THE tennisreporters.net NEWSLETTER: SUNDAY, JUNE 1, NO. 30

Blistered Moya retools

By Alix Ramsay
Special to tennisreporters.net

Fred Mullane/ Camerawork USA, Inc.

FROM ROLAND GARROS – If, as the eternal optimists are always saying, good things come to those who wait, then Carlos Moya is due something pretty important and fairly soon.

There can be no more patient man than the gentle Spaniard but, if Friday's performance at Roland Garros is anything to go by, his tolerance may be pushed to breaking point yet. He was facing Juan Ignacio Chela, Argentina's version of a springy human backboard, and appeared to be in fine fettle. Two sets whistled by as Moya took control and then, with the sort of fragility that has blighted his Grand Slam efforts since his return from injury, he got himself into all sorts of bother.

If it were not for the fact that Chela proved just as capable of messing things up, he would have been on his way back home to Majorca. As it was, he squeaked through 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-3.

On Sunday, Moya rediscovered his steely form and blasted Jiri Novak 7-5, 6-3, 6-2. He'll face big Dutchman Martin Verkerk in the next round.

Shoeless Carlos?
Moya's cause hasn't been helped by the marketing men at Nike. They have come up with a new marketing ploy for this tournament, persuading the '98 champ to wear a brand new pair of shoes for every match. On Friday they were sky-blue sneakers; on Sunday, when he took on Jiri Novak, they will be bright red. The upshot is that Moya now has blisters all over his feet and, against Chela, had to call for the trainer to do some very unpleasant things with a pin, some antiseptic spray and an awful lot of plasters.

Still, sore feet are the least of his worries after all he has been through. And if that is the only price he has to pay for a decent run in Paris, then so be it. Since his back first gave out at the end of 1999, Moya has been counting off the days until he could get back to being a Grand Slam champion and, maybe, just maybe, the world No. 1. Six months enforced rest to recover from a stress fracture in his lower back was hard enough to endure at the end of that season, but the four years since then spent traipsing around the globe waiting for the results to come has been a long and tedious process.

Remarkably, he never lost his belief in himself and in his ability. Working on the theory that hard work does eventually pay off, he knew that the hours spent in training and on the practice courts would push him towards his goal.

Unfortunately, he was the only one who believed this as the rest of the sages on the circuit did not give him a prayer. Surely no one can spend so long out of the top flight and still get back to his best. Señor Moya thinks it is possible and is doing his utmost to prove it here.

"Before, everything came very easy for me and I didn't realize how hard it was to get there," he said. "But after I was injured, it's like second career for me, starting from No. 60 in the world. For some players to be 60 in the world, it's okay, but not for me. I had to work very hard. I was very motivated to get there again. That was the key to my coming back, to be in the Top 10."

Back at the top
That goal was achieved last year as he broke back into the Top 5. Seeming to have Lleyton Hewitt's number – he beat him four out of five times last year – he persuaded the doubters that he could, once more, be a contender at the major tournaments. This time, though he has set his goals even higher.

"I think it will be a great story if I'm back there after four years when I've been injured, to be back at the No. 1," he said. "No. 1 has to be more important, because I won a Grand Slam title already."

Of course, winning a Slam or two can only help in his bid to become the best player in the business but that takes confidence, arrogance and not a little luck. And all three commodities have been in short supply over the last few years. "In tennis, it's a lot to do with confidence," he said. "When you win, you feel like you the best in the world. When you lose, you feel like you cannot beat anyone. So is a bit scary because you don't know when is gonna be back. You have to be patient. If you know you're doing the right things, you know you have more chances to find the confidence."

At least the Spaniard thinks his game is made for success. His forehand is as potent as ever but he has also beefed up his serve and his backhand. "Right now, I'm better player than I was, a more complete player," he said. "If you keep playing the same way, everybody gets to know you and they know how to play you. So you have to make some adjustments and a little change and I think I've done it."

Whether those changes are enough to win him the title remains to be seen, but if he could stop changing his shoes every day, his life would be a good deal easier.