Guillermo Coria recorded another straight-sets victory
from the official ATP website
3 August 2003

A potential showdown between the two hottest clay court players on the circuit this year, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Guillermo Coria, was denied by Luis Horna of Peru. Ferrero came into the match with a 32-3 record on clay, before Horna restored the Spaniard to a more human status with his 6-1, 7-6 (1) victory. The 22-year-old Peruvian No. 1 had just upset No. 7 seed Dominik Hrbaty to reach the quarterfinals. Horna also reached the semifinals in Amersfoort two weeks ago as well as the quarterfinals in Buenos Aires earlier this year.
Third seed Guillermo Coria continued his sensational form, defeating No. 8 seed France’s Olivier Mutis 6-3, 6-4 to extend his win streak to 13. The 21-year-old Argentine, who has won the last 28 sets he has played, is seeking his third consecutive title, having won back-to-back championships in Stuttgart and Kitzbühel wthout dropping a set. Coria, currently in third position in the ATP Champions Race 2003, is now in the lead for the most match wins on clay this season (36).

David Ferrer continued his strong play and guaranteed a Spaniard in the final when he defeated Sweden’s Andreas Vinciguerra 6-1, 6-2. He’s coming off a quarterfinal performance in Umag, and he upset No. 4 seed David Nalbandian of Argentina in the second round here. This is his first semifinal appearance at an ATP event this year.

He will face Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo, who won the all-Spanish battle against Galo Blanco 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-0 to advance to his first ATP semifinal. Hidalgo took advantage of the hot conditions and his conditioning to defeat Blanco easily in the third after two close first sets.

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID:
Ferrer: “I like playing this clay court swing. I produce some of my best results during these tournaments. Today, I played very solidly and really made very few errors. The score line 6-1, 6-2 doesn’t reflect how hard we were fighting out there. He had break points on my serve and many games went to deuce.”

“I’m going to play the winner between Ramirez Hidalgo and Blanco. Both have been playing well and have very similar games. It doesn’t matter which one I meet in the semifinals. It is a good feeling to know that at least one Spaniard is guaranteed to be in the final.”

Vinciguerra: “I didn’t play well today. David (Ferrer) played a good match, but I know I can play better. If we meet again, I think it will be a different match. Tomorrow is always another day.”

Ramirez Hidalgo: “We started off very equal. It was a tough first set. I had set point at 7-6 in the tie-break, but failed to convert it and the set was his.”

“The conditions out there were very hot and physically demanding, but I felt solid and broke his serve early in the second set and held that advantage. By the third set, I could tell Galo was feeling tired. His movement around the court wasn’t as good. I began to play really well and made very few unforced errors.”

“This is the first time I reached the semifinals of an ATP event. Two weeks ago, at the Dutch Open, I made my first quarterfinals appearance. It was the first time I had direct entry into an ATP event. After playing Umag, I decided that I wasn’t going to play the qualifying rounds in Sopot so I went home, only to get a phone call from the ATP to tell me that I had gained direct entry into the Idea Prokom Open. It is funny how things work out. I have produced the best results of my career this week.”

“I am 25 years old. I started picking up points really late. I wasn’t playing many futures or satellite tournaments. I am feeling really good right now. Things have really fallen into place and I am happy where my tennis is going right now.”

Blanco: “I’ve had more satisfying results than this week. I wasn’t able to practise for two weeks before competing here as I had a back injury. Yesterday I had a very long and hard match against Albert Portas so I was feeling very tired today.”

Ferrero: “I played a good player today. He won his first two matches easily. I could have done more in the first set and I had chances to break him in the second set. A lot of games went to 30-30. I should have won the tie-break and then I felt I would have won the match because I was playing better and better.”

“I didn’t give my best tennis in today’s match. I had a bad day. I tried to give me best. Nothing specific was missing, but I couldn’t show the best tennis that I am capable of. Horna just played better. He was taking risks. All players playing a Top 10 player try their best as I used to against Agassi and Sampras. He had so much incentive today.”

“You can’t play the same level at each tournament. You are human, that’s life. It is hard to get to No.1 and it is difficult to stay there. You have to win a lot of matches and tournaments. Everyone is trying to beat you and try to take the No. 1 position.”

Horna: “I started the match off much better than Ferrero today. My tactics and game plan were really paying off. My aim was to play aggressively and make him run a lot. I was taking a lot of chances. In the second set, it came down to a couple of lucky points and that made the difference.”

“I was feeling good out there. I wasn’t thinking, ‘If I don’t win the match in two sets, I won’t have a chance in the third’. I was prepared to go all the way, but I am very happy to have won in straight sets. We are not machines, people get tired.”

“My forehand and my movement are the best and most important elements of my game. I also have a good serve and perhaps I have logged the fastest served this week with at 212 kilometres per hour. My first serve percentage is normally very high, but I knew I had to take risks and go for aces in today’s match (7 aces).”

“I am in perfect shape right now. I have just beaten the No. 1 player on clay right now. Ferrero won Roland Garros and is leading the ATP Champions Race. I am extremely motivated to play Coria in the semifinals tomorrow. He’s the No. 2 player on clay, or even the No. 1 now, I don’t know. Coria is now riding on a 13 match winning streak and has just won two important ATP titles. He’s going to be playing with a lot of confidence. I don’t think he has lost a set in a long time.”

“We have played against each other three or four times and I have always lost. I don’t think he will be losing any sleep over tomorrow’s match, he’s very tired!”

“My goal is to be the best. I want to be the best tennis player in the world. I lost a couple of years of my professional career by messing around. Since becoming a father, everything has changed. My focus and perspective on my life and career have totally changed. I have a great team working with me right now: my coach Gabriel Markus and my fitness trainer Heli Paredes. Together, we are training extremely hard.”

Coria: “I already know that I will meet Luis Horna in the semifinals. I was surprised by the result of his match against Ferrero. I must admit, he is in great form. The possibility of meeting Ferrero in the semifinals was a match much anticipated by all, but it there are still many more tournaments left in the season, so maybe we will have the chance to play against each soon.”

“In today’s professional game, it is possible to lose against any opponent, but I hope I am going to stay until the end of the tournament and to win the title.”

“My parents named me Guillermo after Guillermo Vilas. He’s a great player and in my opinion he made Argentinean tennis what it is now. We have many Argentine players who are trying to follow his footsteps, competing and doing very well at tournaments.”

“It is true that since I was a child I always admired Agassi. I managed to beat him once, but I think his career is still very strong and far from over.”