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Moya targets 600 wins

By Deepti Patwardhan in Mumbai
September 25, 2006 21:45 IST
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Having notched up 500 career victories, former world number one Carlos Moya is feeling fit and fine to make it 600.

"I have the energy to go to 600," said the 30-year-old from Mallorca on Monday. "It is the result of the hard work I have put in day after day.

"When I started playing tennis I couldn't even think of it. I am really proud of it, give it as much importance as winning a Grand Slam."

Moya, who has been such a hit with the crowd in his five visits to Chennai, will set the courts ablaze at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai during the US $ 380,000 Kingfisher Airlines Open, starting on Monday.

"At 22-23 you don't see the end coming. You think you can go forever, but now I like to enjoy every single tournament I participate in."

"I am working very hard. The schedule is very tight nowadays. It depends on how many tournaments I play, but I still like to travel and am still enjoying tennis. There are a lot of young guys coming up but I feel I still have the power to play and beat them," said Moya after his first practice session in Mumbai.

The Spaniard said the security, after the July 11 bomb blasts in Mumbai, is never a concern and it has always been a pleasure to tour India.

"When I came to Chennai for the first time I had an infection in my thumb and couldn't turn up for my quarter-final match. The second year I could not take the court at all because of a stress fracture-- I thought I had recovered enough but I hadn't really. So I was thinking maybe Chennai was unlucky for me.

"But then I won the title the next year and have started enjoying the Chennai Open. I hope I can play as well in Mumbai. It's my first time year; hopefully not the last."

Moya advocated the league format, which will be introduced in some ATP tournaments next year, saying it is good for the players, organisers as well as the fans.

"It helps you to relax a little. I have played in the Masters, which is the only tournament right now using the league format, and it's good for the players. Even you have an off-day you have the chance to make it to the quarter-final. If someone like [Rafael] Nadal or [Roger] Federer lose in the early-rounds, the fans still have more chances to watch the top players."

Though the depth in tennis has increased, the 1998 French Open champion believes that during his peak there were more players with top-10 potential than the current crop.

"Today Roger and Rafael are far ahead than anyone. The players between 10 and 50 are very good, very competitive but during our time there were people with greater top-10 potential."

Moya, who is a mentor to fellow-Mallorcan and two-time French Open champion Nadal, said the 20-year-old had to hang in there and wait for Federer's powers to vane to be at the top of the tennis world.

"Right now Federer is winning everything. Rafa has a 6-2 record against him which is great. It shows Roger is not unbeatable, though very close to that. Rafa is very strong on clay and having reached the Wimbledon final, he's a definite contender for the title there also. Federer's on the top of his game and but maybe after the next two-three years his form will drop a bit. Rafa has to prepared to hang in there till that time."

Moya, who arrived in the city only on Sunday evening, starts his campaign at the Mumbai Open with a first round clash against 18-year-old Argentine Juan Martin del Potro. His compatriot and world number seven Tommy Robredo leads the player field also consisting Croatia's Mario Ancic and Dmitry Tursunov.

 

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Deepti Patwardhan in Mumbai

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