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MUTUA MADRID OPEN

May 1, 2016

Fernando Verdsasco

Madrid, Spain

F. VERDASCO/J. Monaco

7-5, 7-6

(Through translation.)

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What feelings do you have from your first match?
FERNANDO VERDASCO: Well, I have better feelings when I exit the match than when I come back. Not because of the break, but because at the end I didn't have a lot of time to adapt myself before the tournament because I arrived here Wednesday night. I came from Estoril. I didn't train. I just trained Friday and Saturday.

I expected to play a little bit later, Monday or Tuesday, but the tournament wanted me to play today. In the end the feelings were the ones that we had, and I had to try to do my best and get better feelings during the match.

You know, in comparison to last year where I had -- a lot of years I asked another day and they gave me Monday. Next year I will try to choose the day that I don't want and see if any of them are lucky and they give me the day that I want.

But in the end, happy to be able to finish the match as I wanted because it was very complicated. Juan is a very complicated rival on clay. He comes from winning in Houston three weeks ago. Every single match against him in my career has been very tough and very equal.

I knew that it was going to be a difficult first round, and I had to be out there in every single moment and stay focused if I wanted to win and do what I did today.

Q. Your victory a week ago in Bucharest, does it give you extra motivation to do well here?
FERNANDO VERDASCO: Well, talking about motivation, not really, because the motivation in Madrid is always very big. For me I'm talking. To play in my city, either I come with more confidence or less or more matches on my side, it's always the most motivation for me to play here in Madrid. I have a lot of motivation.

Perhaps I do feel a little bit more confident when I come from winning matches. For sure the confidence is higher when you have won some matches. Perhaps in those delicate moments where you have some pressure maybe it can be a little bit easier to work things out because you come from winning matches.

This is different than when you come from a bad streak. As I was saying, the motivation for me is always highest here in Madrid because I'm trying to give my best because I'm playing in my hometown. You play differently. Some years they work out and others they don't. This year I'll try to give my best and find my best tennis, to adapt myself day after day, and I'll be able to play at my highest level and achieve a good result.

Q. The feelings that you had today out there, were they similar to the ones you had on Monday in Bucharest?
FERNANDO VERDASCO: Well, in Bucharest I had good feelings. In Bucharest I arrived pretty early, on a Thursday, and I played Tuesday my first match. The feelings before the match were very good when I was training during the weekend. When I was training on Saturday and Sunday with two different players the feelings were very good back then.

In the first round the feelings were really bad during the first match, but I managed to do well. Then on the second round I found the feelings that I wanted to find during the match. They were just becoming better and better during the match.

I think here it's different, because yesterday when I was training the feelings were not so good. I trained well, but I played a set and a half and, you know, I wasn't happy enough. The day before I only trained with my trainer and not with any player.

At the end, really I only played yesterday a couple of sets. It was a little bit early perhaps to play today. Was too early. Too quick. The timing was not the best. I wanted to play at least two or three sets before playing the tournament.

I think that I managed to do a good match today finally and this gives me confidence. Also during the match I have good feelings. I adapted myself to the court, the ball, the altitude.

As I said, I hope that tomorrow training and also the doubles match will give me a better feelings. You know, I will adapt myself towards the next singles match.

Q. Talking about doubles. What's your goal? How do you think that Pablo CarreÃ±o is going to play. He's playing Almagro now?
FERNANDO VERDASCO: Well, for him of course it's going to be tough. It's going to be very tough to adapt. But, well, I don't know. To play today in the final I don't understand very well that we have the doubles tomorrow when they could have perfectly put it on a Tuesday or Wednesday.

That's the way it is. It's better not to think and play whenever they say. Sometimes they put some schedules that I don't understand. They're not understandable. But hopefully he will finish today's match in a good way with no injuries or pain. Either he wins or loses, and well, let's see if he comes here as soon as possible.

Tomorrow for sure it's going to be complicated for him. We'll try to win. If we don't, it's something positive for him towards his singles match. He can buildup some feelings and see what he does here in Madrid.

We'll see what happens tomorrow. Perhaps I have to change partners for the third time in three days. But, no, I'm joking. I hope that he comes in good shape and he can play a good match tomorrow and we can give our 100%.

Q. Monaco was saying before that he had changed his food habits. You're a veteran. Have you changed your food habits from 24 until now?
FERNANDO VERDASCO: Well, the habits, it hasn't changed a lot. There is no difference from what I eat now to what I used to eat when I was 22 years old before a match, because I still eat pasta or rice with a little bit of chicken. When I was 22 I ate the same.

Doesn't mean that when I was 20 years old I used to eat a one-kilo T-bone and now I eat lettuce. That's not the way it is.

I think that hasn't changed. Perhaps the experience has changed my -- you know, I know what to eat. Perhaps when I was 20 years old I didn't know what to eat. My trainer used to say what I had to do, guide me a little bit more. When you're 32, you know what to do just because of what you have learned.

You know what you have to eat or what you don't have to eat because you know yourself a little bit better after so many years.

But my food habits have not changed really. I try to look after myself, but they really haven't changed. Haven't changed. Just for example, before I didn't eat just meat and now I eat just vegetables. I try to have a good diet and Heathy diet and eat what I have to eat in every single meal.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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