March 10, 2003
J.C. FERRERO/S. Sargsian 6-4, 6-7, 6-4
An interview with:JUAN CARLOS FERRERO
MODERATOR: Questions for Juan Carlos. Q. Was it a tougher match than you expected today?
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: Yeah. I expected that it's going to be a tough match for me because at least I know he plays very good in hard court. I played against him one time in clay and he had one match point against me. Finally I won. You know, always is difficult because he's very fast in the court. He run very fast all the time. You know, you see the match. It was very difficult.
Q. Can you talk about what shape you feel you're in, how your game is at the moment?
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: My game is okay. You know, I came playing very good in hard court, Australian Open, Sydney, Shanghai Masters, you know. My confidence on hard court right now, it's really good. I think I can play very good game here, very good tennis, Indian Wells here. Last three years I lost in first round here. This time I could win the match. I hope to pass through the next round.
Q. You like it here? Do you like the environment?
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's really nice. It's fantastic. The weather is good. It's a little bit hot for me. We came from Spain. There, it's a little bit cold. The city is beautiful. The hotel is very close. So everything, it's very good for the conditions.
Q. Does this feel like a great opportunity for you on hard courts to win a title here?
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: Yes.
Q. Andre pulled out, Lleyton got through a tough tournament.
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: Could be for me because I have a lot of motivations because I'm No. 3, very close from the other two. I try to give my best here to do a good tournament. If not, I'm going to see in Miami. So I have three weeks, two opportunities to try to go up in the ranking.
Q. What would it mean to get a hard court title in America? Would it mean something special to you?
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: Yeah. Why not? It's special to win the first time here in the United States because I never won here. I'm going to try. I'm going to try. It will be okay.
Q. Do you ever talk to Alex about his experiences here? He was very successful.
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: Alex?
Q. Yes, he was successful here.
JUAN CARLOS FERRERO: No, I didn't talk to him. I saw him to win here because I was in the finals in him that year. It was a good experience for him and for me.