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ROGERS CUP

August 11, 2009

Juan Carlos Ferrero

MONTREAL, QUEBEC

J. FERRERO/L. Hewitt
6-1, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Three days in a row, I guess? No, you had yesterday off. Do you feel that the qualifying helped you? Your timing was good and everything?
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: Well, not really, because, you know, first two matches on qualifying, it wasn't realized that I wanted to have.
First match it was too easy with a guy very young, and the second he retired after first set.
So normal qually, it should be helping a little bit, but this qually, it didn't help too much. But, you know, I did all right, very well, to play this match, and I think I feel -- I felt very good, very well.

Q. Did you ask for a wildcard here?
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: No, no. No, because I knew that it was very difficult, because, you know, they wanted to give all Canadian guys, so it was very tough.

Q. This is probably the last qualifying you have to play for a while?
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: Yeah, it's going to be the last one, because I'm 29th position right now, so I think going to be the last one.

Q. Is it difficult, after being on the top, is it difficult to come back and have to play qualifying?
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: It's only here. I mean, it's no time playing qualifying in all tournaments. With the ranking I had with this tournament, it wasn't as good as I need, so I knew that I had to play quallies here.
I realize, and I understand. But of course it's very tough to play quallies when you've been blah, blah, blah. So it is what it is.

Q. Is it tough playing after being up so high and having to fight to get back up there?
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: Not right now, no, because I'm playing very well tennis right now, and I'm feeling very good in the court with a lot of motivation right now, so much that at the beginning of the season, so I'm feeling good.

Q. I think I just watched you on the computer, but in Morocco, Casablanca, whatever, in the spring, and even though it's a small tournament, it's not a big deal, you seemed to be enjoying yourself. Are you enjoying tennis more this year somehow?
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: Yeah, of course. I think after I win Casablanca, I give up my stress that I had. I wanted to win a tournament again, and after all this stuff, I start to enjoy more and playing a little bit better and playing very well in the court.
Also is very important to feel very good physically. I'm 100% so I didn't have the injuries that I had the last couple of years, so, you know, it helps a lot to feel comfortable in the court.

Q. And now is clay still your favorite surface, or do you feel almost as good on hardcourts?
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: Yeah, of course. I feel on hardcourts very well since, you know -- when I was younger, I practice all my life on hardcourts, because in the place that I was practicing, I didn't have clay courts.
So when I was young I was practicing like three or four years still on hardcourt all the time, so that's, as a kid, to play good on hardcourt...
Of course clay is a special court for Spanish players, but anyway, I think I made a lot of great results on hardcourt like Masters Series final and also
the US Open final, so I feel very good on hardcourts, almost the same as clay courts.

Q. How did you feel after 2003 and then all of a sudden Rafa, looked like you might dominate the French Open and then all of a sudden he dominated. Did it seem strange you weren't the one who was doing it?
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: I think it's normal with a guy like Rafa start to play like this, you know. We have to try to be focused on ourselves, you know. Of course, now all the people is looking at him because of his results, but you know, we're still there and we try to give our best. But I think it's normal that all the people is watching him.

Q. Were the people in Valencia disappointed that the America's Cup is not...
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: I'm not very professional on this thing, but of course a little bit. We wanted to have it, and it's not there anymore, so we going to miss for sure.

Q. Did you...
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: I didn't. I couldn't.

Q. There's one picture of you before it started.
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: But it wasn't there. It was in Italy one time that I've been there.

End of FastScripts

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