Serve and Volley: Alabama Freshman Javier Bes
2/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
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Javier Bes joined Alabama tennis in January and is a native of Zaragoza, Spain. During his juniors career most of his matches were played on clay courts, which make for a slower game than what is played in America on hard courts.
Naturally you would expect there to be an adjustment period, however, after dropping his first match at Alabama, Bes hasn’t lost since. He’s reeled off three consecutive wins and is 3-0 in dual match competition.
The Serve: You’re off to a pretty good start. Did you expect to win your first three dual matches?
The Volley: I expected to have to learn and adjust to playing here because the courts are different. I’m used to playing on clay courts in Spain so here the courts are faster. But this has been a good start. I still have to improve my volley a lot. I expect to have a good year.
S: What’s the biggest difference in playing in America and playing in Spain?
V: Well, the courts are a big difference but the players are different too. In Spain they are used to passing more and the matches are longer. Here, things are faster. I don’t prefer one over the other.
S: Do you have any superstitions before or during matches?
V: Two or three years ago I did. But now I don’t believe in superstitions. I used to write the letter V in the clay for victory before the match. Now, playing on hard courts it’s impossible.
S: Do you like playing singles or doubles better?
V: I like playing singles better because in Spain I only played two or three doubles a year.
S: If you could play doubles with anyone in the world, who would you choose?
V: I’d choose Roger Federer, of course. He’s the best player in the world.
S: Do you have any nicknames?
V: Not yet. Maybe I can do something to earn one.
S: Did you play any other sports growing up in Spain?
V: I used to play a little bit of soccer just like every other Spanish kid.
