ATP MASTERS SERIES- MADRID

October 22, 2004

Tommy Robredo

THE MODERATOR: Questions in Spanish for Tommy.

TOMMY ROBREDO: No. I was feeling well today. I've been taking painkillers. It only hurt like once or twice every 10 serves. It was a pity in the second set where I had five breakpoints. That was the key of the match, I think. That was a very, very long game. I got tired. I think he gained confidence, and I lost it. That was a key point. Before that, I was superior.

TOMMY ROBREDO: I'm very close to the top, that's it. Years ago you asked me about my position. I thought certain things were impossible. And right now I'm not thinking this way. There's great players. And I've been close to defeating Agassi and getting to the semifinals. I learned something in each match this year. I've had great experiences.

TOMMY ROBREDO: Well, everything is related. I've improved this year. I'm hitting the ball with more confidence. Sometimes my backhand before was not good. But this time I was able to return Agassi's shots, which is great. I think I've really improved my tennis level, and I proved it on the court. In order to improve a little more, you need to practice a little more. That's the good thing of tennis. Some tennis players are on the top, and some drop. That's the beautiful thing of this sport, the challenge of getting higher and improving your level.

TOMMY ROBREDO: I'm not really thinking about that, about the Masters. That would be a prize. Tomorrow I will go to Basel. I'll play Tuesday. Then I'll play Paris. I'm physically fit. I'm fine. I'm feeling well. I'm motivated, that's the most important thing. I need to end the year as well as possible. This is a new place I'm at. I'm happy about it. About the Masters? First I have to win Basel, get in the quarterfinals in Paris, win Paris. I know that's not impossible, but it's not a goal that I have in mind either. My goal was to be in the Top 10, and I'm close. My goal was not crazy. I'm looking forward to improving.

TOMMY ROBREDO: Yeah, of course. The crowd was proved to support Spaniards. The atmosphere was incredible. The court was almost full. I think the crowd has really supported me. It's a pity there's no more Spaniards for the semifinals or finals, because the crowd deserves that. But that's life.

TOMMY ROBREDO: Nalbandian, Agassi, that could be a great final, enjoyable. I don't know who the winner could be.

TOMMY ROBREDO: If I were captain, I would like to have 25 players fighting for a place in the team. The team is going to have four people. The captains will decide whom. If they name me for the doubles, that would be good. I will try my best. If I have to play singles, I would be happy to, of course. It's a matter of team. In 20 years' time, people will not remember who played the Davis Cup. I mean, if you play the decisive match, as Ferrero, people remember. If you play the first match and win it, maybe people will not remember.

TOMMY ROBREDO: I think a player like me can dream of being Top 10 and still have a Davis Cup there. I won a special title, like Barcelona for me, Godo. It was a title I really value, because it was in Spain. All those things make a good year. Maybe there are better years, but it's difficult.

TOMMY ROBREDO: Well, the matches I played before this were not tiring. It's more the disappointment of seeing a win so close and see it go away. I think the first set I was playing much better than Agassi. There was a Love-40, then two balls more. I don't remember making any errors during those points. I returned well. There was a very good point, too, later. There were some incredible points, very long. He's usually very fast serving. I didn't have time to recover. Then another, a serve, a serve. That was a difficult point for my confidence. Then he broke me. That was a key point. You see Agassi, you know him, then he became confident, then things were not the same. I should have taken advantage of the first set. I was superior then.

TOMMY ROBREDO: That sounds great, but it's not easy to be No. 12 in the ranking. I would really like to keep my position, to play at this level. When one sees himself in a certain place in the ranking, then you can start improving. You have to consolidate your position. It's not easy. You can have a good week and get there. The good thing is to get to a position, stay there, prove that you can keep the place, then keep improving. To keep the level and place I had this year would be great, but then we see we're able to get higher because No. 12, it is not easy. If you look at the magazine we get every week, you see thousands of names. Then when you see yourself No. 12, that's great. I feel proud.

TOMMY ROBREDO: Well, we're not going to play doubles in Basel. He had a problem with his shoulder. I had it, too. So for our own interest, we'll only play singles. In Paris I think we're not going to play either because we're tired, we're exhausted. I think it's better to keep our best for later. If they call us, we will train, we will prepare as carefully as possible. But the important thing is to be close to the team. I don't think we will play any tournaments this year.