSU: Yeah, for me it was very exciting, too. It was very important to defeat Guga. In tennis, I think everyone has his own way of playing. Guga plays with very strong and powerful shots. I used my serve, forehand and so on.

NICOLAS MASSU: I think that in order to become a champion, you have to play on every surface, even though you like one better than another. Every player's going to have a favorite surface. But in order to be a champion, you have to choose to play on all of them. Maybe points are not as long. Because of the altitude here in Madrid, the ball flies faster.

NICOLAS MASSU: 6-3, 2-Love doesn't mean you've won the match. Maybe 5-3, 5-2. But being just at the beginning of the set 2-Love, he had a lot of time to recover. I never felt at that point I had the match, but I wanted to take advantage of my serve and try to win. I think I won most of the points from behind the baseline.

NICOLAS MASSU: Roddick. I want to play against the best of the world, No. 1. I have nothing against the other opponent, but I would like to play against Roddick. That would be stimulating. Maybe he doesn't like the surface. Maybe we should leave clay aside. If it's Mirnyi, fine. But if it's Roddick, I'd rather play against him because at the moment, right now in the world, he's the best player, especially here. I'd really like to play against him.

NICOLAS MASSU: Look, I see sportsmen. Every sportsman has his peaks, ups and downs. Guga had an injury. It's difficult to recuperate. He's not the same as when he won Roland Garros three times. It's not only Guga. There's players like Corretja, Marcelo Rios who are not in a good moment right now, and are used to winning. It's not easy for them losing. But sport is like this. I don't think he's down right now. He has the potential. He has a good head on his shoulders. Maybe he's losing because of small details. Maybe he's lacking confidence. He'll be up again soon.

NICOLAS MASSU: Yeah, well, I knew there were rumors going around. We're not stupid, you know. We realize what's happening, especially when we are together. The ATP is noticing it, it's realizing what's happening, that's perfect. I find it brilliant because now we have to be careful. ATP needs to find out who's doing this. They need to be sure. It's bad for tennis, of course. If someone gets into the court and loses on purpose, finally we are losing something - ATP players, everyone. I don't have a lot of information. I know what you know. But I hope everything goes on well because tennis has always been a clean sport. I hope it continues to be.