Carlos Moya says he is a better player than when he won the French Open six years ago and his recent performances suggest he is right.
The Spaniard has gone through hard times since he triumphed in Paris in 1998 but he has recovered and will be one of the favourites at the Grand Slam tournament starting next Monday.
Number two in the ATP Race behind Roger Federer, the 27-year-old Moya has warmed up for the highlight of the claycourt season in style with victory at the Rome Masters earlier this month and a semi-final appearance in Monte Carlo last month.
A versatile player with a powerful serve who is also capable of excelling on hard courts, Moya has won three titles this year and will enter the French Open with an impressive 2004 record of 36 wins and just seven defeats.
"I think I'm a better player than I was a few years ago," he said in Hamburg, where he was stopped by Federer in the quarter-finals.
"I didn't win the French Open again but if you look at my match record now you will see that it is better than what it was in 1997 or 1998."
When Moya won in Paris as a 21-year-old in 1998, it seemed more victories would surely follow at Roland Garros.
But since then he has failed to advance beyond the quarter-finals of the French Open, or indeed of any other Grand Slam event apart from a semi-final appearance at the U.S. Open later the same year.
In March 1999, Moya became the first Spaniard to reach the number one spot since the ATP rankings were introduced in 1973, a position he held for two weeks.
His defence of the French Open title ended in the fourth round and a back injury then sidelined him for nearly all the rest of the year and the early part of 2000.
GREAT RUN
Not until 2002 did the quiet Spaniard with trademark long, dark hair and a dolphin tattoo on his right arm get back among the game's elite when he captured four titles in six finals in the best season of his career.
Last year brought him three more titles and he has kept it up this year with some impressive displays, most notably in his great run in Rome.
"I played perfect tennis all week in Rome," he said. "That was probably some of the best tennis I've ever played."
His defeat in straight sets to Federer in Hamburg did not really alarm him and at least gave him a few days' rest before he travels to Paris on Thursday.
"I was a bit tired and not moving as well as I usually do," Moya said after being crushed by the gifted Swiss all-rounder.
"I've played tough matches lately and I am bit tired but I'm healthy and I don't think it will be a problem to recover."
Asked to name his French Open favourites, Moya cited Federer, Guillermo Coria and defending champion Juan Carlos Ferrero, providing he is fit to play.
What about himself?
"I'll arrive in Paris knowing that I've had good results on clay and I'm capable of playing really well," he said. "We'll see what happens."
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