The TV Interview - Part II

This part wasn't easy to translate. Most of all because my Spanish expert/proofreader I usually rely on is currently on a holiday. But I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer. So I've decided to leave out four sentences I had my problems with. They're indicated by a "(...)" and I hope to insert them, later.
[Note: three out of four added by now and some small corrections made.]

So, here's the second part. It kicks off with David talking about last year's Davis Cup final...

I will tell you the same, whether today or in two years... There are no words for it, that's clear... To play home ties all year, to have the chance. It's unlikely that we'll get another year like that, particularly playing four ties at home. From the start we knew that playing Spain at home was the worst that could happen to us, because our strength lay in playing on clay. So the tie was moved away from where we would've normally played it and where it would've been held traditionally [Parque de Roca]. It would've been nice if Rafa could have come, I would've liked that. You're bound to be nervous and feel anxiety, being in the Davis Cup final, no matter whether you play against the No.1, No.2, No.7, or No.10 [of the world]. But that's my opinion... Juan Martín wasn't there either, he arrived much later. About the court, during the first days we couldn't find the speed we really wanted because there was still construction work going on inside the stadium, and the court was covered in dust and so [because of the dust] the surface was faster than it really was. Apart from all that, the tie was lost during the weekend. I did well to win my point and Juan Martin was up a set... It wasn't one single point, it wasn't that volley [I missed] in the doubles. I think that a lot of things have been analysed badly because if we're up 2-0, we're not going to loose the doubles. If we're at 1-1 and I miss that volley, still we wouldn't have won the tie.
There are many things that happened during that match. They break me at 5-5 in the first or in the third set, helped by our own errors and we lose the set. We went down 4-0 in the third, we then go on to lead 6-2 in the tiebreak [5-1, actually; then lost the next six points]. And it was all very strange because with Juan Martin having lost on Friday, we still have our chance of winning the doubles. I mean, the doubles match was even, it was even. That's why I say that it wasn't just that one volley... If we had won the first set, if I had held my serve at 5-5, they have to hold serve at 5-6 and then we play a tiebreak, where you can win or lose. It's not just one point. There were several critical moments during that tie. Juan Martin was up a set and those two tiebreaks he lost where he was leading, 4-2 in one of them and the other I don't remember. Had he won that tiebreak and led by two sets, it would've been a different story.

Winning the Davis Cup tomorrow would not make up for the 2008 final. Those would be two very parallel but still separate things. That would be the second... not the first.

Q: Do you understand today why the final wasn't held in Cordoba?
David: I know why. I know that today and I knew it when the final went to Mar del Plata. But those are things that happen and you can't do anything to change it. You're outside of politics, so you can't do anything.

Q: I'm asking you this because I think that [Argentine] tennis grows because of you players and not because of the structures behind it [i.e. AAT], that kind of thing...
David: It's complicated. If you look at the statements that Rafa made three weeks earlier, he was cursing [about the altitude] all week in Madrid. If you take Cordoba, it's like Madrid. Maybe 75 metres more, 75 metres less altitude but it's about the same. Then the idea also was that I feel comfortable here because I was born here, because I like playing indoors, because I play well and I've shown it indoors. When I asked Juan Martin about it, he asked me what it's like, playing here. And I told him, it's very similar to Madrid, it's about the same altitude, it's very much like Madrid. And he said, ah good, okay then. I mean, it wouldn't have been too high because I wouldn't have liked that, either. At 1000 meters altitude, you have no control [of the ball], it's madness. It's just that when you take a bit of control away from Rafa then it's better for us. So that was the idea of why to play here, because in terms of the sport, we thought the idea was one hundred percent convincing.

Q: What place do you think you'll have in history when time passes and when you no longer play tennis? Some say that you're a player without the ranking to match, being No.15 or No.20 of the world. That you play at the same level with the best.
David: That... is very difficult to know. But I would like to be remembered as the great point of reference of Argentine tennis for a period of time. I think do, I've done and I will continue to do a lot for the flag, the colours and I've been doing it ever since I was 20... Since I was a junior, since I was twelve. I think feeling this way, you're either born for it or you're not, it's very difficult to pratice. And particularly when it comes to Davis Cup. Because playing a tournament or something, you can win or lose but to be... When you're representing the colours, that's where you really see the player. You really get to see it when the chips are down. And playing a semifinal at Roland Garros is not the same as playing a Davis Cup semifinal in front of a full stadium... It's something different. In Davis Cup you drop your pants [i.e. are naked] and that doesn't happen to you anywhere else. That's really where you get to see what kind of players you have or don't have on the team. And I think that because of my record and my history in Davis Cup, I have an important place in the history of Argentine tennis.

Q: Do you feel that last year was when you got more into politics, had your brush with it? Do you feel that this was when politics grew more important for you? And do you like that, or not?
David: Right now, I'm at a different stage, I don't think about politics. I'm worried about the coutry like every other citizen, living here. I want things to be done the best possible way so that people can live well, live without worries, live with their passions. Travelling, one gets to see where Argentina stands in the world. We're really far behind compared to what happens in other countries. That's why many people go and live abroad, because there's a different support there when it comes to the different things governments offer. I think we're very far behind in this. Anywhere in Europe you see the difference, there it is normal... (...) So maybe it makes you say, what a shame that we can't be more like that.

Q: So, you win a tournament and it could be the solution for all the problems a friend of you has. Do you help out friends who ask you for it?
David: You get asked by friends and by people who are not friends. All kinds of things happen. (laughs). All kinds of things happen. I kind of think that just saying 'take it' to someone is not going to be the solution for anybody's life. For me, it's much more important to provide the opportunity for someone to try their best and give them the chance to have things, rather than say 'take a certain amount of money'. Also for the other person... That is to say, if somebody gives me the opportunity I have to deserve it so it's not like it was a gift As far as I can, I help my family, my friends, my loved ones, I help them as much as I can. But I kind of think that you shouldn't hand out amounts of money to just anybody.

Q: Is it correct to say that the moment of La Legión has already passed?
David: It could be different [from now on]. It is different because during that period we were four inside the Top Ten, almost five... Those are numbers that will be extremely difficult to repeat, very difficult. It doesn't happen in other countries. I think it'll be very difficult to repeat this but who tells you we won't win the Davis Cup, I win a Grand Slam and Juan Martin wins another. Of course, it's difficult to compare. With Juan Martin the only one inside the Top Ten and me being No.5, 10, 15, 20 of the world and the next player ranked No.60, some will say that it was better to have four Top Ten players during that period. Those are two different moments in time, new generations, like Juan Martin's. That generation was also a mixture because there was Gastón [Gaudio], Puerta, Cañas, Calleri, Chela and then Coria and myself, we were the ones from that litter that remained. Then, as the rest of this larger group of players went away, with Guillermo more or less retired, it seems that the sole survivor of that war was me (laughs), though I'm not that well (shows crutches), I'm still out of order. Juan Martin is from the new litter and it would be nice if he wasn't the only one.

Q: I've noticed that Del Potro doesn't lose those matches he shouldn't lose.
David: Juan Martin is not a rookie in this, he has been playing [at this level] for two or three years. Although he's young, he's experienced on the tour, known to the other players and not the other way around... That happens to everybody, unless you're a star like Federer or Nadal, from a different galaxy. But it's also easier, making the first push forward than maintaining that level because when you've done that for three or four more years, everybody knows your strengths and weaknesses, how to play against you, your skills, everything. And then a new phase starts for you. But I think that Juan Martin is experienced enough on the tour to not lose to a guy he shouldn't be losing to and besides, it's good, it's very good.

Q: Do you think Guillermo Coria will play again?
David: It was weird because he wanted to try and come back, he wanted to train. I was always one of those who said that he should return, because he was a quality player. But the more time passed, the more obvious it became that it was going to be increasingly difficult for him. Because the more time you spend away from the court, the more difficult it gets to come back. But I always believed that he could return, maybe not to be the No.3 in the world again, but to be inside the Top 50, because of the quality player that he was. The truth is that I don't know whether he's currently training or not, whether he's finished with tennis or not... But as he couldn't return within three years' time, as he was trying to, it'll be much more complicated to make a comeback, later than that.

Q: Are there times when you feel that you're playing for the money? Or don't you ever feel that way?
David: No, no... Fortunately, I've had a career that has provided well for me and I never have to think that if I don't win this tournament, I won't have enough money to travel the next week. Which is also a reality. It happens to the majority of players. At age 20, I reached the Wimbledon final. My junior career was a very good one but you don't win a cent, you're nothing. You know that you have your plan [becoming a pro] but sooner or later you make a living out of it, you live a life that's one hundred percent work. And then later you do it for the glory and for the history you can make at tournaments.

Q: David, what do you think you're not going to miss when you say goodbye to tennis? For example, in eight years.
David: Travelling. Travelling itself and not being able to enjoy two days off each week. I think it wears you out. Also the planes, the airports, security... Every time you have to take a plane, it's a mess. And having to do that every week of the year, taking planes, it's not at all easy.

Q: Can you imagine being a coach? Conveying to somebody else what tennis was for you?
David: Not right now. It's clear that I don't see myself like that now but what will be in the future, you can never know. Maybe, it could be nice, giving advice to somebody or explain what I've seen, to explain those things to someone. However, I think that travelling would be the bigger problem. Because that's what all ex-players find difficult. All those ex-players who offer coaching - I'm not talking about Argentineans here but about ex-players from all over the world - they'll tell you, 'I'd like to be your coach but I'd rather send you an email and we can exchange emails'. That [travelling] is the most difficult part. But in the future, to spend two hours on a tennis court with somebody, teaching them what I learned, it seems to me that some day I might like that.