Day 9 - Guillermo Coria
Tuesday, June 3, 2003
Q. You're in the semifinals now. You played against, everybody says you said so
, your idol. How does it feel now? Is it difficult?
GUILLERMO CORIA: Yes, it was very difficult. Above anything else, because he's
an excellent player.
Q. (Inaudible)?
GUILLERMO CORIA: The thing is that it was difficult to play against Agassi. I
know that after losing the first set I was able to leave my fears behind and to
be able to control the game. This is why I was able to play relaxed.
I'm very happy because I'm never going to forget this throughout my life.
Q. We know you're an extraordinary offensive player. Today we discovered your
two-hand backhand. You got many points with that deliberate tactic. Also, Andre
Agassi said that maybe your only weakness is your serve. Do you agree with that
statement?
GUILLERMO CORIA: Yes, I think that the balls were very heavy today. Both of us
broke our serves to each other. But I'm really very relaxed because I've been
able to serve well. The type of game from a technical point of view is to be
more offensive, to shorten the exchanges. I think I played well today.
I did everything I had to do. Perhaps I made a few mistakes, but very, very few
. In order to be able to keep among the best, I really have to be very good at
everything in terms of tennis. Because otherwise, I won't be able to win in
this level.
So I have to work on my serve, on my forehand, on my backhand, on everything.
But I think I played well today and I was able to wrap up the match.
Q. You were unable to play for seven months. Did you have any concerns that you
would ever be able to get back the magic in your game after you were able to
start playing again?
GUILLERMO CORIA: Yes, no doubt. Because I was always certain that I was really
-- that I really only had my game to fall back on. This is why I was so strong
and I wanted to come back to the tour.
I think I'm playing well. Psychologically, I'm well off.
What happened to me is behind me, and I think that now I'm living through the
happiest moment of my life.
I never thought that I wasn't going to come back, nor did I think I wasn't
going to be able to regain my game.
Q. Verkerk is a slightly different in the size and style to how you play. Will
this change your style of play, of how you approach the game?
GUILLERMO CORIA: Well, he's four times taller than I am. But I played with
Philippoussis in Hamburg and I played very well. I was not going to let myself
be impressed by his strength, his size, his serve. I was going to be a wall.
In any case I'll have to be very strong in returning the ball. I'll have to go
after every single point.My footwork has to be very good because he's a huge
opponent.
But this probably will be a match without too much of a rhythm. I hope to be
relaxed and to play as I've been playing here. Of course, it's going to be
difficult.
Q. Have you played him before, Verkerk?
GUILLERMO CORIA: No, I never played against him.
Q. Do you feel you were able to pursue the strategy and tactics that you had
planned for this match today, and were you surprised by anything in the match
today?
GUILLERMO CORIA: Yes. I can play like I did today. There were many games such
as this one where you had to go after every single point. It was mainly to be
able to dominate the game, to trust in yourself. I think the fact that I was so
sure about my game is the reason why I was ultimately able to win. I think this
was really important.
Perhaps in the past I wasn't sufficiently sure about my game. The fact that I
was so sure today was perhaps the key to winning.
Q. Andre likes to dictate the points. When he plays somebody like you who can
retrieve almost every ball, at some point he's going to start going for a
little too much maybe, closer to the lines, maybe closer to the baseline. At
what point in this match did you feel he became a bit frustrated at your
retrieving all the balls he hit?
GUILLERMO CORIA: The fact is that he's a warrior. He thought that perhaps I was
playing a very strong game. That's why I retrieved every single ball and went
after every single ball. I knew that I had to make him run on the right hand,
which is what is more difficult for him.
But the thing is that everything went my way today. Had it not been so, I
wouldn't have come out ahead.
So I am really very happy, because I knew that Agassi was a bit worried at some
point. This was a boost to my confidence.
Q. Your start was quite convincing, you led. But Andre hit so many winners. So
the first set, was there any particular thought that passed through your mind
in these moments, as it looked like you accelerate your game in the second set?
GUILLERMO CORIA: The first set I think I didn't get quite the same results.
There were a few advantages there. I think he played very well and he was able
to come out ahead. Perhaps I was a bit nervous.
Then, I loosened up and I began to play when we were going 4-1. At no point did
I think that I was going to lose the match. I think I did everything that had
to be done. This is why I won a very difficult match, because if I were to
think about where I was standing and who I was playing against, I wouldn't have
been able to wrap it up.
Q. You surprised him with your two-handed backhand down the line, backhand on
his forehand side. Was there any particular moment that you thought you really
had the game and that you would beat Andre Agassi?
GUILLERMO CORIA: Yes, the strategy was to play to his right because that's
where he has a weakness. This strategy worked out well today, and I was able to
see that I was able to wrap up the match. I saw that I was able to win after
the second set.
So I knew that I had to continue to play exactly the same kind of game, not try
to change it. I had to go after every single stroke in order to be able to make
a difference in this game.
Q. I have a question about the official program for tomorrow. We would like to
know, what is your favorite place in the Roland Garros stadium, where you like
to be the most, and why?
GUILLERMO CORIA:In the computer, the dressing rooms because I can talk to my
family there and I can communicate with my friends and my family. I see what's
happening in Argentina. I think many of the players like to go there and use
the computers.
THE MODERATOR: Questions in Spanish, please.
Q. You know that your life has changed from this moment onwards. When Agassi
has his last stroke with his right hand and you know you're going to win, what
does it mean to you?
GUILLERMO CORIA: It means that I'm never going to forget this day. When I was
about to serve, many things went through my mind. So I don't really want to
relax yet. I want to continue with the same eagerness to win.
When everything is behind me, after this whole tournament is over, I'll maybe
have time to think about what took place.
Q. Have you spoken to your family?
GUILLERMO CORIA: No.
Q. What did Andre say at the end of the match?
GUILLERMO CORIA: Yes. He congratulated me at the end. He told me he hoped that
I would be lucky, and I have a racquet that he gave me, which I kept as a
souvenir. (我笑倒....他真的很喜歡跟人家要東西耶...球拍?)
Q. When you were close to the net, what were you thinking about?
GUILLERMO CORIA: I was very, very happy because I had really given my best in
this match. The fact that I won is something that makes me very happy.
I thought to myself about everybody who's always been a help in my tennis
career. It's difficult to explain exactly what one feels at a moment such as
that.
Q. Perhaps you may win this tournament, but you've been dreaming about this
since you were 15 years old. You watched the tournaments when you were a
young boy at home.
GUILLERMO CORIA: I don't know if winning Roland Garros will make me happier
than what I'm feeling right now. I can't even believe it. I'm not thinking
ahead about winning Roland Garros - I get over this, certainly.
But I'm really never going to forget this minute. I want to think about the
next game and not relax because I still have to go some ways. And I have to be
very careful about this match because it's going to be very difficult.
Q. When did you think that Agassi was tired, that you could win this match?
GUILLERMO CORIA: You never see that on the court. He's always really attentive;
he's always there throughout the match; he's always thinking about the ball,
concentrating. You know that if you play deeply, he still has a chance.
But I never really thought that he was down or frustrated. All I was thinking
about was that I had to do what -- I had to continue playing the way I was
playing in order to get the results I wanted.
Q. You're a soccer fan. Could you talk something more about that.
GUILLERMO CORIA: Yes, I like soccer very much. I played until I was 11 years
old. I was undecided between tennis and soccer. Because I thought that I would
be a better tennis player, I finally opted for tennis. But I love to watch
River Plate and soccer in general.
Q. What did Mancini say after the match?
GUILLERMO CORIA: He was very happy. They told me to take into account where I
was standing, the fact that I was here, and to be just as eager tomorrow as I
was today. I think we deserve a celebration after the next few matches.
Of course what's still ahead is still the most difficult.
Q. At some point in the match were you aware of what was still ahead or were
you thinking about the game?
GUILLERMO CORIA: I tried to keep thinking about the game. In the second set I
looked around me and saw all the fans. I thought to myself, "I can't think
about these things." The fact that I concentrated made me play well.
I didn't really think too much about the possibility of winning, because that
would have made me very nervous and I was afraid of feeling cramps or anything
happening to me. So I tried to be as positive, to think positive thoughts.
Q. Verkerk is fine for your next opponent, or would you have preferred Moya?
GUILLERMO CORIA: I would have liked to have played with Moya because I know him
better and his game has more rhythm to it.
But the truth is that I have to be very strong because he has a very strong
serve. I have to play very quickly. I have to make him move.
Any of the tour would have been a difficult rival in any case.
Q. I may be wrong, but if I read the expression on your face, I thought that
when you were playing with Zabaleta you were under more tension, you were less
relaxed. Today, you were more relaxed. This is what I could see on your face. I
noticed from the way you were walking and your body language. Is this true?
GUILLERMO CORIA: Yes. With Mariano, we both knew we could win that match and
advance to the quarterfinals. I was very worried because I really wanted to
come into the quarterfinals. So perhaps I was more nervous than usual.
Today, I was more relaxed. I wanted to enjoy the moment. I wanted to enjoy the
fact I was playing against Agassi, because I dreamt of this moment for a long
time.
Perhaps, that's also why I had the right mindset in order to play this match.
Q. You've been using an Argentinian T-shirt. For any special reason?
GUILLERMO CORIA: Because I love my country very much and I miss my country. So
they gave me this shirt here, and this is why I'm wearing it, it's the
Argentinian T-shirt.
Q. Here, in the official journal, it said that you don't have any superstitions
?
GUILLERMO CORIA: Yes, I do have superstitions. I always put my racquets on the
same side.
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Coria的心態調整的不錯!
我喜歡他那種"要相信自己會贏"的心態!
※ 編輯: maria08452 來自: 61.230.112.108 (06/04 03:43)