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Rafael Nadal v. Quentin Halys 2015 French Open Men's R128 Highlights
Rafael Nadal v. Quentin Halys 2015 French Open Men's R128 Highlights
Roland
Garros 2015
Tuesday, May 26
Rafael Nadal
R. NADAL/Q. Halys
6-3, 6-3, 6-4
An interview
with: RAFAEL NADAL
THE MODERATOR:
Questions in English.
Q. When it's cloudy like this and the conditions are probably heavier, does that play in your mindset when
you're stepping on the court and starting
the match?
RAFAEL NADAL: Can you
repeat the last part? I
didn't understand very
well.
Q. When you're
stepping on the court knowing that the conditions would probably
be a bit heavier, does that play in your mentality a
little bit when you're stepping on
the court?
RAFAEL NADAL: No. No,
no.
Seriously, no.
Q. How
did you feel about the way you played today?
RAFAEL NADAL: Oh, I think he played
aggressive. I
think he played
well. He played obviously
with some mistakes, but
when you want to risk on every single ball, then the mistakes are there, you know.
You know, the tennis is moving that way. Younger,
aggressive. And the tour in general are moving to hit
the ball stronger and quicker, you
know,
going for the winners all the time. So when he wants to play like this and he put the balls in, just I
cannot do nothing. But when the point was
playing in normal conditions,
I think I play well.
Q. In terms of your
game, how you felt out there, could you tell us a
little more about how you felt
about your own play today?
RAFAEL NADAL: Well,
obviously, you know,
is not
easy to say,
as I said before, against a player who wants to try to hit winners from everywhere. But my
feelings have been okay,
have
been good. You know, when I had the chance to play normal
points, you know, I think I changed good directions with my forehand,
very
good forehand down the line. After the first three games that I started a little bit slow, then I start moving the ball
better. I am happy the way that I played, no? Is the first match and I played
enough well, and I think my forehand
worked well
for a lot of moments.
Q. Considering the year has been a little bit up and down for you, do you
come in here with a different mindset
than you had in the past? You
know,
obviously you have won
here pretty much every time you
have played except one.
RAFAEL NADAL:
Well, obviously, the dynamics
are the dynamics, no? When I had some up and downs during
the season, is normal that can happen
here. I am try
to avoid
that, and I am here to try to play good tennis and to give me a chance to play well
and to compete for everything. I gonna try as I try every
year. My
mentality and my goal is the same always.
Q. History
question for you. They have
looked back in the past with
Guillermo Vilas, at the rankings for
No. 1. There has been a lot of research. The rankings were different in 1975, but
that he would have been No. 1 if they had released the rankings at a different time during the year. I guess the ATP
has just decided they are not going
to make a change in the rankings. What's your
feeling about that? It's kind of a complicated thing, but do you
have any... RAFAEL NADAL: I seriously
prefer to not speak
much about things that I don't know very well. I think
the ranking's still complicated today, but
used to be much more complicate years ago,
I think. It happened a long time ago,
and I think Guillermo
Vilas have
enough good career to reclaim today
that. I don't know how many
years ago happen...
Q. '75.
RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know,
is 40 years ago. I think everybody can forget
that. If he deserve, he deserve.
But, you know,
I think Guillermo Vilas should have
a good life today enjoying
the daughter that he has, you know. Probably
is not any more that important if he was No. 1 or if he was not No.
1 years ago. He had a great career anyway. One of the greatest.
Q. Can you
talk about your next match?
Obviously we don't know if you will play Nico or Dolgopolov.
Can you talk about them separately? Obviously they
are better players than their
rankings are.
RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah,
both players are, yeah, very
tough opponents to play second round, no? Not players that you
want to play in the second round of Roland Garros. Both players
are players of high quality.
So obviously is not a good round, but it is what there is. I
gonna try to play well and try to have a chance to win.
Q. Can you
tell me what happened with Bernardes? Is it true the situation he cannot umpire your matches,
or do you know anything about
it? Because I read it, but I have
no exactly
the clue what happened.
RAFAEL NADAL: Is easy, no?
There is a lot of umpires on the tour. I respect a lot Bernardes. I consider him a great umpire and a good person, but
I think when you have
some troubles with the same umpire, sometimes it's easy to stay for
a while away, no? I think that's the real thing. I think is better for both of us if we
are not in court at the same time for a while after what happened in Rio de Janeiro. That's
it. No problem with him
personally.
Q. But not your request?
RAFAEL NADAL: Yes,
it was my request, and the ATP
talking about -- well, I asked if it's possible, but nothing personal against him 100%. I respect him like umpire, I respect
him like person, and I consider him a
good person more than that. So for me
is not -- I am not happy with that
situation. That's the first thing. Because I would love to have Bernardes
on
the court again.
Will happen, but, you know, I think for both of us it is better to have a break, you know. We
had some problems. For
me he hasn't -- he was not enough
respectful with me in Rio de Janeiro
. That was my feeling when I put my shorts
the other way. He wants to put me warnings four times,
that's fine. But if I put my shorts other way and I ask him if
I can change my shorts, I can put my shorts the right way,
and his answer is, Yes,
but you
will receive a time warning.
For me, that's not fair, you
know,
(smiling.) When something like that, something like
this did happen on court, that I think is not fair. I think is,
you know, shows not respect, because I cannot play a full game with the shorts the other way. So it's better. It's better to be away for
a while. That's all.
No personal problem with him, no? Seriously, I'm not saying that because I am in front of you. I respect him, I like him, but
he was not right. And I believe that is for relationship and everything
is better to be away
for a bit.
Q. Before
I ask the question, the kids are showing
you something outside, that the clay has only one king, and that's not Djoko.
Vamos, Rafa.
RAFAEL NADAL: (Thumbs up to the window.)
Q. My question is today at some point, I think it was third set, your opponent
hit a ball. First it
was called out, and then the chair umpire called it in. 30-40.
What did you talk with the chair
umpire there?
You said it should be a replay of the point.
RAFAEL NADAL: That's my feeling, but that's
(Snapping fingers) less than a second. Is very difficult to decide what's going on, so
it's very difficult to say or
not say -- I cannot say if he was
right or if he was not right.
I think that was very
short period of time, no? I believe that the call can affect me,
but I'm not sure of that. And I say
to him on the changeover
I say I am not sure if he was
right. I say, I think it was too close to not repeat the point. But he said that he
thought that I hitted the ball before
the line say out,
so that's it. I cannot say
another thing, because
probably he was
-- he has a better perspective than myself.
Q. It looked like it could have been a replay. But anyway,
what do you think about your opponent at 18? He looked pretty much in good condition.
Do you think he has a good future on
clay?
RAFAEL NADAL: I say
before I think that tennis is moving that way, hitting the ball that strong, and is
not easy to play center court here in Roland Garros. He's from France, he played well,
and he has the right conditions to be
a great player.
But always he's the same. If you, keep
improving, you know, you
will have chance to be great
player.
If not will be more difficult.
But was the same for me when I had 17 or
16, and the same for everybody,
no? He's enough young to have
a lot of time to keep working,
to keep working with humble,
and knowing that the things are different.
Even if he's here today playing
Roland Garros, things are not easy. He
has everything:
good serve, good forehand, not a bad backhand. Why
he cannot play well? I
think he has everything to play well. Then he has to do it.
THE MODERATOR: Questions in Spanish.
Q. Can you
tell us about the match, your feelings
during this match, and what you said in English? You said that you have played
against an opponent with a lot of
weapons. What do you think of his play?
RAFAEL NADAL: I played a good match, a solid one.
When I had some opportunities I seized them. The first four games in the first set, I mean, were tough.
I made some mistakes, but
then afterwards I was able
to hit my shots. I
had some problems with my serve,
but on the whole, it was
okay.
From time to time the opponent served
very
well with a lot of power, but
I managed to return quite well.
He managed to hit shots that put me in a difficult situation at some
times, but
I was dominant on the whole during the match. I dominated the game. I managed to play some strokes down the line. So I handled the match very
well.
It's a correct performance. I'm happy
with it. He got lots of balls back, in fact,
retrieving lots of them. A very
good opponent.
Q. Do you
think that your forehand is not as good as in the past? In practice with Toni, you practiced focusing on your forehand.
RAFAEL NADAL: I try
to practice more with my
forehand. With my forehand
I'm not as steady and consistent as in the past. Of course I can still impart
some spin, but I'm not smooth enough
with my forehand. I'm suffering
from a lack of stability with my shots.
But I can tell you that that's the way
in
tennis. You go through difficult moments.
But I'm still a solid player. What is important
is to handle the
good moments,
but also the bad moments. Regarding my forehand, I mean, I
didn't have any trouble. I don't think that my forehand is
bad. It's still good. But with the forehand, I mean, I need to reach
better targets. I'll
try to better deliver my
shots at Roland Garros. And if I don't win the French Open, my career will still go on. Life will continue. So it won't
be the end of the world. But to answer your question, I don't think that things
are not going well. I'm working
hard. I'm pulling out all the stops
in order to be at the top of my game. And I want
to put in a good showing during the major tournaments, not just at
the French Open, but elsewhere.
But I'm quite confident for
future.
Q. Everybody pays
due attention to this French Open
this year, much more than in the past, because this
tournament might be different, I
mean, to others. You're
familiar with this tournament, but you had ups and downs. Is it additional pressure or is it like any other tournament?
RAFAEL NADAL: This is the French Open, the most
important tournament in my career. But this is something that I have
said already. You
cannot invent or come up with reason and say that it is the most important
tournament. I lost in 2009. We
know that the French Open is a significant tournament.
In
2005 and 2006 I was asked
how would I feel in the
future. I didn't know. But now
I can have a look at the statistics,
and I have noticed that I have won
Roland Garros nine times. I hope that I can win the tournament again. So as I told you, my
wins here were unforgettable, great
moments that I had here.
Q. We
are Spanish journalists, so what can you
tell us about the ATP, about the Guillermo Vilas story?
RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. I'm not familiar
with it.
This happened 40 years ago,
so as of today I don't think it's a
pivotal issue. We shouldn't spend too much time on that. I don't know how
old Guillermo Vilas is, but
40 years later I would say
it's not necessary to talk about it. I wouldn't
be worried, I mean, if I were
50 years of age. Guillermo Vilas is well known in the world. Everyone
knows him. Guillermo Vilas is Guillermo Vilas, so that's
enough. But if he wants his position
of No. 1 being recognized, so be it.
Q. Any room for
improvement for the second week?
Second question: Gala Leon,
what do you think of her?
RAFAEL NADAL: First of all, what do I need to
improve? I need to make
sure that I can advance to the
second week. I don't know exactly what I have to do. I
know I have to win the next matches,
of course, and the next match will be a tough one. So what it matters for me is to play well. I should show
some consistency. I will have to be aggressive with my forehand.
If my next opponent is aggressive I will have to handle that
situation. I said already that I wouldn't talk about Gala Leon, about Alonso,
because
it's stupid to talk about that. If you
talk about it too much we will have diverging
and different views about this issue. So people tend to focus on that
topic. I mean, I don't want to have this debate about being a match or not,
because lots of things can be misinterpreted.
The environment was quite bad. People have said that I was macho, so I won't say
anything about that any longer. I don't want
to talk about sexism, because I'm not
macho. Women
are very important to me. My
mom, my sister, my fiancée.
There are lots of people in my
life,
lots of women who play a pivotal
role. So I'm not macho.
You might believe I'm a macho man, but that's not the case at all. I don't want
to be embroiled in that story, because this will fuel lots of stories that are not true. So game over, to a certain
extent. As players,
we need to shoulder our
responsibilities. We
are in the second division now in
the Davis Cup, but I can tell you that some mistakes and errors have been made, and these people responsible
for these mistakes and errors should shoulder their
responsibilities. I'm not talking
about Davis Cup. I'm talking about
Spanish tennis. The Spanish Tennis
Federation
can get some profits thanks to the Davis
Cup.
So it's not like the Americans,
the French, or the Brits.
These federations, they have helped the young players so that young players can have a bright
future in the world of tennis. The Royal
Spanish Tennis
Federation
didn't help a lot young players.
And not only young players, we, the experienced players.
So we have covered
a lot of ground ourselves without the full support of the Spanish Federation. We are not going to talk about the reasons. People will say that the Federation was
short of money, but when I
was 13 or 14 years
of age they offered me to go to El Car,
but I thought the place I practiced was
okay.
I needed my parents at the time.
Had to be with my family. That's why
I stayed in Mallorca with Tomas.
So Tomas is now working for
the Spanish Federation, and he was my partner and we
were world
champions
at the time. So he was my sparring
partner and decided to go with the Federation. It's just an example. I don't have
any resentment, but you
are not aware of all things. He was
one of my best friends,
Tomas. Tomas left, so they paid everything
when he left and they didn't give me anything.
So
why this difference in terms of
treatment? I can't understand. I was
given a poor deal. Then I took part in the Wimbledon juniors tournament
and I had
to pay for
the hotel, for the trip,
for almost everything. So I decided to stay with my
coach. I had to incur these traveling
expenses. And all the players
who were coddled by the Federation had their expenses paid. So this
process, I mean, didn't work
well.
The Federation needs players. Of course, the Davis Cup is a
vital source of money for Spanish tennis, and the Spanish Tennis
Federation
should help support
young players. So the Spanish Tennis Federation decided to focus too much on the Davis Cup. What's happening now? In fact, we are not making the right decisions in order to make money, so I cannot understand their stance. I
can't understand why they undermine
the future of Spanish tennis. I
think that the Spanish Federation should be grateful to what we have
done for Spanish tennis over
the years.
We have been united all
together over the past 15 years. We
have
won five or six Davis Cups.
That's not too bad. So things turned
awry, and they
want to look for some confrontation. They are responsible for that. And Mr. and Mrs.
Gala Leon, I mean, these are ancillary
issues. We shouldn't talk
about Gala Leon anymore.
They talk about it because they want
me to give my opinion. They just want
to deflect our attention from the problems
faced by the Spanish Federation, and that's all. I haven't
said anything
about Alonso, about Gala Leon, about Davis Cup.
For example, I can get some money because I'm playing as part of the ATP Tour, but
it's not possible to criticize
too much the ATP Tour. It's the same analogy with the Spanish Federation. So the Spanish Federation has no
impact on me because I'm part of the
tour.
The Spanish Federation can make the most of our achievements and we should get better relationships. I'm not talking about Gala Leon or Mr. Alonso. I don't like
the way things were managed
or will be managed in the future. So
if we are
considered as being macho, I mean, that's not really respectful.
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