Viña del mar : Fernando won his first match easily

 

[Tournament website]

Fernando won his first match last evening in Viña del mar, he def. in straights sets, the Brazilian, Thiago Alves, 6-2  6-2 (pictures added in the photo gallery)

Second match, tonight (10.15 pm), vs Olivier Patience (126), from France

What Fernando said about Olivier Patience :

“We know eachothers since we are kids, we are from the same generation. As all the players from the french school, he plays well on clay, and it’s going to be a tough match”

After the match :

“I am feeling well, I’m not injured, although if physically, everything is against me, I have slept a little bit the last few days, I am with all the changed schedules, but to help me,  I have a full team working with me, with masseur, kiné, physical trainer “

Showtime (from El Mercurio)

After his comfortable triumph on Alves, González found time to share some words with the public who came exclusively to watch him. The Bombardero gave a signed ball to the public and the winner had the chance to play some points with González that, after stating that his opponent passed the ball, successively requested to him to play a point more.

González indicated that ” I see with much respect each one of my rivals”.

González had promised that he would look for a way to repay the affection that the Chilean public has demonstrated during the last few days for him. With his yesterday’s  exhibition against Alves, it seems to have found the right way.

Viña del mar : Gonzalezmania

[Article from El Mercurio, translation by the Webmaster]

The Gonzalezmania took Viña del mar

A spiky Argentine journalist approaches and asks where Fernando González trains and at what hour. He does not matter that on the center court of the Las Salinas Naval Club, an ex- number one of the world like the Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten is fighting to recover the level that allowed it to win three times Roland Garros.

In an inner field, Nicolas Massú trains with his coach, the Argentinean Gabriel Markus. Hardly a ten of noisy children fights to invade the field and to approach the ex- Olympic champion. All the attention is on the center court where Fernando González is.

The organizers of the Viña del mar Open, don’t deny it. “He is undeniable that there’s  a special euphoria to see Fernando, everything made by him during the Australian Open  influences in this climate, but for us the 80 percent of the financing of the match arrives through sponsors and from the rights of televising transmission. Regarding the sale of entrances, it is relative “, counts Carlos Ampuero, commercial manager of Fillol Promotions.

This is that, if Fernando González arrives at the end of the tournament, the gains will be greater than if this does not happen.

The same Massú, once great favorite of the viñamarino public, prefers to take it with calm. “Before they asked us both (Chino Rios and me), now it’s Fernando, it’s this sport, it does not bother me for anything, only that sometimes one does not have much more to say”, the medallista of Athens.

Full field ?

At 10pm, Fernando González will make his awaited debut against the Brazilian Thiago Alves (122º) and will be able to empirically verify the thesis of of which the great hook for the public is flaming for the number five of ranking ATP.The director of the tournament, Alvaro Fillol, agrees with the theory. “It is more or less evident that after which he has done, people want to see him.
In a while and as a result of the physical wearing down that supposed the intervention in the Australian Open, voices arose which they insinuated the convenience of not playing, especially the one from the captain of Chilean DC captain Hans Gildemeister.

The answer of Fillol : “Now I am not going to say anything, but when the championship will be finished, I will do it. Clear that these things influence, they bother. Each one of the auspiciadores has called me several times to make sure that Fernando is going to play, to each one is necessary to say to him that if, it was necessary to make a press conference to clarify it “.

Tomorrow at night, González will continue being the center of the universe for Chileans, it’s clear that now he’ll have to respond on the court, in a first duel and in which more than what the Brazilian Alves can do, the doubt is how the physical of the player and the traveling Fernando González will respond.
 

Cover

Viña del mar : Feña’s press conference

[from Radio Cooperativa.cl]

Translation by the webmaster

Fernando González without any euphoria: “I come to enjoy my return to play in Chile”

By Héctor Parraguirre Rockrose

The flaming finalist of the Australian Open caused madness in the Naval Club of Las Salinas, an atmosphere that motivates him to try to gain his third title in Viña del mar.

Fernando González (5º)  has always been wanted in Viña del mar, but in this occasion an euphoria seized of the ATP Movistar Open assistants, especially the youngs, with the arrival of number five of the world and that atmosphere has caught the tennis player of the La Reina to return to play at home.

“Hopefully, I still continue advancing and winning, but what I more come to enjoy, it’s to return to play here in Chile that I haven’t almost been doing it for a year and this is what I am hoping more. We play matches all around the world but it isn’t like playing here with people from your country ”, said the finalist of the Australian Open.

Although he comes tired, the winning spirit of González does not die, reason why he assured that it has never been in his mind to withdraw from the contest of  the “City Garden” and for that reason received thanks of the director of the championship, Alvaro Fillol.

“I come  every year. All the climate, was a pity that you created, that I was not going to play, I never said that I was not going to play. It was in the calendar and I was prepared mentally to play, before playing the final and I knew which was my group here. It’s a tournament where I have many desire  to return and to win and I don’t want to wait one more year to have one more opportunity’, he affirmed.

“Physically, It’s not perfect but the desire is suddenly  more important that how I am. I have several pains in the body, traveled 20 hours in an airplane, I have 14 hours of schedule difference to play in two days in another surface, with other conditions, but I believe that the most important it is that I have many desire to return to play and to win here “, added.

González commented in Melbourne that he had a new estatus after reaching the fifth position in the ATP Rankings. And that noticed, because the press conference took place in the hall vip. The player feels that he is in a level of “top five”.

“Obviously that I grew like a player… I feel that I can still improve much more, I prefer not to think so much about the numbers and to continue playing tennis well”, expressed.

The odyssey of Melbourne

Everyone would like to know the perception of the Chilean of his spectacular passage at the Australian Open and González responded to the expectations.

“It was a very good tournament, independent from the result by the way in which I began to play and of the way that I felt, leaving difficult moments and that it lets you grow like a player”

“Surely, each Grand Slam you play, it’s a dream. This time was not the exception. The beginning was either hard, later, was better and obviously  playing that tennis gives you  much confidence and much tranquillity to continue advancing “, he indicated.

With the Glass Davis in the sight

Fernando González does not forget that next week will be the match against Russia in the Davis Cup and although he said that a victory can never be assured, he feels the responsibility to have to gain his individual matches.

“Never there is nothing assured in tennis, less in Davis Cup, but obviously when one is a number one, the first day, he has the responsibility to gain that point. Now fortunately,  the best thing is than we play in Chile,  that is very important for me and for the team ”,  he indicated.

Considering that he has played a few matches in double with Nicholas Massu in the last few months, the main national racket discarded that that is going to be negative for the pair.

“With Nicó, we know ourselves since childhood, we have had good results in doubles and of the way in which we played he is a little more like in singles. Obviously, when we’ll play more, we will be better, but the Russians are not playing either and as for me I am playing well and whenever we played for Chile our level raises “, noticed a player which has confidence, as much as to reiterate, that they do not concern the names with which comes Russia, but” how we are “.

What the other players said ?

I have decided to start a new category about what the other ATP players thought about Fernando.

The first reactions are after the final in Melbourne (from La Tercera)

Gustavo Kuerten : “it’s what he deserves. He’s one of the best in the world”

Ivan Ljubicic : “He’s a fantastic player and also a great person”

Fabrice Santoro : “With a different rival than Federer, he’d have won in Australia”

Dominik Hrbaty : “Stefanki is a great coach who knows how to lead his players to reach the top”

“Gonzalez: “I hope that it’s the beginning of something better”

La Tercera

[Translation by the webmaster]

[The full column will be translated later]

The number five in the world made a balance in “La Tercera” of his participation in Australia and he anticipates his participation in Viña. Read some of the published phrases of the Chilean in “the Deportivo”

The columnista of “La Tercera”, Fernando Gonzalez makes an analysis of his participation in the Australian Open, tournament where he arrived in the final.“Seated in the airplane on the road to Santiago, beginning to digest what these two weeks of my life have been. Perhaps, they have been the most important of my career, but sincerely I hope that it won’t finish here. On the contrary, I have the certainty that something new for me begins “.

“This has helped me to grow like a person and a tennis player, two things that I was looking for and that I will continue fighting to improve”.

“I almost played thousand minutes in seven matches, and although it was at the beginning, it enabled me to  find the rythm, at the end, I did it, playing a great level with players who belong to elite world-wide”.

“That makes me feel in another way, to enter on the court with confidence, but more conscious that I have still work left to do”.

“I’m leaving calm from Australia and with many desire to arrive in Viña del mar to play the ATP Tournament. I know that I will arrive tired after the matches, almost 20 hours of trip and more above with the changed schedule, but have many desire to play in Chile “.

“Perhaps If it had been another match, I’d have withdrawn, but not in my country. In addition, later the comes the David Cup and I hope that everything what I have obtained will be useful for the team”.

“A new way is beginning for me, one I wanted to arrive a long time ago and I hope that this it is only the beginning of something better”.

 

Commercial “Palta Hass”

Covers :)

La Tercera

Feña arrived in Chile this afternoon :)

Fernando arrived in Chile this afternoon (around 1pm – local time). He’ll give a press conference in Viña del mar, this evening, at 7.30 pm (local time). Afterwards, Fernando will practrice on the courts of Las Salinas.

I’ll try to post videos and photos of the press conference later on..

Fernando is now, the new world number 5 with 2 710 points. He is at 5 points from Roddick, Fernando can go higher !!

Video creation number 3

My third creation, on Nelly Furtado’s song : “no hay igual”