FO 2003 - GUILLERMO CORIA'S COMMENTS BEFORE THEIR 4TH ROUND MATCH

Q. Has this been an easy task? You have the possibility of meeting another Argentinian in the next round. What do you think of all of this?

GUILLERMO CORIA: Well, it's true that I was a little bit nervous at the beginning, but I am very much satisfied. First set had become a little complicated for me, but I managed to solve it. I really managed the rest of the match quite well. I was, of course, delighted to win this match and to meet another Argentinian because one of us, one Argentinian, will be through to the following round.

Q. Guillermo, what moment would Mariano represent in your career, meeting him?

GUILLERMO CORIA: Well, he started the year very well. He had a few more difficulties. He had a lot of strength of will. He really gets results. In Hamburg, he didn't play his best tennis, but he continued to persist. He's really fighting here in Roland Garros. He's playing very good tennis. He's a wonderful person. As you all know, he's the first person who advised me when I arrived on the tour.

Q. This has been the best tennis year in your career to date. What do you expect from this Grand Slam tournament? GUILLERMO CORIA: Well, I expect to continue improving. I hope to continue going through past the end of the week. I'm going to have a very difficult match against Zabaleta. I will have to play my best tennis, to fight up to the end. Again, it's another Argentinian. I'm completely satisfied with my own game.

Q. What do you prefer, playing another Argentinian or somebody else, perhaps someone more famous, Moya, Ferrero?

GUILLERMO CORIA: No, I don't think playing an Argentinian is a positive or negative for me. I think you arrive on court in the same condition. We've played in Buenos Aires before. It was a very good match - a little bit more in his favor than mine, but then I managed to turn it around.

I think I'll arrive on court with full will to win this match and get through. I really want to go further in this tournament.

Q. It's clear that you have a lot of respect for Mariano. Are you looking at what Agassi is doing?

GUILLERMO CORIA: No. You have to take things one match at a time. If you start thinking about what will happen, about who you might play later ...

Q. Previous matches played against this player or that. Zabaleta seems to be lagging behind Hrbaty, El Aynaoui, yet he's beaten every single opponent.

GUILLERMO CORIA: I don't know if it's statistics. This is Roland Garros. We both want to go further in the tournament. But, of course, when you're at the top, you have greater confidence.

In Buenos Aires, it was a very different match. This will be completely different for both of us.

It will probably be a very difficult match. All matches are different.

F0 2002

Alex Corretja (after winning the 4th round match)

Q. What different sensation do you have to find here to feel that the Clement game was justified? I didn't really think this was an exceptional game. You had to fight throughout.

ALEX CORRETJA: For me, it was very good. Zabaleta, I had a hard time with him last year, and in other years I've also had a hard time with him. He's very strong, his backhand is very strong, he's improved.

Alex Corretja before the 4th round match

Q. Now you face Zabaleta.

ALEX CORRETJA: Yes, this is going to be a very hard match, no doubt. He knows how I play. I know how he plays. It's not going to be easy. In the final rounds, my results may help. But, of course, if he dominates the match, I won't be able to do anything in the game. I need to have an aggressive game. I have to believe in myself till the end because anything can happen.

Q. If Zabaleta wins, there will be five Argentines through.

GUILLERMO CANAS: He won.

Q. Five out of 24. That's a lot. Are you all dining together? Are you staying close to each other? Are you supporting each other at this tournament? How close are all of you?

GUILLERMO CANAS: I think we are very close. I think we have very good relationship together. I know this tournament is big tournament. Is impossible like to go take a dinner together, to have, I don't know, time together. Because in another tournament is easy because is very small one. But here I think we have a family and this. But we support together a lot. We enjoy to have -- four Argentina in the moment in the last 10.

Q. It's hard to say whether social conditions in the outside world affect a sport that is such an individual sport like tennis. Carlos just said that he felt the Argentines were very hungry and maybe were practicing a little harder because of the very difficult conditions there. Do you think there might be any truth to that? Can you talk about that subject?

GUILLERMO CANAS: I think it's not true. I think we have problems, economic problem, big economic problem in my country at the moment. But we practice the same for many years. I think for this moment we stay like this. I know the other guys, he's the same age of me, and Zabaleta, Puerta, Gaudio, I think we practice like this hard for many years, and now in the moment we have very good result. But I think it's not for the economic problem we have in my country.

Andy Roddick (Aus Open) As Roddick later conceded, "I felt like I was hitting the ball well in the first set...then he started playing like a rock star."

Greg Rusedski (after getting US Open revenge at Auckland 02)

"He's a tough player, very gutsy!"

P McNamee (director of Hopman Cup)

"He's an excellent replacement. He's ranked 60th in the world, beat Sebastien Grosjean and Greg Rusedski at the U.S. Open and really is a very good player."

M. ZABALETA/X. Malisse 6-4, 7-6, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: First question, please.

Q. Can you just talk about the last set and sort of what you were thinking.

XAVIER MALISSE: I wasn't really thinking anything. I was just trying to hang in there, try to hit my shots. But, you know, some of them just didn't go in. He played good, and I didn't feel that good on the court. And, I mean, I kept hanging in there and I tried, but it felt like I didn't have the energy. I was all tired, not from the match before, just in my head, too. I had a headache. And he played great. It was different. I mean, I hung in there, but at the end, you know, you keep hanging in there, hanging in there, every service game, he almost got breakpoint against me. You know, one time out of a set it will happen.

Q. What was he doing today?

XAVIER MALISSE: I mean, he didn't make any stupid mistakes. He hit good forehands. I thought he served unbelievably well, you know, very hard. Always going for the first serve, and a lot of them went in. I hit a couple returns in, and he would just, you know, hit his forehand. I think that's the best thing he did all day.

Q. He came into this tournament with a losing record. Is there any way to explain his run?

XAVIER MALISSE: No. I mean, he's got nothing to lose. He hasn't had the best year probably, and, you know, once you win a round and you win another one, he beats Grosjean, then he gets the confidence going. You know, he just keeps going on confidence. You know, right now he's playing well. It's a total -- totally different player than when the tournament started.

Q. He was a top junior. Can he be a top player, do you think?

XAVIER MALISSE: Yeah, I think so. I mean, it's different. I mean, he's starting to serve well but he's got to play almost every point. Of course if he keeps playing like this, yeah, he can. But you got to do it, you know, when -- week in, week out. And, you know, that's probably not what's happened this year. But he's had a great year before. He's been in the Top 30, so...

Greg Rusedski (lost in 4 sets)

M. ZABALETA/G. Rusedski - 6-7, 6-4, 7-5, 7-6

Q. That must be a fairly frustrating experience.

GREG RUSEDSKI: Yeah, I have to say I think what let me down a little bit was my first serve percentage. I think, you know, he handled the conditions and the wind a little bit better and he really punished my second serve. He hit some great returns really well into my feet. I think that was probably the key of the match. I won the first set, which was very tight. You know, little windy, hit two double-faults. Lose the second set 6-4. Have 40-love, he comes back and breaks me to win the third set. Then we get into a tiebreaker. I miss two reasonably makeable forehands. But, you know, I competed out there. I did everything I could. And, you know, he came up with the tennis. I didn't raise my level enough as I needed to. If I could have got more first serves in, it could have been a different story. But I have to give him credit. He came out and he did what he had to do today.

GREG RUSEDSKI: I needed -- sometimes you need a little bit of luck.

Q. And it wasn't happening?

GREG RUSEDSKI: Didn't happen. You have to give the guy credit. You don't go out and beat Grosjean in straight sets or Dent in straight sets without playing very well. He stood 20 feet behind the baseline and was getting the volleys into my feet every single time, which, you know, the guy's a good player and he hasn't done that all year. Then all of a sudden, this week, you know, he's done it. So, you know, that's too good. I have to give him credit. I'm not making excuses. But the only thing I was disappointed in was my first serve. I don't know how many times I hit the top of the net. If I could count, you know, if I had ten hands, I could count 50 times. Just getting that little extra over the net and just handling conditions better.