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INTERNAZIONALI BNL D'ITALIA

May 10, 2016

Rafael Nadal

Rome, Italy

An interview with:

RAFAEL NADAL

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You have played a lot of matches on clay so far this year. Just wondering how you're feeling physically as you get later in the clay season.
RAFAEL NADAL: I am good. No, I am happy to be here in Rome another year, and I am feeling hopefully ready for tomorrow, the tournament start, so I gonna try my best.

Q. What was the plan right after your last match in Madrid? Rest, practice as usual?
RAFAEL NADAL: I rested for one day and I practiced one hour and a little bit more yesterday, and today again the same.

No, no, I played a lot of matches, so is not the moment to practice that much. Just keep working. But, you know, always the transition Madrid to here is not that easy because it's different conditions. So you need to adapt a little bit, and it's always dangerous the beginning. Tomorrow against a very tough opponent like Kohlschreiber will be a very tough match.

Q. I saw you before during the training and after the training. There were many, many fans, many autographs. Rome for you is a place special?
RAFAEL NADAL: I think for everybody is special, Rome, no? If Rome is not a special place for the players, I don't know which place can be special, no?

It's one of the most historic events on our tour and one of the most important tournaments in our tour. I think everybody has a special feeling here. For me especially because I have a lot of success in the past.

Q. You are in the same quarter with Novak. You are happy or not?
RAFAEL NADAL: No. No, no, for sure I'm not happy. (Laughter.)

But the real thing is I'm not going to play against Novak tomorrow. I'm going to play against Kohlschreiber. He's playing great. He won in Munich couple of weeks okay and played semifinals in Barcelona too. He's playing well and he's a very good player on clay. So that's my -- I am worried about that now.

Q. About you and Djokovic, do you think it's possible to have this performance in Santiago Bernabeu one day?
RAFAEL NADAL: Which performance?

Q. You and Djokovic.
RAFAEL NADAL: Playing?

Q. Yes.
RAFAEL NADAL: Tennis? (Laughter.)

I don't know. We supposed to have that in the past, couple years ago.

Q. But you was injury.
RAFAEL NADAL: I was injury with my knee, so I had to cancel the event. It was an event for my foundation. So you never know in the future.

Q. After Madrid, how is your confidence? You came from Monte-Carlo and Barcelona, two great tournaments. Now what's your feeling with the ball and with your game?
RAFAEL NADAL: Well, my game is good, no? Three tournaments, two victories, one semifinal. Tough tournaments, good victories, good matches. If I not happy now, I don't know when I gonna be happy, no?

As I said before, is a different tournament, different conditions. You arrive with not the perfect timing to prepare the next one, but at the same time is a tournament that I know very well, and it's obvious that the first round is a difficult one, no?

I was watching Nishikori a little bit, and he was in trouble, no? He probably didn't have the timing to practice a lot, to adapt to the conditions here as the players that lose early Madrid.

So the feelings are different and the feeling on the ball is completely different, no? Is always very dangerous the beginnings.

Q. You played against Andy in the semifinals in Madrid, and yesterday we found out that he had stopped working with AmÃ©lie Mauresmo. Were you surprised to hear that? Do you think that their two years together was successful?
RAFAEL NADAL: Sorry?

Q. Andy, you played in Madrid. He just split up with AmÃ©lie Mauresmo, his coach. I'm just wondering if you were surprise by that news and if you think their partnership was successful.
RAFAEL NADAL: No, I really don't know, and I don't have a real opinion on that. It's not a surprise, and is -- I mean, is something that I didn't thought about. Every player stays with the coach that everybody feels that is better for them. And that's it, no?

If he wanted Mauresmo for a couple of years I think worked well for him, and now he wanted to change or they both decided to stop. So most important thing that at the end of the day is the player. If the player wants to work well, probably almost all the coaches are good especially in this moment of the career. We know how to play tennis. We are not 15 years old anymore. We are not 14 anymore. You know, we are 28 years old.

Most important thing is the motivation that you have, and it's obvious that you need somebody close to you that knows about tennis.

But tennis is not mathematics, no? It's not something very, very difficult. If you don't have close to you a stupid person, everybody helps you. The most important thing is that you feel great to listen and to do the right work.

Q. I know you always say that every tournament is important, but in terms of preparation for the French Open, is Rome the most important because it's closest to Roland Garros and because the conditions are most similar to Roland Garros?
RAFAEL NADAL: No. The most similar conditions to Roland Garros are Monte-Carlo, without any doubt, and here the conditions are not the same than Roland Garros. And, no, it's not the most important to prepare Roland Garros. Is another event, another important event, but the event is important for itself; not to prepare Roland Garros.

That's it. No, no, no. I feel that Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, you cannot consider these events like preparation for nothing. Is important events for itselfs, historic events. And I never take it one of these tournaments like a preparation for Roland.

Just working as good as I can to play as good as possible in every single event, because when I am winning in Monte-Carlo, when I have the trophy with me, I am not happy because, okay, great, I will be better for Roland Garros. No, when I holding the trophy at Monte-Carlo, I am very happy to hold this trophy with me because Monte-Carlo is so important. And the same with Barcelona, Madrid, or Rome.

Q. For many years there are the same players that were on the great tournament of the world: You, Roger, Novak, and Andy, first of all. There are many young players that try to win like you. What's the reason for you are only the same players to win and the younger players try but not win still?
RAFAEL NADAL: Well, didn't happen yet but gonna happen. Don't know if it's gonna happen this year, next year, or in two years but gonna happen. Nobody stays here forever. And that's it.

No, no, if didn't happen before was because two reasons possible: because the generation that supposed to come after us was not enough good or the generation that was older was very good. Things are simple (laughter).

That's two possibilities. That's all. I think different now with this new generation that the players that are between 18 and 21 now, they are really good players, and I think they have the potential, the right potential to become the highest level.

Q. There is a favorite player in a younger player? You have a favorite player in a younger player? You like one or not?
RAFAEL NADAL: Is always that -- well, talking about the younger, I mean, Raonic is -- how old is him? 23? 25? So he's not that young anymore. I believe that Kyrgios is very far and so good. That's my feeling.

We need to wait for the rest, you know. Kokkinakis have an injury, and Coric is doing well. So we'll see. We'll see how it's going on. My two favorites are I think Zverev and Kyrgios.

Q. We have seen you practices with your wrist cover. Have you any problem or it's okay?
RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I had something in Madrid. I felt something in Madrid. But that's it, I hope. Hopefully is nothing important.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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