Day 9 - Rafael Nadal Interview Tuesday, May 31, 2005 Q. Rafael, how does it feel to be in the semifinal? RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, I am very happy. My first semifinals in one Grand Slam. It's unbelievable for me. Play the semifinal against the No. 1 is unbelievable for me, no? Q. How well do you think you're playing? RAFAEL NADAL: I am playing very well, no? Today is my best day in the two weeks. I improve every day. Today I feel good with my forehand, with my backhand, and I feel good, no? Ferrer is little bit tired. After the first set, he have little bit problem in the back. I am sorry for him because the -- he play today, is not good for him, no, because he play four hours yesterday. Q. Do you feel you can beat Roger Federer? RAFAEL NADAL: Compete? So he is the favorite, no? He have the pression. He is the No. 1. I will try play my best tennis for won, no? I think I can won if I play my best tennis and if he don't play the best match, no? THE MODERATOR: Questions in Spanish, please. Q. Federer has said that he's going to win easily, three sets against you. RAFAEL NADAL: I didn't know he said that. Q. Federer, in fact, what he said is that it's going to be a very tight game; that he will have no gifts, nothing will be for free. (记者太坏了啦 竟然设计人家XD) RAFAEL NADAL: I hope it will be a good match. He's been playing very well. He hasn't lost a single set, has he? Well, we'll go for him. I am very happy with my match today. (Cell phone ringing.) You see, that's why I had to switch it off. I'm going to switch it off, in fact. No, I think today's match has really given me confidence to play against Federer, and it really has given me a lot of confidence. I know he's playing very well. I know it's going to be a complicated match. Q. This is a different sort of court, but do you think it's going to be the same as in Miami against Roger? RAFAEL NADAL: No, each match is different. I hope it's not going to be like in Miami because, you know, it was a five-set match, I lost. Here, it's a different surface. We're on clay. It's going to be different, and I am going to try to play well- like I've been playing so far, and play at my best level like I've been playing Barcelona, Monte-Carlo, all the clay tournaments, the final in Rome. Today I've been playing at a good level. If I play like that, I hope I do have the possibility of winning. If I don't play at my best level, well, it's going to get complicated. Q. Physically, how do you feel? Are you feeling as well as in all the tournaments? RAFAEL NADAL: No, I'm feeling fine. There have been some very long matches, but I'm feeling very well and I am going to be able to rest in any case. So for Friday, I'm sure I'll be very fit physically. Q. Do you think this is the most important match in your life, the one you're going to play against Federer? > RAFAEL NADAL: I don't want to think that way because I don't want to put extra pressure on myself. But, obviously, it's an important match and a wonderful match to play. I hope I'll enjoy it. Whatever importance it is, I've played the final in Rome, the final in Monte-Carlo. These matches were also very important for me at the time. They're Masters Series, they're also very important matches. So I'm very happy. This is very good for my career. A final would be unbelievable for me - especially at 19, I'll be 19. But I'll have to think about my game only and try and play at my best level to try to win. Q. Have you had time to watch Federer play? RAFAEL NADAL: I saw him play a little while against Gonzalez, a little bit against Moya, first and second set. He's been playing very well, obviously. He's showing really that he deserves to be No. 1. And even on clay, he's really good. I mean, he's played in Hamburg, and I think that he's obviously one of the favorites. Now I'm in the semifinal, and so I've got my own objective. My objective, in fact, was to be here in the semifinal. I'm going to try to play calmly, and obviously it would be wonderful to win. I think I might be able to win - at least that's what I'm going to go for, even if it's going to be a tough match. Q. After that match, after that tournament, if you want to give yourself a score or mark, what would that mark be? RAFAEL NADAL: Well, today I felt very well. I felt I've been playing a very high level of tennis. This has probably been my best match of the week. There were moments of pressure against Gasquet, also with the crowd with Grosjean, and also the first round. So there have been different moments during this tournament that have been difficult, and that's helped me build up confidence and gain further experience that will help me, you know, even in the next years. Q. Friday is your birthday. What are you going to do? Are you going to phone your family? RAFAEL NADAL: Well, they're in Shanghai, I think. They're on holidays, so I don't know. I'll phone, I suppose, yes. Q. Is it the point in the first set, with the match against David, that changed the match, 5-5? RAFAEL NADAL: Well, it was 5-4, and then 5-5, and then there was a wonderful passing shot, one of the best passing shots of my life, in fact. Then another ball that could have gone out but didn't, and that was a very important point, obviously. Q. You're facing a major match. Are you afraid that this is going to be too long? It's Tuesday today; you're going to play Friday. Are you going to have too much time to think about it? RAFAEL NADAL: No, I'm feeling fine. I'm feeling much calmer now than when I started the tournament here, and even when I started the match against Grosjean. I'm feeling fine. I feel that I'm playing at a good level, and that really helps me to see this match in a good state of mind. When I play well, it really helps me feel calm. I might lose, I might win, but I'm happy to play at my best level. Q. Who's the favorite for the public? RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I don't know. He's No. 1, I'm 18. It's important, obviously. It's a factor. Well, we'll see who's the favorite. I think it's 50/50, basically. Q. You're very strong, and people wonder what you eat. What sort of regime? Is it the Mediterranean diet? What do you do to be so strong? Yesterday you came in eating a French baguette. Does it get better than that? What can you say about that? RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I can't really say anything. It's not the Mediterranean diet or anything. I eat just normally. If you give me olives, I eat olives. Yesterday I ate Haagen Daz ice cream. I don't have anything out of the ordinary.(XD) Q. Is there a special sort of food that you like? RAFAEL NADAL: I love seafood. There are lots of things I like. You know, I don't know (smiling)... Why don't you ask the other players what they like? (XDXD) Q. You had fun in Miami, and here the idea is the same, isn't it? It's clay, but it's the same idea, isn't it? RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, well, I prefer to have a bad time and win, obviously. But obviously if you're having fun, it's probably because you're playing well. This is a match where I'd like to have fun. Obviously, it's a match where there's something to win, there's something to lose. It's Roland Garros. Obviously, if you lose, you're going to lose something important. I'd like to be in the final. But I'm going to try to play in my own way, you know, giving it a fight, giving it my all. I think that Federer and I will both play well, in a different style. 记者都爱跟小孩闲聊:P -- Soulmates never die --

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