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WESTERN & SOUTHERN FINANCIAL GROUP MASTERS

August 16, 2007

Carlos Moya

CINCINNATI, OHIO

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please

Q. Can you sort of describe your emotion there on this match point. It's not often that something ends like that.
CARLOS MOYA: I was praying the ball was going in. So, you know, I'm very happy that I could win that match because I think I was controlling it pretty well until the middle of the second set. And then maybe I relax a little bit and he took advantage of that.
But then I was able to come back, and once you get to 5-All in the third it's 50/50. So I hang in there very well and I took my chances.

Q. How sure were you that that ball was in?
CARLOS MOYA: Well, I wasn't sure. I asked to my coach and he said it was in. But until -- I mean, I think sometimes the Hawk-Eye could be wrong so I was praying that it would be good for me. I was pretty sure the ball was in, but, you know, not 100% sure. So it was good that it was in.

Q. A lot of players try to hit to your backhand on the serve and you finished the match with a backhand return winner. How does that feel?
CARLOS MOYA: Yeah, it was very good. It was the first winner of the match for me. It was in the right moment. So I feel pretty comfortable with my backhand, so, you know, I think I mix it up pretty well today with the slice and hitting hard down the line.
Obviously my best weapon is the serve and the forehand. But I think I hit pretty well today.

Q. You seemed to be in pretty good control until you got broken in the second and then you went down a break in the third. What changed?
CARLOS MOYA: Well, maybe my legs didn't work as well as they did at the beginning. It was so very hot and maybe I felt it a little bit. But then after that I was back and I was playing well again.
I was lucky that I won, because when you're down a break in the third usually you lose. Today I kept fighting and I think I played pretty well from 3-1 in the third set to the end.

Q. What happened to your game in 2005 and 2006, and how have you regained whatever it was that you lost this season?
CARLOS MOYA: Well, probably lost a little motivation after we won the Davis Cup. That was the biggest goal for me. I felt that I put a lot of effort trying to win that. And once I did it, I felt empty a little bit. No power. Didn't set any goal for the next year.
So I think that wasn't good. I didn't know where I was exactly. It's been two years where at least I could play the big tournaments, and for few weeks I did pretty well but was having a lot of up and downs.
Since I decided to change my coach I think everything went much better. And, you know, I think working with Lobo now is helping me a lot. He's giving me a lot motivation, and that's what I think I needed to be back to where I think I should be.
Still a long way to get there, but, you know, I'm much closer than I was a few months ago. I knew I didn't forget playing tennis and I knew that I still could be able to play very well and beat these kind of guys, and playing my tennis with big serve, big forehand.
That's how I was playing when I was at the top and I knew I didn't forget that, so I kept working very hard and believing in myself that I was going to be able to do that.

Q. A lot of people stereotype the Spanish players as clay court specialists. There are four of them still here, and you guys do pretty well on the hard court overall. What, I guess, can you say about Spanish players on the other surfaces?
CARLOS MOYA: I think we've proven that we can play very well in any surface. Nadal played final in Wimbledon, here we have four. Obviously our best surface is the clay, but since ten years we been proving year after year that we can play well on any surface.
I don't know why they call us just clay courters, because I think we deserve to be considered in a different way and we can play very well on any surface as we proven.

Q. What do you think is the secret to the Spanish success? There's eight guys in the top 50. How do you see that happening in Spain? What's going on to help bring up the younger players?
CARLOS MOYA: I think there's a lot of tennis tradition back to Spain. We had Sanchez, Bruguera, all these guys. The kids didn't just want to be just soccer players. They were looking up to these guys.
And as for me, watching Bruguera winning the French Open gave me a lot of motivation that a Spaniard did it and maybe I could have a chance to do it. We have a lot of small tournaments and good academies in Spain, so I think all this together is the republican that we have so many.

Q. You run around your backhand a lot. Is there any secret to how you practice? Because your footwork seems to be great. You're always in position for the next shot even though you're always sort of trying to run around. How do you do that?
CARLOS MOYA: Well, I guess you try to anticipate a little bit and try to reach your shot and see if I have the chance with the next one with my forehand. So I guess it's about that. It's anticipating a little bit and knowing exactly how my shot was to see if I'm able to hit with the forehand the next one.

Q. How good of shape are you in physically compared to a few years ago?
CARLOS MOYA: I think physically I've been always pretty well, good shape. Obviously I had a tough match today, but beating a player -- like I think he's 11 years younger than me.

Q. 12.
CARLOS MOYA: 12 maybe. 7-5 in the third in such hot conditions I think it's great for me. It's what made me feel happy also. It's not only about my game, it's also about my fitness condition.
So I think I feel pretty well and I don't think that's going to be a problem for tomorrow.

Q. At this point in your career, what does it mean for you to play someone like Lleyton Hewitt, both of you former No. 1s in the quarterfinals of a tournament like this?
CARLOS MOYA: It's a great feeling. I remember having great memories here five years ago beating him in the final. Obviously every match is a different story, but I think it's going to be a great match. I really looking forward to that.
It's a match that gives you motivation and I that like to play. So I have a lot of respect for Lleyton. He's having a great career. He's a great champion, and it's going to be interesting match tomorrow.

End of FastScripts

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