TENNIS Mutua Madrid Open 2014 – K. Nishikori d. D. Ferrer 7-6, 5-7, 6-3. An interview with Kei Nishikori.
Q. Congratulations again for a great match. It was wonderful to watch. Just like to ask if you were as nervous as you looked in the last game when you were serving for the match?
KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah, I tried not to think too much because I knew how important that last game, and especially I was 40 Love up and he came back.
Yeah, inside of my mind I was confusing and so many stuff is going on. But I was trying to be calm and try to focus on the next points. Took like ten minutes to finish the match, but very happy to finish the way I finished today.
Q. Just like to ask you how is your back feeling? Saw you having treatment last night and tonight. Will you be okay to face Rafa tomorrow?
KEI NISHIKORI: I don’t know. I have to see how I wake up tomorrow. Yeah, these two days been not so great. I cannot say too much, but hopefully I can play another good match tomorrow. (Smiling.)
Q. Congratulations. You were always a good player, but seems like in the past couple months or this year you are going one step further in the rankings, in the games, in the tournaments. Why do you think is that?
KEI NISHIKORI: Um, I tried to change my tennis a little bit, a little more aggressive than before. My serve is much better. Like today I had so many free points with my first serve, and that’s also helping my game, too.
I think all the strokes more confidence and not much, you know, easy mistakes and more solid at the baseline. But everything is, you know, going better way for me.
But it’s a little bit surprise. You know, I didn’t think these final Masters and Barcelona wins. It’s been like ten straight winning on clay, so it’s a little bit surprise for me.
But it’s a great opportunity for me to get my ranking higher. If I do well in clay court season, I think I have more chance to get higher ranking.
Q. Playing Rafa Nadal here in Madrid where he’s won so often, he’ll have the crowd behind him. What do you think is going to be the key for to you win tomorrow?
KEI NISHIKORI: For sure I have to step up and play better tennis than before, you know, a little more aggressive than before.
But I been feeling really confidence on clay. He’s going to be different player, but…
He’s the king of the clay, so hopefully I can hang in there and try to play another good match.
Q. Do you take anything out of the Australian Open? There were three really tight sets. Even though you lost, there was a couple tiebreakers in there and a 7 5. Do you take anything out of that coming into the final tomorrow?
KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah, a little bit. I’m feeling for sure more comfortable than before to play Rafa, but it’s going to be a different situation on clay court. I lost him in French last year pretty bad, so…
But I learn a lot of stuff from that Australian Open. I kind of know how to, you know, play to beat him. It’s not going to be easy to beat him, but I have to do whatever I have to do.
Q. When you were serving today, because of your back, did you think a second to give up, or never?
KEI NISHIKORI: I try not to. It was very tough. Even before the match I wasn’t perfect and 100%.
You have to think when you’re hurt or something to try to win the match. It was a little bit tough to play today. But if you step on the court, you have to fight and try to win.
It was okay after when I stepping on the court.
Q. What would it mean for people back in Japan for you to have reached a major final in a Masters 1000? What do you think the feeling in Japan would be right now?
KEI NISHIKORI: I don’t know. Hopefully it’s big, big news in Japan. But it’s not like Europe. Tennis is very big here. Japan or Asia it’s not one of the biggest sports yet, so I don’t know if everybody knows how important this tournament is.
But hopefully I can, you know, do well these Masters and Grand Slams and hopefully the tennis get more bigger in Japan.
