Day 12 - Guillermo Coria
Friday, June 6, 2003
Q. I am sure we'll be able to talk about the match at length, but before we
do, when you turned and threw that racquet as hard as you could and saw what
happened, were you horrified?
GUILLERMO CORIA: I threw the racquet to touch the ball, as I do usually. But
the thing is, it just flew out of my hands. This is why I felt very badly for
the next few points.
Perhaps that is why I lost the second set. But it was really bad luck. I
didn't mean anything about it, and I apologized three or four times. I
really felt very, very badly. It was not at all my intention to do any harm
with the racquet when I threw it.
Q. Were you surprised that you were not disqualified, and had you been the
referee, would you have disqualified Coria?
GUILLERMO CORIA: It all depends on the intention. But the fact is that I
never intended to do any harm. I simply wanted to touch the ball. I
apologized to the young boy, and they asked him whether he was feeling
all right. I didn't really try to kill him, I didn't intend to do any harm
when I threw the racquet.
Q. Did you also hurt your finger catching a ball that Verkerk had hit back?
How badly did you jam your finger?
GUILLERMO CORIA: The thing is that I was very silly in trying to catch that
ball because it came over very slowly. It meant that I had to use my other
hand.
By the third set, I wasn't feeling any pain, so it didn't really do me any
harm. It's not an excuse for having lost this match. I didn't break my finger.
Q. If somebody would have said before this match that you were going to be
aced 19 times in three sets on this surface as quick as you were, would you
have said, "No way"?
GUILLERMO CORIA: Yes. The fact is, yes. I would have said "no way." He had
many, many aces, one after the other. This is why I lost my rhythm when he
was serving. I was under great pressure because I knew I had to return that
ball. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to break his serve.
So I tried to read where his serve was going to go, and I wasn't even able
to reach the ball on many points because it came back so strongly.
Q. It was a very close match in a lot of ways. I'm wondering if you felt like
he took the risks when he needed to and you didn't, maybe you played a little
bit too conservatively?
GUILLERMO CORIA: No, I don't think so. I think that when we were 4-all,
15-40 in the second set, I took a risk and I didn't have his luck when he
took risks. In the tiebreak, it really was out of my hands by very little.
It is very difficult to play somebody who hits over on his serve in such a
way, and you never really know where the ball is going to go to because you
can't really -- you don't even have the time to see where he's hitting.
So it's very difficult to play a player such as Verkerk who is so strong and
feel calm about it. He hits very well. His strikes are very, very accurate.
He has a very angled serve. That's why he's able to take risks. He did so
accurately.
Q. Play was at a very high level from both players. Then it seemed as if,
after about 2-2 in the second set, your ball began to get shorter, you lost
your length, and you weren't getting to some of the balls that you were
getting to in the first set. Did he wear you down a little bit in the second
set?
GUILLERMO CORIA: Yes, I may have been a bit tired, but more concerned than
anything else because I was trying to concentrate. And I was very worried
about the racquet that I had thrown before. I thought something worse could
have happened, and I was not really concentrating on what I had to do.
Then when I began to think about strategy, I began to hit deeply into the
court. I began to take some risks. This is when he had shots that were
shorter. Perhaps this is when I tried to take the initiative again.
Q. At one moment it looked like you had control of the match when it was
15-40 on his serve. Then you lost two balls by trying to hit winner. Do you
think it was a sign you lost your patience? It's you who are a clay
specialist. Was it better maybe to keep the ball in and to put the pressure
on him so he would make the mistake? It was a chance, I mean, to be back in
the match.
GUILLERMO CORIA: Yes, perhaps if I had defended and lost that point, why not
take a risk?
Well, I took a risk, but it didn't work out for me. So I was unlucky. When
I had an opportunity, I knew I had to take it because I knew they were very
few and far between, the chances I was going to get.
When you play against somebody who serves this way, you know you have to take
your chances. But you may lose the timing on the shots.
It's difficult to play. I'm not really very concerned, because when I was
going 15-40, I took a risk. Perhaps it didn't work out for me, but this is
an experience that I will look back on. I'm not very concerned because
although I didn't play my best tennis, I tried to run as hard as I could
and to fight until the end.
Q. Generally speaking, this is an observation. Especially for second and
third set, it looked as if you were under some psychological pressure based
on your balls. Because it looked like as your hand was little bit shortened
under pressure, instead, because you are much better on clay than he. So is
there anything true about this observation?
GUILLERMO CORIA: It may be. My strategy was to make him run and to be as
precise as I could in the placement of my shots.
I had to win my serves - in any way I could. Otherwise, I couldn't really
break his serve when it was his turn.
But I was not really under pressure because I was better than him on this
kind of surface. It just shows that today he played better than I did, maybe.
He had a perfect day, while I had an unlucky day, which wasn't the case when
I played against Agassi.
I'm not concerned because I really tried as hard as I could, and I didn't
put myself under any pressure in terms of having to win this match. I knew
I was playing against a very good player.
Q. Maybe for the next match you should maybe take more risk in the game? Do
you feel now there was something you should change in your strategy?
GUILLERMO CORIA: You have to be on the court. It's very difficult when you're
in the outside to say, "Why didn't he take a risk? Why didn't he do this? Why
didn't he do that?"
Inside the court you see things differently. Some players take more risks
than others. Perhaps I didn't take enough risks today as I may have done
against Agassi. It's my first semifinals at a Grand Slam. Roland Garros is
the tournament that I would like most to win. I did what I could.
Perhaps later on I'll be able to take more risks. I'm going to talk this
over with my trainer, with my coach, and see whether I can practice. But
I can't really change my game.
But as I said before, I played as well as I could.
Q. Two-part question. First part is had you ever heard of Martin Verkerk
before this tournament? Second part is what advice would you give the person
who's going to play him in the final?
GUILLERMO CORIA: Yes, I knew Verkerk. His results have been quite good. I
was impressed by his being so tall, by his serve. I knew him. I'm not
surprised that he's reached the finals because he's a very good player,
indeed.As for the second question, the advice that I would give anyone
playing in the finals is to play a better serve during his own serve and
to be intelligent about the return of his serve and to concentrate on the
ball, because it can come any which way.
THE MODERATOR: Spanish questions, please.
Q. Do you think it was decisive, the fact that you had this incident with
throwing the racquet, in losing this match, or do you think there were
other reasons for losing this game today?
(No Spanish translation.)
Q. Had something like this happened to you in another tournament?
GUILLERMO CORIA: No, with Agassi I did exactly the same thing.
Q. (Inaudible)?
GUILLERMO CORIA: No, it wasn't lack of experience. Throwing the racquet was
simply a fluke, accident. I didn't mean to, I apologized. The ball boy
accepted my apologies. There's nothing more to be said about that, I don't
think.
Q. You had a very intense month playing tennis here in Europe. After this
month, what will you do and what are you thinking?
GUILLERMO CORIA: This is very impressive results, the fact that I came to
Roland Garros as one of the favorites, the fact that I almost came into the
finals in Roland Garros is unbelievable, amazing.
I think I dealt with it well. I think I played tennis at a very good level,
and I'm very happy because of the great results that I obtained.
Now I have to keep it up, I have to work even harder in the future. I'm very
happy because of the last six months and the results.
Q. Do you think 2004 will be your Roland Garros?
GUILLERMO CORIA: If it's not 2004, I hope it will be 2005 or 2006.
These two weeks have been a great experience for me. I'd never gone beyond
three rounds at Roland Garros. My results here have been excellent. I've had
to work very hard in order to be able to win here and to get as far as I did
here, and I have to continue to improve my game.
Q. When you were losing the tiebreak in the third set, a colleague, who was
not an Argentinian, came by and said, "Maybe he won't have a second chance."
I don't think so. Do you think you will have one or two more times to go
before you win here?
GUILLERMO CORIA: No, I think that if I continue to play as I've been playing,
I have many, many chances. The semifinals or the finals, or perhaps even win
the title. But the thing is that I will continue to work very hard and I will
try to obtain my dream. I hope there will be many, many chances.
Q. What was your main mistake today? Have you had time to analyze this?
GUILLERMO CORIA: Perhaps I hurried too much in my serve when I had the
advantage. I knew that I had to win. It was very important for me to win, and
perhaps it was a mistake to hurry myself along. I should have played more
coolly, more intelligently.
But he didn't give me many other chances, because there wasn't too much of a
rhythm to his game.
Q. In the tiebreak in the third set you didn't see that he had changed sides?
GUILLERMO CORIA: I asked for the ball from the ball boy, and I had a hope
that if I won one more point, perhaps he would lose his nerve to some extent
because we're all under pressure when we're playing at this level.
Q. When you had a score of 15-40, you went to the referee's chair. Why?
GUILLERMO CORIA: Because I didn't know what he said.
Q. I saw Guillermo Vilas was watching you play today.
GUILLERMO CORIA: Yes, I saw him there in the stands. I think he watched for
a while. It's important for him to be here. I saw Batata (Jose Luis Clerc)
here as well. They gave me some advice. Of course, it's always interesting
to hear what your elders have to tell you.
Q. Imagine another match against Verkerk. He always plays this way. You
cannot predict what he's going to do. Do you think you can beat him?
GUILLERMO CORIA: I think you can win playing against Verkerk. His serve was
very good today, and he sort of unhinges you to some extent with his serve.
But there's some opportunities that are always afforded to his opponent.
I wasn't able to take advantage of them as I could have.
I know him better, but I know it's difficult to play him because you never
know where his shots are going to go. With other players, they're more
reliable; you know exactly how they're going to hit the ball.The thing is
that today I think I was playing good tennis.
Q. What did he say at the end?
GUILLERMO CORIA: No, he congratulated me, but I don't really remember. He
might not remember either.
I also congratulated him because he's a good human being and he deserves
to be in the finals.
Q. You reached the semifinals in Australia. You've had a very good year.
In Wimbledon and in the US Open, what do you hope to do with your game?
GUILLERMO CORIA: I have to continue to practice very hard. I'm very
interested in playing Masters. Playing Wimbledon also depends on the draw
and a bit on luck. I'd like to continue to play as I've been playing. If
I'm able to do this, I would probably get the same results as I did here,
in Roland Garros, or in Australia. I hope to continue to play, as I said,
as I've been doing it, and to keep at the same level.
Q. When are you going back to Argentina, and what are you going to do?
GUILLERMO CORIA: I'm going to go back in one week. I'm going to take a rest.
I want to be with my family. Then I will begin training for Wimbledon. I
want to be as well-prepared as I can be for Wimbledon.
Q. (Inaudible)?
GUILLERMO CORIA: I don't know whether this has been confirmed. I think it's
Wednesday before Wimbledon with Gonzalez. I do not know whether this has been
confirmed.
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