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U.S. OPENSeptember 8, 2013Alexander PeyaBruno SoaresNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK PAES‑STEPANEK/Peya‑Soares MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. First of all, this was a great run for you guys. I know it's not the result today that maybe you wanted, but can you take a lot of positives from the tournament? BRUNO SOARES: Oh, yeah. I mean, great two weeks. Last few days after semis it wasn't the best days knowing the situation that we had to face before going into the finals. But, I mean, nothing to complain. Was another great run. Been having a great year. Come in here and play our first slam final, it's very nice. Unfortunate that we could not really play the final. But, I mean, just being there and the atmosphere and everything was very nice for us. Only positive things to take out of this tournament. Q. Alexander, your injury, can you talk about what you experienced? ALEXANDER PEYA: Well, it happened at the end of the semis when I reached for an overhead or something. Kind of pulled a muscle. Treated it the last two days. Couldn't serve in practice, so I knew it's going to tough. Took some painkillers. That helped a little bit. But every time I reached for something, it got worse and worse until at one point it just ‑‑I even heard a snap on my serve, and then it was done. Q. Throughout the match, then? You never felt 100% throughout the match? ALEXANDER PEYA: No, never. Whoever knows me knows that usually I'm a bit quicker (smiling). Serve speed, it was tough, and with the windy conditions, it didn't help. So, yeah, was not... Q. They seemed to be playing some of their best tennis. They played a fortnight. How well were they playing? BRUNO SOARES: Well, that's another thing that also it was tough, knowing our condition, and they came playing unbelievable. They make every single shot, and that made way more complicated for us. We weren't sharp enough in the beginning, and they were just playing unbelievable. But, I mean, credit to them. They had a great week. They had a tough draw. They beat the Bryans in semis, so I think it's well‑deserved. Q. What's it like ‑‑I mean, it's got to be frustrating knowing going in that you're not going to be able to give one of the best doubles teams in the world, with Leander one of the finest doubles players ever, and not be able to give them a true test of what you guys are capable of doing. That must have felt quite frustrating going into the match. ALEXANDER PEYA: It was frustrating, but I was hoping I could make it through the match like with painkillers, everything. I didn't know how well I can serve because I didn't try. I felt the last few days I cannot serve. I thought with painkillers and everything it might help. They did to a certain extent, but unfortunately we were not 100%. And then against two guys like that that play on this level and the way they played, being confident after beating the Bryans, everything, I mean, they made every shot for one‑and‑a‑half sets until they saw I'm injured, actually (smiling). Like Bruno said, credit to them. I think they really deserved this title. Q. You weren't able to practice then ahead of the match? Is that correct or not? ALEXANDER PEYA: We practice, but limited. Q. It must be amazing. It's the last slam. You got to the finals. You won the Masters in Montreal. It has been a great journey so far, right? BRUNO SOARES: Oh, yeah. Nothing to complain. Those are things ‑‑I mean, those are things that happens. We have to deal with that. Of course came in not in the best moment after semifinals and going to our first slam final. But we had a great season, great summer. First 1000 event in Montreal. Another great run here. Like I said, we're very happy with everything that's going on. We are playing some great tennis. Today is just something apart. Right now really hope that Alex gets better and just keep on playing some good level to the end of the year. Q. What is the injury? What diagnosis is it? Is it a pulled muscle? ALEXANDER PEYA: It's a pulled muscle, but I have to get some pictures to see how big everything. I'm going to do that when I get back home. Q. Is it your back? Rib cage? ALEXANDER PEYA: It's the back. Q. You started the fortnight on a fun note. You played an American team with Blake on the veteran side, the rookie coming in. Americans were very strongly involved in that match. That had to be fun. What was that like for you? ALEXANDER PEYA: It was a lot of fun. It was great atmosphere. They gave us a hard fight and won the first set. I think we came back strong, and, yeah, we really enjoyed that match with all the atmosphere, James' last match. It was an honor to play against him in his last match. Q. You know, it was interesting that were you surprised that you were hurt, but, you know, and then the games were pretty close, right? More games than in the first set. What happened there? The dynamic of it, were they not used to the shots? You started making a lot of shots, too. So what happened that you're still successful in a way, you know, for a while? ALEXANDER PEYA: I think that's how mental the game can be sometimes. They saw that we cannot play 100%, not even like 60% from that point on. Then it was kind of tough. It was a new situation for them, as well. But, yeah. BRUNO SOARES: Made some great moves. I was there. (laughter). ALEXANDER PEYA: Bruno was taking over. He was enjoying himself (smiling). Q. Regardless of the outcome of the match, but were you able to just to enjoy it a little bit to play on such a great court? BRUNO SOARES: Oh, yeah, a lot. Enjoyed it a lot. Wished we could have enjoyed it a little more, but it was fun. It's always nice to play in that stadium. I had an opportunity to play last year, and it's very nice. It's the biggest stadium in tennis we have. Really nice that the crowd came. A lot of atmosphere, a lot of Brazilians, so could hear them cheering. It was an amazing experience. We just hope we get another shot. Q. Congratulations. I think we can say keep going, because Leander and Stepanek was in the final last year and they lost, and now they won. Who knows, history can repeat next year. My question is: Both of you came from countries with amazing tennis culture. Can you tell me who was the tennis player impacted your life, your career? Who impacted the most your career? ALEXANDER PEYA: Melzer is one year younger than me, so that's tough growing up. But, I mean, of course, Tomas Muster had a huge influence for the tennis in Austria. He was No. 1 in the world, one of the greatest clay‑court players especially, I think ever. My personal idol was always Boris Becker growing up, and he had the biggest impact on me personally. BRUNO SOARES: Well, my side, it was definitely Thomaz Koch and Guga. Thomaz Koch, I was coached by him until I was 13, and he was really the first guy that showed me‑‑ talked about Grand Slams, the big tournaments at that time. I was so young I didn't really think about any of this. He was the first guy that showed me. Like he won the French and mixed and talking about that. He was the first guy that made me dream about that. And also Guga had a huge influence. When I was a junior he won the French and he was No. 1 in the world. So he was the guy that really changed tennis in Brazil and made us believe that it was possible to have a good Brazilian tennis player and play at this level and win at the big tournaments. Q. You know, Scott Davidoff is a wonderful coach, and he has worked with, you know, great players, you know, that are still on the tour. How important is it to bring Scott's experience in your success so far? ALEXANDER PEYA: I think it's very important. He's a big part of our success. We have been working a lot with him throughout the last 12, 14 months, and I think it really shows on the court. Certain parts you can do on your own, but I think to really get it going together, you need a good coach. Scott is really helping us. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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