TMS - ROME

May 11, 2001

Nicolas Lapentti

NICOLAS LAPENTTI: Yes, definitely I am pleased. Especially after being down, I didn't know what really to expect. Mentally, I was just doing the best that I can, the best that I could. Because yesterday it was a very exhausting match. I finish late, and it was a bit tough to recover. But I think the key for today's win was my serve. I -- from the second serve, I really served great, I had a -- I'm sure I had a very high first serve percentage, which really helped to shorten the points. And then on his serve, maybe just go for it a little bit, and it worked.

NICOLAS LAPENTTI: Well, I don't know if I'm surprised, but I'm happy. I mean, I played at this level before and I was just a bit anxious to get back to this level, and I'm happy. I'm happy because last year was a bit disappointing for me. To get back and do well in the big tournament is really important. I'm sure this is gonna help me with my confidence. And, well, also especially coming from an injury in Monte-Carlo. I'm mentally very strong. Maybe physically I'm not 100 percent, but mentally I'm hungry so that's -- for me, for my game, that's very important.

NICOLAS LAPENTTI: Well, Juan Carlos is definitely one of the strongest players on clay. He's been playing great this season so far, and I'm sure -- I'm sure he's one of the favorites to win the tournament. I played him before, and I know he's a very strong player. But all I have to do is try to recover, try to rest a lot and be 100 percent for tomorrow, and just do my game, try to serve well, and I know that I have to play a great match to beat him.