July 26, 2024 (ATP)
In a rematch of their second round clash at the Tennis Masters Hamburg won
by Rafael Nadal, Carlos Moya got revenge on his younger countryman with a
convincing 6-4, 6-4 victory in front of a packed crowd at the 2003 Croatia
Open Umag. The 26-year-old and former World No. 1 showed that he is not
ready quite yet to pass the mantle of Umag on to the talented Nadal. Moya is
a three-time champion and playing in his ninth Croatia Open Umag, while
Nadal was making his first appearance at the event and playing in his first
ATP semifinal. Moya broke Nadal early in the match and then held serve for
the rest of the first set. In the second set, he broke Nadal at 3-all before
closing out the match.
In the night's second semifinal, Italy's Filippo Volandri dug himself out of
a 5-3 deficit in the first set tiebreak to take the set and control of the
match from Slovak Dominik Hrbaty. Less than 24-hours removed from his
stunning and emotional three-set win over Fernando Gonzalez Friday night,
Volandri looked fresh and fit, rolling though the second set with solid
groundstrokes off both sides. A sizeable Italian crowd urged on Volandri, as
he looks to become the first Italian to win an ATP event this year.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Carlos Moya: "I'm satisfied with how I played. It's a good win. Now I can
say I beat Nadal. This is the time to beat him, he's improving alot so I
needed to get a win while he was still young."
"I was lucky to get the early break and I was serving well, getting some
free points on each service game."
"It's been a big difference from the way I played tonight and the way I
played earlier in the week, I've been getting more and more confident, this
is some of the best tennis I've played since Barcelona."
"I didn't practice with Rafael today but we've been playing this week and
I've been winning most of the tiebreaks, so that gave me confidence."
about being tied with Muster for 3 Umag titles
"It's an honor to be with him on this and hopefully I can go even one more
and win my fourth. I have to be focused on my game but I'm playing well."
Rafael Nadal: "This was a much different match than Hamburg. In Hamburg, he
didn't play well, I didn't play that well. I was nervous. I think we both
played better tonight."
"At the beginning of the year my goal was to get into the Top 100, I did
that less than halfway through the season and now I just want to improve my
ranking more. I'll be playing in Segovia then a break for a few weeks, Long
Island, the US Open and Palermo before the indoor season."
"This week in Umag was a great experience for me, my first semifinal and I'm
also in the doubles final."
Filippo Volandri: "All this year from the beginning has just been
incredible. I was like 150 and now with this I could be around 45. It's been
a great year, I never would have thought about it."
why he's had a good year
"I think it has to do with the preparations I made in November and December.
I trained in Monte Carlo with Gaudenzi, Furlan, Ljubicic and I improved
physically as well. I think that was the key."
does this compare to QF at Masters Series
"I think for an Italian to make QF in Roma is a big accomplishment, but this
is my first ATP final and I am really happy about it as well."
about support in the crowd
"I don't think my family will come because then if I lose they will think it
was bad luck, but there's enough crowd out there clapping for me. Alot of
Italians and also last night alot of Croatians were cheering for me as
well."
about Moya
"I would say he's one of the best three players in the world on clay. He
hasn't dropped a set this week and that will make it tough. I'm a little
tired and I feel it a little in my back."
FINAL PREVIEW
The effortless strokes of Carlos Moya and the quickness and ball-striking
skill of Filippo Volandri will be on display Sunday in the final of the 2003
Croatia Open Umag. Umag is Moya's turf and the Spaniard has never lost in
the final here, coming in with a 3-0 record in Umag finals. Volandri is
playing in his first ATP final, but should be unfazed considering some of
the success he's achieved so far this year with quarterfinal showings at
back-to-back Masters Series events in Monte Carlo and Rome. Volandri should
also have a considerable Italian contingent behind him with the border town
of Trieste just a 30 minute drive from Umag.
Volandri is the first Italian to reach the final in Umag, while Moya is
looking to win Spain's sixth title here in the last ten years. Moya has not
dropped a set en route to the final. Sunday's final will be a rematch of
their first round clash at Roland Garros this year which Moya won in four
sets, as he went on to reach the quarterfinals in Paris.
DOUBLES FINAL PREVIEW
Tom Shimada and Todd Perry, who reached the final of the Challenger in
Aix-en-Provence together in May, will play for their first ATP title as a
team. Shimada has two career ATP doubles titles -- in Kitzbuehel last year
and Shanghai in 2001 while Perry is looking for his first ATP tournament
win. Their opponents are youth and experience. Seventeen-year-old Rafael
Nadal is in his first ATP doubles final and his partner is almost twice his
age: 32-year-old Alex Lopez Moron of Spain. Lopez Moron has one ATP doubles
title to his credit and it happened right here in Umag in 2000 when he
partnered with Albert Portas to win the Croatia Open. Lopez Moron and Nadal
defeated the second- and third-seeded teams to reach the final, while
Perry/Shimada defeated the top-seeded team of Bertolini/Vanhoudt in the
semifinals.
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