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TENNIS MASTERS CUP

November 17, 2006

Tommy Robredo

SHANGHAI, CHINA

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Obviously a nice way for you to end your career with that win today.
TOMMY ROBREDO: Thank you.

Q. Just talk about the match. Are you pleased with that, with your performance out there?
TOMMY ROBREDO: Yeah. Well, I think that it was a good match. I was playing pretty good all three matches, but I was not that lucky maybe on a few moments of each match.
Well, maybe today I could have the chance to be fighting to be on the semifinals, I see it happened in the other group. But here, the results didn't help so much. I was out in second day, no?
But anyway, I was keep focusing. I was trying hard because any match here is important. There is points, there is money and also there is prestige, no? I hope that I did pretty good.
Well, finishing the year with a win, it's so nice.

Q. We know Tennis Masters Cup are always indoor carpet and indoor hard. Do you think it's possible to make one day the Tennis Masters Cup can be clay?
TOMMY ROBREDO: Well, I don't know. The guy who make the questions more, yeah, more difficult for players (laughter). I think you don't like me so much, or I don't know.
I don't know. It's not my decision to put it on clay. If I will have the power to do it, I'm gonna put it in Barcelona in my hometown with 20,000 crowd every day supporting me, and I will pay tickets for them to come and cheer for me. And for sure it's gonna be like one beautiful day. I'm not the person at the ATP. I'm not the guys who decide that. I cannot do that.
Well, I think it's a Masters, and if clay is one of the surface that it's played a lot of times during the tour, why not, no? I think that Europe or the clay season should have a little more power at the end of the year. It will be so nice. But I can understand that clay indoor, maybe the people will not like, no? But we did two finals of the Davis Cup on clay indoor, and it was pretty nice crowd.

Q. Compared to other Spanish players and South American players, you're not totally focusing on clay court. You did pretty well. Does that have something to do with training in the past?
TOMMY ROBREDO: I like you more than him (smiling).
Well, I don't know. I think that maybe it's true that I learned playing tennis on hard court, and maybe it helping me a little bit.
But I think that there is a reason that it's obvious that all of the Spanish, Argentinian players, we are improving on hard court. It's because ten years ago you could be No. 2 in the world playing on clay because you could make a long season on clay. The system of the points, they were counting 18 tournaments I think, or something like that, whatever you want to play, no? And then it was easy to play on clay for some players.
After they put the Masters Series thing, they give us the obligation to play the Grand Slams, what I think it's great; the Masters Series, what I think it's great for tennis. Then, if you compare, there is four tournaments on clay and then the rest are on hard court. Then till that happened, we have to start practicing a lot more on clay, on hard court, and working a lot more on that way, no?
Every year, after the summer season, after Sopot, this year it was August, I didn't touch the clay court since I'm gonna play in Monte-Carlo next year, no? It means it's nearly eight, nine months without playing on clay court. I think that if we don't learn to play on hard court, then we are dead and we are not gonna be on the top rankings. I think that's a little bit the reason why we are trying harder and playing better. I think that on the future we're gonna be also a little bit better.

Q. Every Masters left Shanghai with a victory. They can end a season on a high. Can you comment about your trip in Shanghai because, you know, the season ends for you.
TOMMY ROBREDO: You want to know what I did in Shanghai?

Q. Your impression about your trip on Shanghai, about your experience. Just comment.
TOMMY ROBREDO: Well, I think that I am not like a tourist, no, that you come here and you visit. I think that I was treated like a king here, no? I had my own driver, I can go wherever I want. I went shopping. I know I have money to spend on shops and to go in the best restaurants to have dinner.
I don't know. Being like that, you can enjoy very much one city, no? And also if when you are going with a driver, you can see all of the pictures from you. I think that it's so nice, no?
The people also treat us so well. The fans, I think they are great. For sure there's gonna be someone waiting for me in the hotel even if I arrive at 3 a.m. in the morning. I think that being a tennis player and have having these things, I think it's great. It's amazing, no, to feel that the people really like you.
I know all the presents I received, letters. This morning, for example, I received a letter of a lady writing that a friend of her was coming here on the bus like 19 hours just to see me, or she wasn't eating any meat on the last two weeks to spend that money on the tickets to see me, no? Things like that just, I don't know, show you the heart of the people, and that they really love one face or one player. Then they do a lot of things, no? Being a tennis player and feel that thing, it's so great.
Then the impression of Shanghai, it has to be perfect then.

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