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DAVIS CUP BY BNP PARIBAS WORLD GROUP FINAL: ARGENTINA v SPAINDecember 2, 2011Juan Martin Del PotroTito VazquezSEVILLE, SPAIN D. FERRER/J. Del Potro THE MODERATOR: Questions in English. Q. It was a fantastic match. What do you think was the turning point of the match? JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Yes, it was really, really a nice match to see for the crowd, I think. Both played very, very good tennis during the four hours, almost five hours. It's not easy trying and trying for many hours. But in the end, Ferrer plays better. He take the chance in the fifth set and he was playing I think better than the third and the fourth set. Q. Were you very pleased with your level? Do you think it all goes well for the coming year? JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Now it's difficult to say something looking forward or looking the next season. I just finish the match, and I heard David say he played the best match of his career today. I don't know. We are still alive, of course, and we have another chance tomorrow. But anyway, you can see if you play unbelievable tennis against Spain you can lose, anyway. But we are confident in David and Eduardo, and they will play good tennis, as well. Q. Could I ask first, how was your fitness in the fifth set? Because you haven't played a full season of tennis and Ferrer seemed to be the stronger player in the fifth set. How was your fitness? JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Now I'm feeling tired, but it's obviously we play unbelievable intensity during almost five hours. Ferrer is the one player I think after Nadal is who comes after him in this surface. But anyway, we are looking for the doubles tomorrow. We are still alive. And then if I have to play on Sunday, he will take the decision, but I will be ready. Q. Tito, can I ask you, as captain, can I ask you after the first day how optimistic you are now for the rest of the final? CAPTAIN VASQUEZ: Are you from England? Q. Yes. CAPTAIN VASQUEZ: Nice to see you. Basically is very difficult obviously to be 2‑Love down the first day. We knew that Juan Martin was a great player for us, and he was a chance for us to, the best chance to give Argentina one point. He was very, very close from doing it. Especially I believe in the first set. So that's disappointing from our own personal view, but he lost against a great player. I think he was physically very fit. I agree with him, that still we have to be positive about it. We have doubles tomorrow that gets us to 1. Juan Martin will be fit. He can beat Nadal. If anybody in the game that can do the job is Juan Martin and still hopefully win the tie. THE MODERATOR: Questions in Spanish. Q. Tito, you have put Juan Monaco for Rafa. And as for Juan Martin, were you trying to wear Rafa off?  I'm referring to Nalbandian. Are they going to criticize you, or do you know you have good quality leaders in the team? And I also want to highlight that over the last 10 years you have reached several finals. Mar del Plata was at home, but this generation with Del Potro can do it. He's not lost yet, but I want to ask you to give me historical overview. CAPTAIN VASQUEZ: Yes, of course I agree. This generation with Juan Martin as a reference point in the generation can obtain what we want, which is the victory. But this match was very difficult. We knew that coming to play in Spain on clay as a visitor is a challenge. The Spanish team is one of the best ones, and especially for Ferrer and Nadal. They are going through a good stage in their careers. We have given a lot of ourselves to come here in good shape. We have been practicing a lot, and this is the way it goes in tennis. You lose one point, you win one point. We are 2‑0 down, but we have learned a lesson in Serbia. Once we won the semifinal, we were told that that is sports. You lose and you win. Today we have lost, and we will see what happens tomorrow. Q. I wanted to ask you today, what do you think was lacking in Juan Martin to win the game, or do you think you did everything you could? JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: I think, yes, I did the best I could, and for a while I was playing at a very high level. But in the front, if I had had another point I would have made a difference. But it was Ferrer and he is at a very good level now. He has had a spectacular season, and nobody has given the victory as a gift to him. He's earned it. In the fifth set he got a very fast advantage in the break, and it was a long point. People were shouting. The referee said yes, no, and we continued playing. Then I served. He gave me a good evolution. When those things happen, it's because he was playing better than me and because he was making the most out of his opportunities. Q. You have had to hit six, seven times per point. Was that off‑putting to you that you had to fight so much? JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: I was ready for it both with Ferrer and both Nadal in this surface. You have to play shots on the line, and you have to keep very good shots per point. But if David said that the best match of his life was today from the other side of the net, which was me, I felt that there was a guy against me that was doing a spectacular game. And let me insist, in the fifth set he immediately got ahead of me, and that made him play a more calm game. It took me a while to come close in the scoreboard. I did it. I got up to 5‑3, and then he closed by playing really well. Q. We are broadcasting live in Argentina. In the fourth set maybe you lost your chance to win. Could you see the possibility of victory in the fourth set? JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: I was the closest, I was 30‑All, 40‑All, and that was far away, really. In such a long match, five sets, I knew that my last chance was the fifth set. It is the last set which decides everything. I tried to the bitter end. At times I thought I could come back, but it was very difficult, but I had to try, and with a player that is winning in this way, I only have to congratulate him. So that's what I want to do. Q. For Tito, I want to ask you tomorrow you're going to play with David and Eduardo, if you're going to make the decision tonight or if you've already decided that. And for Juan Martin, you have just said that the fifth set was uphill for you. But in the other sets, you started low in the scoreboard, and then you could come back. Did the tiredness in the fifth set play a role? JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Yes, in all sets I started by losing. He started with an advantage very quickly, but in the fifth set he played better than in the third and the second one and in the fourth one, but with Ferrer, he's one of the guys that returned better. My serve was not that important. I didn't have any free points, so you have to work harder with your serve. But since in the other sets I started losing, I could have come back in the fifth one, as well, but in the fifth set he knew how to make the most out of this difference, and I insist he won and he did it really well. CAPTAIN VASQUEZ: You have the question and the same as always. I cannot give you the names of the people tomorrow, even though you can change one hour before. You can get Nadal to play and we could do the same. But in principle, I still have the same designated couple. Q. The end of the fourth set you were a bit tired, and it was more difficult for you to move. In the fifth set we could see that when you were doing the changeover they were massaging you. What happened? Was it tiredness or cramps in your muscles? JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: No, no. It was just so I could be fresher in the fifth set, but I didn't have any problem, not at all. Ferrer went to the toilet in the third set to take a bit of time. I did it in the fifth set. I didn't have to go to the toilet before. We had different options. But I was happy, and Ferrer also did a good game, and he's physically privileged. Physically he's very privileged, fighting for five hours in a surface which is his expertise. It was good and was in his favor. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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