TMS - THE ERICSSON OPEN

March 23, 2000

Carlos Moya

ATP: Carlos goes through to the second round where he'll face Pete Sampras. First question for Carlos, please.

CARLOS MOYA: It's great. After six months where I have this injury, I didn't think I was going to win a match. But now I won first one in Scottsdale two weeks ago. I lost to Ferrero and Hewitt. Here I win again. I have a tough match tomorrow or Saturday, I don't know when. But it's great - just being back on court is great for me. I'm happy and very excited. Now I know that I need to win some matches to get confident again, to feel that I'm able to win or to beat any player. I think tomorrow is a great opportunity for me to show that, to believe in myself again, just to know that I'm able to beat any player. Tomorrow is going to be a good match for me.

CARLOS MOYA: Or Saturday, I don't know. I say "tomorrow." I mean the next match.

CARLOS MOYA: Well, it was a stress fracture on my L-4 vertebra, the lower back. It happened in the States here last year. I think it was Indianapolis when I started feeling some pain, then I could play Indianapolis, Long Island, and I had to retire in US Open against Escude. They told me it was something else, like in two weeks I would be okay. I played Mallorca. I think at that point I really broke my vertebra. After that, nobody knew exactly what it was. After a month, I was told that it (was/wasn't ?) a stress fracture, I was going to be two months off without playing, practicing at all. Then I try to go somewhere else to check if they had the same opinion. I visit like four, five doctors. None of them have the same opinion. That really confused me a little bit. I thought for Australia I was going to be okay. I didn't practice much. I went to Australia; I could not play. When I was back in Spain, I was told even with the pain, I should practice. That's what I did. The pain is not really gone yet. But at least I can play. Looks like I can win a few matches. What I need is to win a few more.

CARLOS MOYA: Since first time it hurt?

CARLOS MOYA: Maybe two months, two months to find out exactly what it was.

CARLOS MOYA: It looks like the bone is healed. But still the area around it is trying to protect, you know. Maybe it's more like stiff, you know, than it used to be. It doesn't have the flexibility of before because I feel it sometimes. Doctor told me that I have to play even with that pain, and maybe still, I don't know, like two or three months I still have it. Now I can stand it. I can play and it doesn't bother me as it did before.

CARLOS MOYA: Not exactly.

CARLOS MOYA: When I was serving, it didn't hurt. It was hurting on my forehand. They told me the way I hit the forehand is probably why it happened. But if I change my forehand, I don't know what to do. It's my strongest weapon. I cannot change it. So I try to make the area stronger, a lot of abdominals, to make more flexible. Now I can hit the forehand the way I did before.

CARLOS MOYA: I think is because the tour is becoming really tough. Since first rounds you have to give your best, play many tournaments, changing surfaces. I think you put that all together and it's normal that it happens so often. Not only the top players, but all the others. Of course, when he's a top player, you know that, and everybody knows that. But also not the top players get injured pretty often. I think that's why, because it's very competitive, and the tour became really tough. I think that's the reason.

CARLOS MOYA: I think he was. Somewhere here (indicating) ribs. He told me after.

CARLOS MOYA: Really hard? Maybe a month before I came here I start practicing, doing my fitness, running, lifting weights, really tough. Tennis, maybe two weeks before -- ten days before Scottsdale maybe was the first time I play maybe two sets, with pain of course.

CARLOS MOYA: I think I have been to be very consistent from baseline, trying to hold my serve, which won't be easy because he has a very good forehand, he just go to net very often. I can play some good points, even games, but I not able to hold the serve all part of the match. Today I did, I served pretty well. Tomorrow will be different. I know he's serving very well. But at least, I mean, I have to try to put all the returns in and make him play the point, every point, move him. I'm looking forward to play a good match tomorrow or Saturday, whatever, to cause him some trouble, try to win that match.

CARLOS MOYA: Well, '98, the beginning of '99, too. After I play the final in Indian Wells, I reach the highest goal I can ever reach, being No. 1. Maybe after that, I got a bit relax. You know, I think it's normal when you achieved what you've been dreaming since you were a kid, to last a little bit. Also after that I had injury in my finger, yeah, which I was not able to play my best until maybe Rome, Hamburg/Rome. After that, maybe I didn't play that well. Then I had that injury. It's probably because of such a tough year we had '98 and finishing of '99. That's why I say that the tour is becoming so tough, so competitive now, you have to fight since the first round. Any player can beat you. I think that's why being concentrated and focused every match, I mean, you get tired after all that.

CARLOS MOYA: Well, I like to relax. I think there's no way to be competitive all part of the year if you don't relax your body and you don't have fun, you don't go with your friends. You have to do sometimes . To disconnect from here, you have to do sometimes what you like. That's something that a tennis player, we are not able to do as often as we would like to. But I'm trying to do that. I'm trying to live my life and be myself. That's what I've been told since I was a kid, to be myself. That's what I'm trying to do. I don't bother anyone. I'm just doing my way. It's the way I am. I don't know, it has the right things and the wrong things. I'm trying to live my life.