[Interview]Guillermo Coria 06/24/2004
Coria Interview
Thursday, June 24, 2004
THE MODERATOR: Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen. Guillermo Coria. We're
going to offer translation. We'll kick off for questions in English, which
will be translated into Spanish, and the answers translated back. We'll swap
about halfway through and for those journalists who would like to ask
questions in Spanish, they will be translated. Everybody will hopefully get
the full interview.
Q. It was a long wait, but worth it in the end. How did you spend your time
the last two days?
GUILLERMO CORIA: Quietly, watching lots of films. And I'm ready to wait, just
as I have done, as much as is necessary because in Wimbledon it can happen.
I might even say that for me it was better because I had played a lot of
matches last week, but I would have liked to have finished this match the day
before yesterday.
Q. What movies?
GUILLERMO CORIA: I don't remember the names anymore. I saw five or six. I saw
one with Antonio Banderas, Robert DeNiro.
Q. When you play only two points, then you walk on the court, you knock up,
leave the court, does it make it difficult to celebrate or do you feel like
you've done something big after the match?
GUILLERMO CORIA: I went on the court seriously concentrating on those two
points. I had to concentrate on those two points. I could not not pay
attention to those two points, so the preparation for it was focusing. But I
also was sure of myself. I felt strong and I felt -- I had confidence. But
it's not usual to go into a match the way we went today.
Q. How frustrated were you on Tuesday evening when you kept going on and off
court because of the rain breaks, and you were so close to clinching the
match, but couldn't quite finish it?
GUILLERMO CORIA: I was quite mad because I thought it should have been
stopped earlier. It was drizzling, so we were in danger. We could have hurt
ourselves. But then when the score was 5-3, I really wanted to finish.
Then when I fell, I was a bit frightened because my leg was pulling, was
really hurting. Fortunately, it wasn't serious. I had it looked after. But it
was impossible to go on playing anyway.
Q. Is it fair to say you asked the umpire to stop at one point?
GUILLERMO CORIA: I asked him five or six times because it was damp, it was
dangerous. That's why I was a bit angry.
Q. There's been some time that's passed now since your disappointment in
Paris. You've had time to let the emotions flow away and think more
intelligently about how to attack the problem that came up there. Do you feel
like you need to see a sports psychologist? How can you overcome what
happened to make sure it doesn't happen again?
GUILLERMO CORIA: No, each time I finish a tournament, the following day I'm
thinking about playing, how I'm playing. That was a tough time because of how
I lost, the final. But I feel strong. I've gone through these difficult
moments, and I've overcome them.
That way I could reach the finals in the tournament with just playing, and I
need to take advantage of all the self-confidence that I picked up between
Hamburg and Roland Garros and not let it all fall by the wayside, not drop my
arms, because then that would be very wrong.
But the people who were around me were very important to me and did help me
to overcome that. But I'm not into psychologists. That's not the sort of
thing I'm interested in. But I have to work hard because it's important in
tennis to try and control your anxieties.
Q. Do you think you could be a dangerous player here because no one expects
you to do particularly well, it's grass, and you're relaxed? Could you be a
dangerous player here, do you think?
GUILLERMO CORIA: Yes, I'm coming to this tournament thoroughly prepared
because I felt really awful last year when I lost first round because I
hadn't really prepared the way this tournament deserves that one prepares for.
But now I feel well, I'm confident, and I can go forward.
Q. Have you ever had to wait three days to complete a match?
GUILLERMO CORIA: No. It's strange. It hadn't happened to me. But it was worth
the wait.
Q. How do you prepare psychologically when you know you're going on the court
with a couple of points, you're not in the middle of a match or in a rhythm,
and you know that you play two good points and you're out of there or two bad
points and it's a totally different match?
GUILLERMO CORIA: It is difficult. You have to be very relaxed, but you have
to be very focused, and you have to arrive at the court well-prepared, ready
mentally, because if I had gone onto the court cold, without focusing,
without concentrating, I could lose.
Q. Last week your performance in Holland, you're playing doubles here with
Federico Browne, does this represent a strong commitment from you to become a
better player on all surfaces, including grass?
GUILLERMO CORIA: Yes, I said so at Roland Garros that I wanted to improve how
I play on this surface, and it will be very good for me to improve my game
and to feel well within myself.
As for the doubles, it's important because it helps me improve my serve and
my volleys.
Q. A lot of people, have they expressed sympathy for you and have more
positive feelings because they feel sorry for what happened at Roland Garros,
that the fans are on your side a bit more because they saw what happened there?
GUILLERMO CORIA: I hope it's not just that (smiling). I hope people are with
me because of how I play. But the truth is that people here in Britain, the
public here, has treated me really well. And it makes you happy when you feel
that you're being supported by the public.
Q. How do you feel about Gaudio not being here?
GUILLERMO CORIA: Very sad. We haven't got Calleri, Zabaleta, Nalbandian.
These are players who have -- who would have had great possibilities, like
Nalbandian. They're people who could win this tournament.
The British public was a bit concerned because Nalbandian could have beaten
-- might have had to play Henman.
Q. On grass, what do you find is the most difficult thing to adjust to?
GUILLERMO CORIA: I'd like to not fall down so often (laughter). It
embarrasses me to keep falling.
Q. Given the benefit of hindsight, the fact that you've had a full day off,
would you have quit asking the umpire to stop the match on Tuesday if you'd
known it would have been such a quick finish, two points?
GUILLERMO CORIA: I would have asked for the match to be stopped anyway
because the conditions were not right. I was saying to the referee, "It's not
in my interest to stop, but the conditions are not there."
Q.Can you be the Henman at Roland Garros? Can you be at Wimbledon like
Henman was at Roland Garros?
GUILLERMO CORIA: It's difficult, but I do have self-confidence.
Q. You seemed to change coaches a lot. What's the reason for your split with
Blengino?
GUILLERMO CORIA: Makus, the coach I have today, is the coach I always wanted
to have. Both he and Mancini were the two that I always liked. But as Makus
was not able to work with me earlier, I found the coach I used to have. That
was the arrangement, that would be up to Roland Garros, and that was it.
And I want the coach that I have as from now to be the person who sees me
through to the end of my career because it's not a good thing to change
coaches. You can't keep changing coaches.
Q. Is it Makus or Mancini?
GUILLERMO CORIA: These are the two coaches I like, and I would have liked to
go through with whoever I had first. In this case it was Mancini, go right
through. Since that was not possible, now that I have more companies, I hope
I will have Makus right through.
This doesn't mean that I didn't feel comfortable or wasn't happy with my
previous coach. What I'm saying is that because of the sort of experience,
because of the results he obtains from players, whilst with the previous one,
it's over, but it's over well, amicably, happily, no problems.
Q. Do you have an explanation for the cramps in Paris?
GUILLERMO CORIA: I think it was nerves. I thought too much about it. It was
the first time that something like that happened to me - and it will be the
last (smiling).
Q. You said you couldn't take anything to help with the cramps. Are you
taking any supplements now? Are you still afraid to take anything?
GUILLERMO CORIA: I'm not taking anything. Yes, I am cautious. I don't want to
take anything. It's difficult not to take any supplements because we are all
putting in a big effort. Especially someone like myself, I'm not a big eater.
So sometimes when you're not a big eater, when you're not that strong, it
takes more out of you to have to sustain a long match.
But I really think that in this case, it was nerves. I thought too much about
it.
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