Day 8 - Albert Costa
Monday, June 2, 2003
Q. Do you have a tactic in mind before the match? Your tactic was to start
very, very fast? What do you have in mind?
ALBERT COSTA: Well, I was trying to play a little quicker today, so I was very
focus at the beginning, trying to get some advantage from the beginning, no?
That's what I did and it helps me a lot for the end of the match.
Q. How do you feel after 15 hours of on-court tennis so far in the tournament?
ALBERT COSTA: Now, I feel great. Today is the first day that it was three sets.
So I don't feel that tired. I think this match is give me confidence because
I played much better tennis, and also I played less time.
So I will have one day of for recover tomorrow and also tonight. So I think
I'm gonna be ready for Wednesday.
Q. What sort of pressure have you felt under --
ALBERT COSTA: Excuse me?
Q. What sort of pressure have you felt just being the defending champion each
time you go out on court this week?
ALBERT COSTA: Well, I think that maybe the first round I was feeling a little
the pressure, no? But after that, I wasn't. I really wasn't.
Because I think they have more pressure. The people who never won the
tournament, they have more pressure because they want to win the tournament.
So at least I had won.
Q. Can you talk a little bit about your serve. I have the impression today you
serve very, very well.
ALBERT COSTA: Yeah. That's what I was not doing this month and a half, playing
on clay. So today I found my serve. I don't know why. I was practicing all the
time, all the time, and today in the right moment I serve pretty good. So it
help me a lot during the match.
Q. You didn't get a lot of credit last year winning the tournament. Do you
feel you're getting more credit this year, winning those big five-set matches?
ALBERT COSTA: Well, no. I think last year I won the tournament and I was the
best player in the tournament. This year I'm in the quarters. So it means like
in this tournament, I have motivation and I'm playing good. I think I have
some credit.
Q. But did you feel at all last year you didn't get as much credit as you
deserved for winning it?
ALBERT COSTA: I think I get credit. That's what I think.
Q. Tommy just won the second set. Once again, the Spanish men are doing
extremely well at this tournament. It's been many years. Can you talk about
what it's like for you guys to come here every year, how comfortable you feel
here?
ALBERT COSTA: I think we feel also very good on clay, and this is another clay
court event, a bigger one, where all the motivation is and where you want to
show that people how good you are. So that's why. We are -- normally we are
better than the others in this surface, and if you have the better tournament,
then you do whatever you can and you do your best.
Q. What's the atmosphere between the Spanish players leading up to the French
Open? Is everybody particularly excited or...
ALBERT COSTA: Yeah, we are very excited because we know that is Grand Slam,
and in clay, we really feel that we have some good chances to do a good
tournament. That's what everybody's is feeling before the tournament.
Q. Do you have a favorite place in Roland Garros?
ALBERT COSTA: Favorite place?
Q. Yes, a court or...
ALBERT COSTA: Yeah, the center court is the favorite place (laughter),
especially if you win.
Q. It's Clement.
ALBERT COSTA: Clement is not I think calling me today (laughter).
Q. When you get on the court and warm up against your opponent, what do you
think of, what do you try to do and look for?
ALBERT COSTA: You asking in the five minutes when we are warming up?
Q. Yes, yes.
ALBERT COSTA: Or the...
Q. Yes, just the five minutes before the match.
ALBERT COSTA: Well, I think you warm up a little bit because you also already
talked with your coach and make a strategy. And then you are just warming.
And then when you are in there, you are trying to get ready to the match.
Q. Are the Spanish players still as close as they were a few years ago,
especially now that some of the younger guys have come up?
ALBERT COSTA: Yeah, yeah. As always, yeah.
Q. What do you get from that, working together?
ALBERT COSTA: What do I get? Well, I think is, for me, is really nice because
is easier to travel. Because sometimes, when you are, like, I don't know,
feeling bad or not playing good and far away from home, then you have friends.
And then still, if you're traveling alone, it's terrible.
But if you have some friends and you can talk, and sometimes maybe you need to
go out one night or something, you have friends to do it. At least you feel
more comfortable and more close to the people.
Q. After the two five-set matches, was there anything you did in particular to
rest your body or to rehabilitate?
ALBERT COSTA: No, I was just doing massage and drinking a lot of water and
stretching all the time and eating well. That's it.
THE MODERATOR: Spanish questions, please.
Q. Can you explain your feelings today when you came to the central court and
then when you went out of the central court. What did you feel like?
ALBERT COSTA: I felt very well. I knew central court was not really going to
support me. They had their last French player to support. They had all their
hopes placed in him.
But this was a very important time for me, and every time I play here, at this
court, I get a very special feeling.
Q. When you left the court, what did you feel?
ALBERT COSTA: I was so happy. I was a bit overcome by the enthusiasm of the
crowd. It was a bit more difficult towards the end, but I was able to wrap it
up. And when you play in central court, you always feel your best.
Q. Have you found your tennis again?
ALBERT COSTA: Yes, also my serve. I've had a more aggressive right hand. I've
been able to keep the ball in the court. Perhaps some of the balls -- some of
the strokes were not there, but I was feeling very, very calm and very well,
really.
I think it felt almost like last year when I played here.
Q. There was a bit of pressure in the first game. But in this last round, it's
even more important because you're playing against a more important player. A
critical round.
ALBERT COSTA: You always know this ahead of time. But as I was saying before,
I'd like to think that I'm not under pressure. Last year I felt under greater
pressure because I was always asking myself, "When am I going to win Roland
Garros?" Now, I want to win as much as I did last year.
But if ever I lost, I could always say, "I won it at one point." So at least
inside you are able to keep calm.
Q. You've found your game again?
ALBERT COSTA: Yes, I think I've played consistently. I've tried to train and
train, and I knew that I had to come back and I hope that I continue. I began
to play better today.
I felt more comfortable out there and I felt also that I got something back
that I had not been able to show in my past matches. So I'm really feeling
very, very well.
Q. The wind out there in the court, has it bothered you at all? At times you
felt that the ball was sort of kept back?
ALBERT COSTA: The wind is kind of strange. It blows one way and it blows
another and there's a bit of whirlpool there and the court is very open. So
we're all used to playing on central court here and you don't have time to
think about these things. All you want to do is hit well and to be able to
play your best game.
Q. Albert, would you prefer Robredo or Kuerten?
ALBERT COSTA: I have my own thoughts about this, but they're both playing very
well out there. It's going to be difficult. Tommy has his hopes high. He's
playing very well. Kuerten is always a dangerous player. He has a lot of
experience. He's been in the finals here. He has a very aggressive game.
Q. If he has -- if Kuerten wins, you have four Spaniards out there in the
quarterfinals. There will be at least one Spaniard out there for the finals?
ALBERT COSTA: We're only -- we have only reached the quarterfinals. To speak
about the finals, it is too soon. Every player is a dangerous player. Coria
plays very well. Verkerk plays very well. Agassi as well.
Q. What is your opinion about Verkerk? Did Moya ask you how to play against
Verkerk?
ALBERT COSTA: He hasn't asked me anything. I played against him last year,
just immediately after Roland Garros in Amsterdam. He was an unknown to me,
utterly unknown. I had a very difficult time in winning over him. I didn't
understand what had happened to me. I was able to win at the end. I lost the
first set, I finally won, I had a break against me in the third set and I
finally was able to win in three sets.
It was a very difficult match and Verkerk is a very ambitious player.
Q. Moya asked you something about Verkerk. You said no, Alex Corretja is out.
Has he called you?
ALBERT COSTA: Yes, he's called me. He said he's very happy but he's green with
envy about what is happening. Of course, we're all sorry for him. He's been
training and he's going to prepare himself for going out to Wimbledon.
Q. This has been your easiest match so far. Have you thought about your past
matches and do you feel proud about what you had to go through to get here?
ALBERT COSTA: Yes, I had to work very hard to get here. Many times when you
don't play too well you just have to keep it up and keep it up and to see what
happens in the end. When you don't have everything going for you, you just try
harder.
So that was what was happening to me. Today this was not the case. I came here
and everything has suddenly changed and I felt more comfortable out there.
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