The Davis Cup team that Tito Vázquez has chosen to play the tie against Kazajistan is Juan Martin Del Potro, David Nalbandian, Juan Ignacio Chela and Eduardo Schwank.
I translated the press conference in which Tito announces the team and the reasons that lead him to leave Eduardo Schwank out ot that team.
Tito Vázquez: It has been the most difficult decition we have had until now. In other ties, with Caio, sometimes we had some difficulties to get the forth player and this time there were five players who were an option all the time. Schwank was a candidate until the last moment, specially thanks to him results on dobles. As I said it was very difficult, I thought about it together with Caio and we decided to risk. The players don’t like to be called individualists, they are all singles and dobles players, even the players that you call as dobles players tell you that. Both players got a very outstanding performance against Romania, I think that the key of that tie was Pico’s single against Hanescu, the dobles was very important too because Chela and Schwank closed the tie perfectly without leting the Romanian recover. But there were also some factores that had to do with this decition, Chela and Monaco’s performace in the World Cup in Dusseldorf had some minimal repercussion even though it is not comparable a tie playing to the best of 3 sets than 5 sets, but the beat Kazajistan in the first match, Pico had a good performace wining quite easy their number one (Andrey Golubev) and also Pico and Chela won Sweden in the dobles match together. So the decition turned out this way. Unfortunately, we have to choose only four players even though in a Davis Cup meeting a year ago in Australia was mentioned the possibility of having five players on the team, what I think is right, but as some countries sometimes have difficulties to get five players they chose to not do it. And other reason that had repercussion was Eduardo’s single ranking nowadays, he is the number 186 in the world so he’s not having a good moment.
1 Monfils, Gael FRA 8
2 Melzer, Jurgen AUT 11
3 Almagro, Nicolas ESP 15
4 Simon, Gilles FRA 16
5 Youzhny, Mikhail RUS 17
6 Mayer, Florian GER 18 7 Chela, Juan Ignacio ARG 20
8 Dolgopolov, Alexandr UKR 21
9 Verdasco, Fernando ESP 23
10 Cilic, Marin CRO 27
11 Davydenko, Nikolay RUS 29
12 Tipsarevic, Janko SRB 31
13 Garcia-Lopez, Guillermo ESP 33
14 Robredo, Tommy ESP 34
15 Fognini, Fabio ITA 35
16 Stakhovsky, Sergiy UKR 36
17 Montanes, Albert ESP 38 18 Monaco, Juan ARG 42
19 Dodig, Ivan CRO 43
20 Golubev, Andrey KAZ 44
21 Granollers, Marcel ESP 46
22 Starace, Potito ITA 47
23 Andujar, Pablo ESP 48
24 Kohlschreiber, Philipp GER 49
25 Nieminen, Jarkko FIN 50
26 Seppi, Andreas ITA 51 27 Cuevas, Pablo URU 52
28 Mannarino, Adrian FRA 54
29 Chardy, Jeremy FRA 55
30 Gimeno-Traver, Daniel ESP 56
31 Stepanek, Radek CZE 57
32 Haase, Robin NED 59
33 Istomin, Denis UZB 61
34 Giraldo, Santiago COL 63
35 Riba, Pere ESP 65 36 Berlocq, Carlos ARG 68
37 Petzschner, Philipp GER 71
38 Ferrero, Juan Carlos ESP 84
39 (Q)
40 (Q)
41 (Q)
42 (Q)
43 (Q)
44 (Q)
45 (WC)
46 (WC)
47 (WC)
48 (WC)
Alternates
1. Benneteau, Julien FRA 74 2. Gonzalez, Maximo ARG 75
3. Kavcic, Blaz SLO 76
4. Gil, Frederico POR 77
5. de Bakker, Thiemo NED 80
6. Andreev, Igor RUS 83
7. Volandri, Filippo ITA 86
8. Rochus, Olivier BEL 87
9. Kamke, Tobias GER 88
10. Rosol, Lukas CZE 89
11. Kubot, Lukasz POL 95
12. Ramirez Hidalgo, Ruben ESP 98
13. Zverev, Mischa GER 100
14. Schoorel, Thomas NED 102
15. Ramos, Albert ESP 104 16. Junqueira, Diego ARG 105
Gastón Gaudio was visiting what was his kindgom during 2004. The place where he met the glory in sports. The space where he got his maximun tenistic happiness. He has already stopped playing and with the official announce of retirement, “el gato” talks to us.
Interviwer: Are you retired?
Gaston Gaudio: it’s been nearly a year since I play last time so basically I’m more out than in nowadays. I don’t say that I’m reitiring for now but the moment is going to arrive for sure.
I: Is it hard for you to annouce it? Is it something you still have to think about? What is the feeling to say I’m out? What could happen for you to come back playing or for not coming back?
GG: Tennis is like a whole life, you know? It’s is all your life and you’re always going to be inside it. So saying googbye, I renounce to everything about tennis and I don’t want to play anymore is quite difficult. But obviously the step needs to be taken and it takes some time to process it. And I’m working on that now, trying to say the moment to say it’s enough has arrived and for now it causes me a quite weird feeling and I’m waiting for the courage to arrive.
I: What is your feeling when you come to Roland Garros
GG: The truth is that I love it, I enjoy it a lot everytime I come and i feel comfortable. When I go to tournaments after some time without playing and without being in the tournament as a player I usually don´t feel good, but in here it’s different I enjoy it a lot and I feel very comfortable. I like to be here without being a player or without being part of the tournament the feeling is awesome.
I: What was your first feeling today when you entered the Roland Garros resort?
GG: I didn’t think about when I won here. I entered and well it is good to meet people that you haven’t seen for a while and they’re all friends. Nice feelings. I didnt think about the match when I won no. I remember about situations on every different place I’m at.
I: and you can see people still greets you, it hasn’t been so long since you won in here. Or it seems for you that it’s been a long time?
GG: It seems like it was recently but, actually, it was some time ago, we are in 2011 and it was in 2004 but it doesnt seems like it’s been so long.
I: When you entered today the player’s lounge, what was the atmosphere? You rediscovered a world of which you were part, today that you arrived as a visitor?
GG: it is something that is going to be there for a livetime. It is incredible how you get into the players lounge and you can see all the stages: the ones who are starting, the ones who are in the best moment of their career… and some of us, for example I met Berasategui, Carlos Costa with people who I know for my whole life, it’s like a big family that is going to be there forever. I’m gonna come back here in 20 years I’m going to feel the same way. I mean, tennis was my life and I think that all of them who are in here in the player’s lounge has passed throgh the same situation as I’m right now and all of us have been through similar stages. Then it is like it doesn’t matter how much time goes by because we’re that big family that are going to get well forever and we’re going to be part of this.
I: And now that you’re outide the circuit? Do you revalue the tennis family?
GG: You live it from a different perspective, way more relaxed. You’re watching the situation from the outside and it is incredible the way you realize that when you were playing you have all that stress and the agony about getting into the court or having feelings that now when you look from the outside you think how couldn’t I realize that it was more beautiful and more calm a moment of maybe sitting and chatting with some people that maybe before there wasn’t even a possibility for to sit at a restaurant and talk with the people that were in that moment at the tennis.
I: You hid “gato”
GG: You got locked in the locker room or in the player’s lounge. But now you enjoy different things like talking about the moments you lived together. It is very different, it is way more relaxed and a situation with much less adrenaline but obvioulsy a hundred times less exciting but it is also good. They’re stages which you have to through and you have with you the ones that also passed through it and enjoy it in that way, watching it from the outside.
I: So, today you had the most relaxing lunch of you history in Roland Garros
GG: Yes lol!! and with lot of people and I had a different funny story with all of them to talk about
Before going on with the talk with “el gato” and starting to talk about the present of tennis, it is convenient to highlight that beyond films, statistics, dvds and pictures, the name of Gastón Gaudio is already written in a very special part of the Roland Garros resort which is the top ring of court number 1.
I: Who is your best friend from the ones up there?
GG: I get on well with Rafa, with Federer even better.
I: And Djokovic? Maybe you don’t know him that much
GG: Yes, I get on well with Djokovic but I haven’t seen him yet. The truth is that I get on well with nearly all of them.
I: Did you get surprise about Djokovic winning all those consecutive matches?
GG: Yes but not for him, I’d get surprised about anyway getting that. It’s extremely difficult. He has the tennis but so does Nadal, Federer and it is very difficult to achieve that. It is an incredible moment for Djokovic.
I: About Nadal… winning so many times in here. It is an advantaje? Can it make him to get relaxed? Getting him encourage? Make him more calmly to win again?
GG: I think that until now, what I have seen about those two matches, he is getting way more complicated that usual to win and obviously he feels the pressure like any other one when he has to come to win. He is used to coming to win but I think that for this tournament he is arriving in a different way because Djokovic is pushing a lot of pressure on him about getting the number 1 of the world and I think he’s feeling even more pressure although he is Nadal and he is the best player of all times, well not yet, but he can get to be.
I: After being a champion on here when you saw Rafa playing did you ever thought I’ll like to play in Roland Garros against Nadal?
GG: Yes, maybe the year after I won I had been better from my head with the tennis I was playing I could have reached a better result in here. And I think that year I would have met him in quarter finals and I really thought about that. I would have been a nice match, everytime that I played against Rafa were terrible battles and playing in here would have been like finishing a funny derby.
Pablo Cuevas was in Mariano Zabaleta’s program on ESPN last
I’m gonna make the translations for the questions that Zabala asked him at the end of the program, but if there is anybody who wants something else translated please just tell me the minute and I’ll try to do it as soon as I can.
I leave in here the part of the video that I’m going to translate.
Mariano: You have to tell the truth!! Did you do anything at any moment to deconcentrate your opponent?
Pablo: Yes.
Mariano: Like what? You need to give an example please. Whatever it is, here everything is forgiven
Pablo: Sometimes, for example, if the opponent misses the first serve, more than once I have thrown the ball to the net in a critical moment like for giving him some more time to make a double fault. Something like that, but rarely and depending on who is at the other side of the net.
Mariano: Do you mind to have a women umpire or a men umpire?
Pablo: Actually, I prefer a men.
Mariano: So do I
German Paolosky: why?
Pablo: It’s easier to handdle. For example, if I’m going to hire a choffer I’d rather prefer him to be a men than a women.
Mariano: I think that in a critical time of discussion, when you are very nervous, for me is way more difficult to argue with a women.
Pablo: You have to keep the “bad words”.
Jose Chatruc: so you can insult the men
Pablo: no, no you cannot because they expell you but when you turn around…
Mariano: there is a video in Youtube about David Ferrer, in a match in the US Open where the umpire is a women and he gets mad and starts telling her things like “you’re not good for anything” In that cases the umpire has to expell him out of the court and she didn’t.
Third question, what was the worst thing you have done in a court being angry? Hitting a ballboy a kick in the head?
Pablo: No lol! In a Davis Cup I threw a ball, accidentally, to the middle of the crowd. I missed a voley and the ball stayed on the net and the first thing that came to my mind was hitting the ball and I did so and the ball went to the middle of the tribune. The whole court was shouting like UHH for me to get expelled. I started to say sorry sorry sorry. And I dont remember if it hit someone or not but sometimes they don’t judge if you hit someone but where the ball was going.
Laura Ezcurra: did you win or loss this match?
Pablo: I lost
Mariano: forth question, did you ever look with affection to the wife of another collaegue?
Pablo: Yes….
German Paolosky: was he a southamerican?
Pablo: no I don’t remember… It has happened more than once
Jose Chatruc: can I make a question in the middle for both of you? Did you ever go to she a women’s match to look the girls not the match?
Mariano: yes, I went to watch a complete match of Steffi Graff . I was very young and she was incredible. Pablo didn’t answer!
Pablo: No, no , never. I mean I have gone to she women’s matches but for other reasons.
German Paolosky: and what about Andrea Petkovic who is cute?
Pablo: she is really nice and the truth is that I like the way she plays, her attitude inside and outside the court, she is very funny.
Mariano: fifth question, did you ever take advantage of any “raquetera” (girls who likes tennis players because they’re tennis players)?
Pablo: No never… (he said it while looking to the floor and laughing)
Mariano: I like when he answers and at the same time looks to the floor. Anyway, it became clear that he did.
Sixth question, did you ever get to a fight with another tennis player?
Pablo: it was near once with Koeller but no.
Mariano: in tennis there has never been a fight because if you fight you will be expelled for a lifetime.
Pablo: yes actualyl it would be a very weird situation but more than once the players got together and thought about kicking someone all on a group therefore they cannot suspend all of us.
Mariano: last question and we are done, did you ever do something not very professional the night before playing a match?
Pablo: no, well when I was a boy I ued to but not lately. I didn’t even look at the floor so I’m serious about the no lol!
Mariano: I do believe you because at the next day you get in the court for playing a match and it is impossible.
German Paolosky: but when you were a boy what kind of things did you do?
Pablo: yes, for example going out to a pub until 3am before playing and now I dont do it anymore. Or maybe not eating properly or playing a soccer match the day before a tennis match
German Paolosky: yes like Machi Gonzalez, our friend who played a soccer match and broke the cruciate ligaments of the knee.
Argentine Tennis Players 