News & Photos / Interviews / Interview with Tommy Robredo

T. ROBREDO/P. Kohlschreiber

6‑4, 5‑7, 7‑6, 6‑2

An interview with:

TOMMYROBREDO

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. I think now you're the only Spanish player left in the men's drawbecause Nadal is out and Verdasco also is out. Do you think that puts more pressure on you?

TOMMY ROBREDO: There is also Marc Lopez who is playingdoubles with me. No, I don't see it aspressure. I see it as, in my part, I'mdoing what I'm doing perfect, and I'm winning quarterfinals.

And then the others,yesterday they didn't have their best day and they lost. So that's things that can happen, no? But I'm not putting all the 40 millionSpaniards behind me thinking that if I lose they are going to lose, no?

No, it's like I'm gonna to try to do my bestand that's it. I don't want that type ofpressure.

Q. Whatwas your reaction when you saw that Nadal lost to Soderling? Did you expect it? And also, what has been the reaction in yourown country?

TOMMY ROBREDO: Well, I saw it. Yeah, I saw a couple of games here, and thenI moved the hotel and I saw nearly all the fourth set in the hotel. My reaction was surprise obviously, like youor everyone here, because normally Rafa is the winner here, so nobody expectedhim to lose that quick.

But anyway, it showsthat in sport anything can happen. EvenRafa, that it seems that he can never lose, when he's not 100% in a match andthe other player is 200%, then things can happen.

Anyway, I think that it was reallyclose. If Rafa would have won the fourthset, maybe he will win the match. ButSoderling was hitting great, and Rafa, he wasn't the Rafa that we are used toseeing.

So these are things that happen insport.

Q. Oneexplanation maybe for Rafa's defeat is that he had a long season and he wasmaybe tired. I think you also played alot on clay. You won two titles. You have the most victories on clay. How do you feel so far at this stage of theseason fitness‑wise?

TOMMY ROBREDO: I don't want to talk about Rafa, no? He already talk yesterday. I'm here to talk about myself, and I'm readyand I'm playing good and I'm in quarterfinals. I play a lot of tournaments, as well, and I'm fit.

I hope to keep going,and hopefully I can arrive to the semifinals here.

Q. It's going to be your fourth time in the quarterfinals at the FrenchOpen. How do you see your nextmatch? Do you think it's going to bemore difficult for you than the previous times to reach the semifinals andmaybe go beyond?

TOMMY ROBREDO: Nobody knows. First of all, I have to relax. Ihave to go to the hotel, and tomorrow I have doubles match. Then next day we will see what happen, no?

In a tennis court,everything that happen. If you startwell, then can you win the first set and it can goes to your side. If you lose, it can goes to the other.

I will try to play like today, and then Iwill see if I can reach the semifinals, which it will be great for me.

Q. Throughoutthis tournament, do you keep in touch with your family? Do they call you every day to have somefeedback about your match?

TOMMY ROBREDO: Well, my dad is here, so it's easy to talk tohim. My mom is in Spain, which obviously I'm talkingto her.

So, yeah. I like to be here with my dad, because he'salways coming here. And now that I don'thave a coach, he's supporting me and giving me some tips to try to win.

Also, today Alberto Costa was helping me somuch. So yeah, I was with good companyhere.

Q. Dothey have high expectations for you?

TOMMY ROBREDO: Them?

Q. Yeah.

TOMMY ROBREDO: Well, I don't know. I have to ask him. But obviously today they were so happy. If I win the next day they are going to bemore happy.

I don't know. Expectations? Everyone has expectations, even myself. But then we will see what happen.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in Spanish.

Q. So it's the fourth time you've reached quarterfinals here. That must be important to you.

TOMMY ROBREDO: Yes, it's great to play here in Paris. I've always been lucky. Last year was probably my worst year. I won two matches last year, but this yearI'm in quarterfinal. I'm very happyabout it.

I want to try my bestto reach the semifinals. I neverachieved that. It would be great, just great,to make it in semifinals and have that in my records.

Q. Well, imagine you play quarterfinals against Del Potro, although he hasnot won yet. What would you think aboutthis match? You played him two yearsago.

TOMMY ROBREDO: I don't want to think about my quarterfinalmatch. I want to relax. I want to play my doubles tomorrow, and thenI have time to think about the quarterfinal match.

Whoever wins, it'sgoing to be a tough match, because these are two very good players. I have to play 100% like today.

Q. Del Potro is playing very well at the moment. What do you think about his game?

TOMMY ROBREDO: No, I really don't care whether I play one orthe other. I don't care. Let the best win, and then once we play,we'll see. I don't want to say one orthe other has to win. I have a job todo. Today I did it well, and this is whyI'm very happy.

Q. The key in this match was that you were focused?

TOMMY ROBREDO: Well, the key of the match was my serve. I served very well. I managed to win many games, thanks to myserve.

And from a tacticalstandpoint, I think I managed the match well. I think if you play a very fast match against Kohlschreiber, he can playvery well. He can serve well.

I know that he played very well against JuanCarlos, and that he was a very tough player. Then I had played Kohlschreiber already in the past, so I think Imanaged the match pretty well.

I tried to play faster when I could,and I tried to be aggressive when I could, and it worked out well. Luckily, I won.

Q. Youwrote something on the camera. Can youtell us what you wrote? It was prettylong and it was written with a doctor's writing, so we couldn't read what yousaid. We never know what you writebecause it's written upside down.

TOMMY ROBREDO: Well, I started writing a poem instead ofsigning, just to write something and to do something different. But nothing. Nothing special really. I wrotesomething like, One day I was a kid, or something like that. And at the end, I wrote, Ahahaha. I just wanted to write something different.

You know, most of thetime we just sign, and it's upside down or the other way around. People never see what you write. So I just wanted to write somethingdifferent, and I started writing this poem.

Q. Yesterday people, the crowd, was obviously in favor of Soderling andagainst Rafa. What about you? How have you been supported by the crowd in Paris?

TOMMY ROBREDO: Well, I watched the match on TV, and I neverrealized that the crowd was more in favor of one or the other. But the crowd is so used to seeing Rafawinning, and yesterday they saw that maybe Soderling could win and they wantedto see a change. The people here havealways been very supportive to Rafa, so what happened yesterday? I don't know.

As for me, I've alwaysbeen treated very well here. There aremany Spaniards coming around with their flags. I don't have much to say when a French guy plays. Obviously the crowd is against you. But for the rest, I don't know what else I couldsay.

I wasn't there yesterday, so I don't knowexactly what happened.

Q. Idon't know if I'm mistaken, but I think that during the US Open you said that what youlacked for being part of the top 10 was winning against people at a higherlevel than you are. It's yourquarterfinal here. You've already playedquarterfinals in the Australian Open, but you've never been further in atournament. So what do you miss inyour game to reach the semifinals?

TOMMY ROBREDO: Well, it's true that in the quarterfinals Iplayed here. There was Albert Costa thatwas very good, and then Ancic with Davydenko.

These were very toughmatches which I lost, but I don't know. I'll try and do my best and be there 100% and see if I can make it.

You know, what's important here would be forme to win. It would be wonderful,wouldn't it? I'm pretty fit, and, well,one has to win. One has to lose. So I'll try to be the one winning.

Q. InEnglish you said that Costa helped you quite a lot.

TOMMY ROBREDO: Yes, Costa was here. He was here when I warmed up and when Ipracticed, and he gave me a couple of tips. Even when I'm in Madridand I'm not playing, he helps me, because he knows that I do not have acoach. We have a very good relationship.

He was watching thematch with my father, so he was there. He looked at the match, and then we can talk about it. He's here to help me. He was watching the match to support me onthe court. That's important.

Q. You have no coach, but you seem very comfortable playing without acoach. Aren't you planning to take acoach? I think in Hamburg you had no coach, either.

TOMMY ROBREDO: Well, no. I mean, I'm not doing that on purpose. It just happens. It's not mydecision not to have a coach because I think I can manage better without acoach. I just happen to be without acoach.

I'm one of the guys,you know, when I stop doing something, I don't want to again immediatelyafterward. Like with a girlfriend, whenyou split up, you don't want to have a relationship with another girlimmediately afterwards. You want todisconnect, and you want to take enough time.

So my father knows me. I'm here with him, and I have no coach. I focus more on myself. I have to assess myself, and this is what I'mdoing at the moment.

Of course, I'll look for anothercoach in the future. I can't go on myown in the U.S. I'll be playing in Washington,Toronto, Cincinnati,New Haven, andI think after a certain number of weeks I'll have to be back, you know.

I think it's important to havesomeone next to you who sees things that you don't see for yourself. Because there are things that you can seefrom the court, but there are things that you can only see from outside thecourt. So I'll try and see if I can findsomebody who could help me.