Tour veteran Carlos Moya, with over 500 singles wins, says he doesn’t see an early ending to his ATP career.
Tour veteran Carlos Moya, with over 500 singles wins, says he doesn’t see an early ending to his ATP career.
MUMBAI: He has been to India many times, though this is only his second visit to Mumbai. The first time, it was for a promotional event; now, it is to test his ageing skills at the Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open.
“I always enjoy coming to India,” says Carlos Moya. “I have been coming to the Chennai ATP event every year. Yes, it’s quite hot and humid here, but then I’ve experienced it before so it’s not a problem for me.
I have carried home some happy memories from this country. I’m looking forward to a good outing here.”
The former world number one, with a current world ranking of 43 but seeded fifth here, has his first test against up-and-coming Argentinean Juan Martin Del Potro. “I will take it step by step. The first round is always tricky. He’s a fairly decent player. It should be a good fight,” the veteran Spaniard says.
Though he has been on the Tour for close to 11 years now, he’s still scared of leaving the game. “I can’t think of a life beyond tennis. It still seems like yesterday. True, the Tour calender has become much more tough and competitive now, and frequent travelling does take a toll on your body. But that’s nothing compared to what the game has given me,” his tone takes a philosophical note.
“Things were different in the 90s. There were quite a few great players like (Pete) Sampras, (Boris) Becker, (Andre) Agassi, (Patrick) Rafter with virtually the same kind of skills. They were all in the same league. But today, there’s a big gap between the top two-three players and the rest. See (Roger) Federer and (Rafael) Nadal. There is hardly anyone who can come close to them,” he says.
But for him, Sampras was and always will remain the best. “He was a class apart. Federer and Nadal are good, but not in his league,” Moya says.
And he does feel that Federer is not unbeatable. “Nadal has beaten him twice this year. Murray beat him recently. He’s after all human. He has his weaknesses,” he says.
For Moya, his 500th singles win on Tour did come as a surprise. “When I started off, I never knew I’d reach this far. But now I think maybe I can notch up my 600th win. Yes, I am old enough, but even at this age I can still prove a handful for many younger players,” he says.
Moya, who won the French Open crown in 1998 - his only Grand Slam title — and was world number one for a brief period in 1999. However, he doesn’t rate these achievements as much as being part of his country’s triumphant Davis Cup squad. “The Davis Cup (over US in 2004) win means much more to me than a Grand Slam crown or a world number one ranking,” he says.
And no, he hasn’t thought of retirement yet. “There’s still a long journey ahead. Once I am through it all, I will sit down quietly and relax for some time. Beyond that I haven’t planned yet,” he goes philosophical again.
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