	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

FEDCUP FINALS: ITALY v USA

November 7, 2010

Florent Serra

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

F. SERRA/A. Montanes
6-4, 1-6, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How does it feel playing in front of so many people?
FLORENT SERRA: It's good for the last tournament of the season. A great atmosphere; it was super. I had never seen the court before. I just briefly warmed up on it this morning. So when I stepped onto the court, a spotlight shone. It was full. It was nice. A great atmosphere from the start.
Until the end, I really felt I wanted to give back to the crowd all the encouragements they were giving me. It ended up well. We want more of those atmospheres and those courts.

Q. Did it put some pressure on you at the beginning of the match?
FLORENT SERRA: Well, it was a bit tense. I don't know if it was because of my last practice sessions where I didn't play well or what, although sometimes you play well in practice and you don't play well during the match.
But lately I had decided to rest, and I had this invitation to come and play here at the last minute. I thought it was a good thing, but I was not able to prepare well.
So I was a bit tense in the beginning of the match. It was not because of the atmosphere, because I have some experience of that. But I was trying to play too hard, and sometimes I missed.
Fortunately today I was able to pull out, because little by little I was able to relax a little bit and play better, especially in the second set, and it ended up very well.
I remember in Montpelier I lost the match point against Nieminen and I lost the match; whereas this match was better. I was able to finish it. So in tennis, things can change.

Q. Do you believe the first game of the second set was a turning point? Because you were able to save some game points.
FLORENT SERRA: Yes, I do, because in the beginning of the second set I thought, Well, now I should try to relax. The court was very fast, so I was realizing that I was being always late on my points. I tried to play them deeper and more relaxed, and this is how I was able to play better.
Two or three times I made stupid mistakes so he had break points, and it came -- it could have gone very bad for me; fortunately I was able to save those points. So after that game I was able to break him, and I was serving better and better. I believe this was because I was more relaxed and I was moving better.
But I can still do a bit better than that. I made too many mistakes. I was far behind the baseline, more than usual. So I can improve for the next match. But anyway, it was better and better. It was not my best match of the year, but as I said, it's a very good win, especially in a great tournament like this one.
I will need to practice a certain number of things tomorrow and I try to play a bit better Tuesday against Berdych.

Q. On the tiebreaker you started off very well, and after that you had a letdown. What happened?
FLORENT SERRA: Well, I returned well on the first point, but as I said, in tennis things can go very fast. Sometimes you don't control the point immediately after your serve, so what I was thinking in my mind was that I should try to finish it off then.
I started off well. I had good tiebreakers lately. I won many of them. So when I got to this tiebreaker, I thought, Well, it's okay. It's cool. I don't need to force myself.
So I started off well, and also he helped me because he gave me one or two points. I had a good percentage of first serve. In the tiebreaker, very quickly the score goes fast and you can come to 4-1. But things can go fast also the other way.
So fortunately I was able to manage the important points well. Because as I said before, it could have gone the wrong way.

Q. How do you see your next match against Berdych?
FLORENT SERRA: I played against him in Indian Wells, and I played Montanes in Miami. Against Berdych I played well. He was playing well at the time. It was just before he played well in the French Open and Wimbledon. It was tight match. I had lost 7-5, 6-4. He likes to play fast, so I will need to play as many shots as I can against him.
Because it's been a month now that he hasn't played as well as the beginning of the year, so I will need to play like I did today, and play better and better. I need to be cool, relaxed, and I need to be aggressive, because he doesn't like that.
It's going to be a very difficult match because he's a seeded player. It's gonna be a good match for me. I have nothing to lose, and I'm going to enjoy myself on center court with a good crowd like this.

Q. Can you talk about the match points? What happened in your mind at that moment?
FLORENT SERRA: Well, the crowd was helpful several times. Even when I got broken they were behind me, and at every important moment there was a great atmosphere.
So at that moment I missed my forehand by very little, and I concentrated on my serve. I tried to serve well and breathe deeply, and I played two very good points. I went to the net and I had a good first serve, and that helps.
It's not easy. But on the other hand, if you start thinking too much it's not good. In Montpelier against Nieminen I played well too at that moment. I had gone up to the net, too.
But here I was able to be aggressive and play a good serve, and this time I was lucky.

Q. About the conditions, you said it was faster. Is it much faster than last year?
FLORENT SERRA: Yes, it is. It's smoother, too, so the ball doesn't bounce as high. So it's slightly different compared with Metz. The ball bounced higher there and the surface was slower.
Here it's faster, but it's not unpleasant. I think it's quite good against Montanes. It helped me because he prefers to have more time.
But you need to concentrate on your serve. This gives you a stronger position, because the rallies are not very long on this surface. There's nothing to say. Center court is good, especially with a crowd like this.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297