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U.S. OPEN

September 4, 2007

Carlos Moya

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. You never played Gulbis before today. Did you know anything about him from other players or watching him play in either the Robredo match or...
CARLOS MOYA: Well, never really heard about him. I heard about him, but not really saw him playing. I saw a little bit against Robredo. I think he played well. After what Robredo said, I thought it was going to be a big star.
But I think he would be great player in couple of months, maybe couple years. He hits the ball very hard. It's going to be very good for sure.

Q. Not to make you an old guy, but you've been around the game a long time. What keeps it fresh, fun, interesting for you?
CARLOS MOYA: These kind of matches. They're the ones that keep me very motivated. The match I won the other day against Kohlschreiber, it's amazing. That feeling gives me 10 years more of career, I would say (smiling). You're so happy when you finish that kind of matches.
Like today in such a great stadium, fourth round of a Grand Slam, still beating these young guys. These are the things that give me so much motivation to keep going.

Q. How close were you to retiring last year?
CARLOS MOYA: I never been close to retire, to be honest. People was asking me, but I didn't feel that it was my time yet. Probably if this year was like last couple of years, maybe you start thinking about that.
But I was hundred percent sure that I still had good tennis ahead of me, good matches like I'm playing this year. And it was mental the problem, not my tennis. My tennis was still good enough to be where I am right now. I knew that.
So it was about being motivated again and being lucky. Never thought at all about retiring, not that way.

Q. So if people start to say this is like a farewell tour for Moya, they're mistaken?
CARLOS MOYA: Big mistake (smiling). If I still healthy, if I'm playing at this level, I can't find a reason to retire. I'm enjoying as I never did before.
If I'm playing at this level, there is no way that I'll be retiring soon.

Q. What do you appreciate now about a win like that you were unable to appreciate when you were No. 1 or younger?
CARLOS MOYA: In that period you don't see the end of your career as something real. Now I know that this could be one of my last years, one of my maybe last matches on such a big stadium. So these are the things that you really enjoy and you appreciate much more than when I was 20, 22 years old.
Now I see the end of my career, not maybe this year, not next year, but is gonna come soon. So you appreciate these moment much more than I used to do.

Q. Have you had to change anything in your preparation or even when you play matches to compensate for being a little older?
CARLOS MOYA: No. What I try is to shorten the point a little bit, not to play many long rallies. And I think I have the right game to do that. If my first serve is working then the points are not so long. I can control the point with my forehand, which is still good. Try to go more often to the net.
That's something that my coach tried to tell me when we started last year, that I have to do that. We've been working a lot on that. But it's much more mental than the game. Mentally I wasn't there last couple of years, I guess, after we won the Davis Cup. Took a while to come back for me. Now I'm happy that I did it.

Q. You had a very memorable run here nine years ago. How good does it feel to be back and have the ability to go out in this tournament atmosphere and play this kind of tennis?
CARLOS MOYA: It's wonderful feeling. I think I had the chance like five, six years ago. I had the match point against Martin in the fourth round to get to the quarters. I lost that match.
But is a great feeling to be in the quarters again after such a long time. Also quarters this year in French Open. It's great for me to do well in such a big tournament. I don't know what I can say.
You know, I'm very happy the way I'm playing. I'm very happy that I beat these guys. Very happy of my third-round match.
It's good to keep dreaming, you know. That's what I'm doing right now.

Q. What are your thoughts on facing Djokovic? He's playing so well.
CARLOS MOYA: Well, he's playing great. Great start already. The good thing is I beat him twice this year, so every match is different story.
But it's good to know that I've been able to beat him twice. It's going to be very tough match for me, but I'll try and I'll to my best.

Q. Do you enjoy the travel still? Or is it a necessary evil?
CARLOS MOYA: Yeah, I have fun travelling. As long as I'm enjoying on court, for me it's fine to be travelling. No problem.

Q. You're a big favorite with the fans, especially the women. How much does that mean to you? Do you get letters, gifts?
CARLOS MOYA: Well, it's great to have the support from the fans, no matter if woman, man, I don't care, as long as I get the support.
I can't stop talking about the other day match against Kohlschreiber. The atmosphere was amazing for me. Being so far away from home, to feel what I felt that day, it was unbelievable. Such a great support. You know, was amazing.
It's great to have that support. I guess and I want to think it's because of my tennis, because of the career I've been having. I don't think it for the way I look. Maybe can help.
But if I was hundred in the world and I didn't win any tournament I wouldn't get that support. I believe it's for the career I've been having.

Q. What's more incredible: That Serbia has three players in the top five or that one small island in the Mediterranean has produced the No. 2 and former No. 1 player?
CARLOS MOYA: I guess both things are amazing. I guess Mallorca having former No. 1 and No. 2 in the world right now, two Grand Slam champions, it's something unbelievable.
I guess it's never going to happen again anywhere, such a small place, to have two players like us.

Q. Djokovic said maybe it happened in Serbia because of all the radiation from the bombing.
CARLOS MOYA: Yeah, maybe.

Q. What do you think is the reason for Mallorca?
CARLOS MOYA: I guess the atmosphere there is great. Such a great place. I guess it was just a coincidence. We've been lucky that happened. That's why I'm saying that I don't think that's going to happen anymore in the future. We have to enjoy it.

Q. In your mind -- you've beaten Djokovic. Two Slam semifinals. But he had the statement in Montréal by beating the top three players. What is more of a statement in your mind: Beating Roddick, Nadal and Federer back to back, or reaching the semis of a major?
CARLOS MOYA: I think what he did in Montréal was something really great. It's not easy to do that, beating the first three players of the world in the same tournament.
I mean, being in the semifinal at the French and at Wimbledon is something great. But maybe a few more players did that, like Nadal and Federer. But that was the first time in, I don't know how many years, a player was beating the top three players in the same tournament.
Both are great achievement, but I guess winning the whole tournament, beating these guys, is even bigger than the other one.

Q. You ATP to play at the Hamlet Cup. Do you wish there were more ATP events in this area?
CARLOS MOYA: What was the beginning of the question?

Q. You played in the Hamlet Cup. I think you enjoyed that area. Do you wish there were more ATP events here in New York besides just the US Open?
CARLOS MOYA: Yeah, I think it was a great tournament. Great memories from there because I won one year. Yeah, is great to be very close from New York the week before. But is also New Haven, which is not so far.
I don't know what to say about that. We liked the Long Island tournament a lot, but I don't know what happened. I have no idea about the reason they don't have the tournament anymore.

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