Day 5 - Rafael Nadal Interview Friday, May 27, 2005 Q. Was it easier than you expected? RAFAEL NADAL: (In English.) Of course. Before the match, I can't think I won 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, no? I think Gasquet and me, we have pression, and I think the pression --(In Spanish.) I'll say it in Spanish or else I'll get in trouble.(XD) Pressure affected us both, and I think probably, with everything that has been said, he had more pressure than me. (In English.) And I think I play really good today, no? Q. Back to the final point of the second set where you had to make a difficult backhand shot with your back to the net. Can you describe it in your own words? RAFAEL NADAL: (In English.) I don't know. Is very important point. I can won the point, and that is very important, because I can won the second set, no? When I won the second set, the match is better for me, no? Q. How difficult was it? RAFAEL NADAL: (In English.) I don't know. All points is difficult. This one is difficult for the point and is difficult for the moment, no? Q. At the end of the match when you congratulated Gasquet, you put your arm around him and spoke to him. Could you tell us what you told Gasquet? RAFAEL NADAL: (In English) No. I ask him if he have any problem, any physical problem, because I see you a little bit tired. So he say to me, "No, I am okay. You play very well. Very good luck for the rest of tournament," no? We speak a little bit. Q. In English, French or Spanish? RAFAEL NADAL: (In English.) In English (smiling). In my best English. (XD) Q. How much did it make it easier for you that you were able to break him the first time he served in each set? RAFAEL NADAL: (In English.) Yeah, that's important because to begin the match with breaks is important for the -- ("tranquilita") to be calm. Q. Now that you've had this first time Grand Slam meeting, the two of you, there will be more over the years, what is your feelings about the future of your rivalry? RAFAEL NADAL: (In English.) I don't know. I don't think so. Only Gasquet and me in the tour? We have lots of players - Federer, Coria, Hewitt, not only this one, no? Normally in the next years, it's come back a lot of players, too, no? We not only have Gasquet and me. Q. It was very hot today. The courts were very fast and hard. RAFAEL NADAL: (In English.) Better for me, I think. Q. How much more bounce did you get from the ball with your topspin today? RAFAEL NADAL: (In English.) Yeah, I think the weather is better for me because I can -- the ball is when touch, bounces, is go good up, and that is important for me, no? For my game, that very important. THE MODERATOR: Any other English or French? RAFAEL NADAL: (In English.) No! (XDXD) THE MODERATOR: Questions in Spanish. Q. Now that it's all over, this comparison with Gasquet, do you think there's another player who can be a rival of yours? RAFAEL NADAL: Well, as I say, I don't think that you should have a rivalry with one player because there are many players. There's no one special player to be your rival. I mean, I'm not the best person to compare myself with anyone. I think I'm just a player among others, and I try to play as best as I can. There's nothing else. I mean, we all try to play our best tennis. I don't think there's a rivalry between two players specifically. I think we're all rivals. We all want to win. Q. I want to ask you, what about those pants you wear? Do you wear them because you like them or because you're paid a lot of money to wear them? RAFAEL NADAL: Neither reason. Q. But why do you wear these long pants? They're really strange. Where did you get the idea? Do you think they'll be allowed in Wimbledon? RAFAEL NADAL: But those trousers are white. Q. One woman tried to dress in white and it was a problem. RAFAEL NADAL: 50 years ago, everybody wore those types of pants. Q. But not today. Don't you think it would be better to play with shorts? RAFAEL NADAL: No. I've been playing with these pants for some time. Nike decided I should wear them. Actually, I feel perfectly all right in them. Q. And you've been winning a number of matches in them. RAFAEL NADAL: Well, that's not an excuse. I'm not going to start saying I've won or lost for reasons of heat or pants. I think these pants are extremely comfortable. I feel perfectly at ease. I don't think they're any different from shorts. Q. This is a marketing idea by Nike? RAFAEL NADAL: Yes, but I like them. Q. Do you think there's been too much talk and too much written on this match beforehand? RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I think that probably there's been a sort of rivalry made up between myself and Gasquet, and I don't think that it exists. I think we're two young players. Obviously here in France, there's much talk about their very good players. I think probably he's going to be very soon in the Top 10. We both try to play as best we can. There's been a lot of talk. Possibly he's been affected by the pressure as I have. The fact that he was playing at home was possibly an extra pressure for him. That might have affected him and favored me. Q. You started your first victory with an excellent score, but you've been improving your tennis since. RAFAEL NADAL: Yes, the fact that I won today, I'm of course delighted. This was not an easy match in any way. Of course I'm delighted with my game today in spite of all the pressure and everything that was being said about the match. Q. What do you think made the difference in the end between you and him? RAFAEL NADAL: I think I was feeling quite strong out there on court. I think it was very difficult for him to make the point. We had very high shots, and a lot of players have problems with that. Gasquet is one of the best players on the tour. But the fact that the clay was very dry today, the bounce was rather high, this might have been a problem for him. Because of these high shots, he might have lost a few points. That might have helped me dominate in this match, make him run around. This favored me. Q. Today you've probably overcome a great hurdle. Is this a new tournament that's beginning? RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I must say it was a difficult match. Well, I felt quite well previously, with Malisse in particular, but I was probably thinking too much about this particular match. After that I'll just take it one match at a time. Each match is a different story. I'm improving my game day after day. I'll try to do my best. I know that in any case as time goes on in the tournament, the matches will get more difficult and I could lose at any time. It's not because I've won this match that everything is done. I'm very happy with my game, but I'm very aware of the fact that I can lose any time. Q. Is there anything in your life that has affected you, some special place, when you were very young? RAFAEL NADAL: Well, Roland Garros is a very important tournament for me. It's one of the most important in the year, and I would love to play well here. But I don't remember anything that struck me especially. I've watched a lot of finals here since I was a kid, but I don't remember anything special. There was Courier, Corretja with Moya, Berasategui, there was Bruguera. I remember a number of finals I watched here, but nothing special. I've come here to try to do my own game and to get my own name on the list. Q. Would you bet on a final Nadal-Federer? RAFAEL NADAL: Well, it can't be the final. Of course, the important thing is to reach the semifinal, which it would be against Federer. But I still have a few matches to get through. I don't like to think too far ahead. I don't even know about the next match. Is it Stepanek? Are they in the fifth set? Did Grosjean win? They're still playing? Is there a break? Q. Federer was asked what he thought about the video, the cameras, for the replay. RAFAEL NADAL: And he said he didn't like them, didn't he? Q. Yes. RAFAEL NADAL: Well, personally, I don't see why not. I think it's a novelty. It's interesting to be able to ask the linesmen to show me what happened exactly. I think it can be an interesting innovation. But I think it's also possible that you can only do it three times during a set, because otherwise we'd be doing it all the time. Q. 5-4, Love-30, you were serving. Of course, the crowd was all for Gasquet. How did you face the difficult points? RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I had a similar situation in Monte-Carlo. I was leading, then I lost a set, and in the end I lost the tiebreak. This time it was beginning to look pretty much the same. I was calm. I think I saved a few important points at Love-30. The first set was, of course, very important because there were difficult things, long rallies. I think this was actually good for me; it was important for me to win that first set. Q. A comment about the crowd. Was it what you expected? Did you like it? Was it positive to have so many people with so many expectations around this match? RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I thought it was lovely. They obviously supported Gasquet. It's perfectly normal, of course. That, I completely understand. But there was never any lack of respect. I think that was wonderful. I would like to actually thank the crowd for their wonderful participation. Q. You spoke to Gasquet at the end of the match. What did you say to him? RAFAEL NADAL: Well, now I'm going to be able to say it in Spanish. It's easier for me. I asked him whether he had a physical problem because I saw that he was rather tired at the end of the match. In spite of having lost three sets to love, he said nothing was wrong with him, that I'd played very well, wished me good luck. I congratulated him for his recent successes. He wished me good luck for the rest of the tournament. We do get on very well. There's no problem between us. We're good friends. 不要再試圖挑撥兩位小朋友的感情了啦XD -- Soulmates never die --

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