TENNIS 2014 ROLAND GARROS – 2nd of June. R. Nadal d. D. Lajovic 6-1, 6-2, 6-1. An interview with Rafael Nadal
Q. Obviously in a Grand Slam championship that goes on for so long, it’s important to conserve as much energy as you can. How pleased were you with the way you played today and the fact it was a relatively short match?
RAFAEL NADAL: Well, thank you. Yes, it was a positive match for me, obviously. I think I played a great first set. In my opinion, he didn’t play bad in the first set. He played a good set, too.
I played with no mistakes and having the control with the backhand, with the forehand from the baseline.
Happy with the way that I played. Sure, you never know what’s better, but in theory, the theory says that it’s better win like this than win longer matches.
But you never know what’s the best thing for what’s going on, no? That’s all.
Happy to be in quarterfinal. Is a positive result for me. Yeah, gonna be tough match next one.
Q. What do you think about the abdication of the king of Spain?
RAFAEL NADAL: Okay, well, we were very surprised with this announcement that the king was abdicating in Spain. The only thing I can do is to thank his majesty, the king, for everything he did all along these years.
He was a wonderful person, a great representative of our country everywhere in the world, and Spain should thank him for everything he did during his reign. I just want to thank him for everything he did for my country.
More personally speaking, I had the great opportunity of meeting him on quite a few occasions. On a personal note, he was always very nice to me, very warm. He made me feel very comfortable each time we met.
So I feel honored. I had the opportunity of meeting him, and I wish him the best for the future, for whatever he decides to do for the future.
I think you can’t ask more for a person who has done so much for us.
Q. You play David Ferrer next. I was wondering if mentally it is different when you play him here when you have lost to him recently on clay? Is it easy for you to forget about the past and just approach the match?
RAFAEL NADAL: No. When you lost, you lost. That’s it. Normally when I am coming here, I’m not lying nobody. Always when you have a loss in the last confrontation, that can affect. Or not. I don’t know.
I will tell you after tomorrow. But at the at the end, important thing for me is I am in quarterfinals here. I am happy the way that I arrived here.
I think that I am a little bit better than when I was playing against him in Monte Carlo, but I think he’s playing great, too. He played three weeks in a row very high level. In Madrid he played great, in Rome he played great, and he’s playing great here.
He’s coming to the match with confidence and with confidence that he gave me the last time, so is extra thing for me. It will be a tough one. I know to play against him and to have chances to win I need to play very well.
That’s what I gonna try. If not, will be impossible.
Q. In the last match you mentioned when you were serving you weren’t serving at 100% because you may have felt something with the back. I’m just wondering whether you are 100% now and there is no back problem.
RAFAEL NADAL: No. I say the other day. You were here in the other press conference? I say I don’t really want to talk much about that. I say I try to don’t to nobody when I am here, but another thing is talk too much. I don’t want to talk too much about this thing today.
I have important match to come. Today I won a match in good shape. We’ll see what’s going on in the future.
Q. When you’re here at Roland Garros, how much do you think about the past and your past performances and victories here? Or is it better to be in the moment, in the present? What do you find the balance to be?
RAFAEL NADAL: The past is past. You can think about the past in a few years when I will be in Mallorca fishing or playing golf.
Today the past is not helping me to win no one point. That’s it. The sport is the present, and I’m thinking about what’s going on today, what’s going on tomorrow, my practice, and day after tomorrow in my match.
Then hopefully after my career I will have chances to think about all the things that happened in the past.
Today, when I’m coming back here to Roland Garros always is a special feeling, special memories when you are here. But when the tournament start, you are ready for the action and the competition, and you want to be ready for give you another chance to be competitive. The past don’t help you on that.
Only thing that helps you is practice every day, the motivation to keep doing things the right way. That’s it. All what happened here in the last nine years is something very special for me.
Q. Since the last match you played, your serve is faster 8 kilometers per hour faster. Did you sort of program this?
RAFAEL NADAL: I’m not a machine. No, I play with the conditions on the court. I play with my feelings on the court. Since the third round I started serving a bit better, a bit faster, and my serve was a bit more fluid.
And to continue having these feelings, I need to repeat the same gesture, especially against David, because he returns in a very tough way.
So I don’t want to waste the advantage I have with my serve.
