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ROLAND GARROS

May 29, 2017

Rafael Nadal

Paris, France

R. NADAL/B. Paire

6-1, 6-4, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. How do you feel after this victory in three sets?
RAFAEL NADAL: It's always at the start, happy for the victory. Was not an easy opponent in the first round, obviously. He's an uncomfortable opponent that already he had some good victories this year. I came on court with a lot of respect, no?

I think I played very first set. During the second I suffered a little bit, especially with 4-3, bad point. And after that I make the break straight and then finished close set, and it was a little bit less difficult.

Q. A question about when you came off the pretty long layoff from October and you had quick success in Australia and then more success this year, I'm wondering if it changed your thinking at all about how much match play you need coming into tournaments, you know, if maybe rest is more important than you used to think.
RAFAEL NADAL: No, is completely different when you stop for injury in the middle of the season than when you stop at the end of the season, because when you start a new season for everybody is a little bit new, no? Everybody is coming without rhythm.

So when you have an injury in the middle of the season, then it's much more difficult, no? The comebacks after injuries are much more easier if you come back in January, in my opinion, because then everybody starts a little bit from zero. When you have an injury, for example, now and you come back in two months, the players keep playing, stays on rhythm. So it's much more difficult to be back and have success quick, no? It's not impossible but very difficult, no?

In my opinion, is important to have matches, to have success. Obviously is possible to have success without having matches if you have the right time for prepare. The problem when you have injuries normally is when you have injuries in the middle of the season is you have injury, you get healthy, and then you want to play. You know, you don't take two months to practice, and then start to compete again, because you don't have that time. If you get injured the end of the season, then you have that time. So it's a different story, my opinion.

Q. What do you take away from this first match that you like to bring to your second-round match? Obviously you don't know who your opponent is yet. But what areas for improvement do you see in yourself as you move into the second round?
RAFAEL NADAL: For me, it's important to serve a little bit better than what I did today. I think -- I don't know the percentage, but I feel that some moments I was not serving that well.

No, then the rest of the things I am happy with. I know it was not easy today to play against the backhand of Benoit, because he has a great backhand. So mental it's a little bit strange because, you know, the natural shot is crossed, so then against him sometimes is not the ideal shot. Is a little bit different match.

Match against Robin Haase, a player I know him very well and he know me very well, dangerous opponent. He hit the ball very hard. So I need to be very focused on the serve because return can be tough and play solid and try to be ready to play a tough match.

Q. Security measures are tough second year in a row. Does it affect you as a player? Does it bother you? Can you tell me something about that?
RAFAEL NADAL: The security what, about...

Q. Yes, around, and around the players.
RAFAEL NADAL: I think it's great that we have that security, no? I don't want to say anything about that bad things, but the world today is a little bit crazy. So is better to have the security, no?

I am not a person that loves to be around security. I always went without anything to all around the world. I am free to say that, because I never take it. I am a very normal person. But in a big event like this, it's important to have the right measures of security for everybody. For the crowd, for the players, for everybody wants to be safe.

Q. You have spoken many times on how tough it is to have match after match, tournament after tournament. Then it's sort of season after season. Does the circuit sometimes get boring? Does it ever get tedious or hard? Do you have to have a sense of imagination sometimes? Do you have to restart sometimes?
RAFAEL NADAL: No, I feel that I'm a very lucky person to do what I'm doing. No, for me is not hard in terms of -- yeah, in terms of physical issue is hard sometimes, yes. But I understand that the word "hard" is other things in the world. There are other works and other things that happen in the world are hard.

What we are doing at the end of the day is we are doing sport, and we have a great tour. Very well organized. We should be very happy about the things that we have.

When you play a lot of matches, you get tired, but as all the human persons. But that's all. Is not a big issue. No, I don't get boring at all, of course. And as I say before, I feel always excited to do what I did and to have the chance that almost with 31 years old still being all around the world playing the tour.

Q. I'd like to know your opinion about the seeding system. On Wimbledon, on grass, they changed the rankings because of somebody's more specialist on grass and they change the ATP ranking. What about the clay? You're considered the favorite No. 1 here, but you're seeded No. 4. Which somehow advantage for somebody else maybe. Do you think there should be special seeding ranking for the clay court, which is a short season like grass almost?
RAFAEL NADAL: Is a controversial thing, because when you are 4 in the world it's because you deserve to be 4 in the world. When you are 1st, you deserve to be 1st. And when you are 33, you are 33 and you are not seeded, even if you are a great clay-court player.

So then, yeah, is true that sometimes -- the only thing I concern is when somebody gets injured. You know, when somebody gets injured, for example, Del Potro got sometimes or he got a tough injury and he came back as No. 700 in the world, maybe that can be an exception and he can be seeded, because his level is like one of seeds, no?

But if you don't get injured, my opinion about the protected ranking, maybe should be protected to be seeded, too. But for the rest of the things I think is a controversial thing and is about an opinion of a few people.

So the real thing is when you are in the hands of the opinion of other people, you know, nothing is 100% clear. The numbers are the numbers. Tennis is a fair sport, and is easy to understand. When you are No. 1, is because you deserve to be No. 1. When you are No. 50, is because you deserve to be No. 50. That's all.

Q. Have you surpassed your own expectations of how well you're playing right now? Did you anticipate playing this well at this stage of the season?
RAFAEL NADAL: I don't anticipate anything. I just try to do my thing. I try to work the right way, as I did all my career. Sometimes things works well. Sometimes the things don't work that well. That's part of this world. That's part of life, in general, and especially the sport. So you need to be ready to accept good and not that good moments. And life continues with good moments, life continues with bad moments, life continues, too.

With good moments, life really don't change much, and with bad moments, either, no? So important thing is know that and just keep doing your thing and knowing that every week is a different week. You have another opportunity.

It's obvious that there is a couple of tournaments of the year that makes a little bit of difference, but I tell you one thing, no? I won here nine times, and every year that I won I was unbelievable happy, but every year that I come back, I was unbelievable nervous. Life change? No. The things are repeating every time. That's important to know that, that nothing happens at the end of the day.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in Spanish.

Q. Can you tell us if there's a big difference in terms of the courts where you play, Chatrier or Lenglen, the dimensions of the courts, et cetera?
RAFAEL NADAL: I think it's easier to play on Lenglen court. It's easier to understand the dimension of the court, the size of the court is more normal, whereas Chatrier is more difficult, I think.

And then, well, once you have played several times on the same court, I manage to adapt. And by the way, I like this court. I adapt easily.

Q. You were saying before that there are things that repeat themselves year in, year out, you have similar feelings, similar sensations, and you have, I think, won two Masters 1000 titles before Roland Garros, and many people believe in you, right? But then, okay, that's two. Apart from that, you have feelings, your body has memories, but how do you feel today? Are your feelings similar to the ones you had in the past?
RAFAEL NADAL: Well, you know, each year that comes is different. The feelings you get are different. Even though you might have the impression you have lived similar moments, then the feelings you're going to have will be different.

And when you get older, quote, unquote, "older" -- well, for instance, think about 2007/2008, my feelings are different than the ones I have today. I was winning a few matches, which is something good, but I think that since the beginning of the year in these past five months, I have won quite a lot of matches, and I'm very happy about this. I'm satisfied, because I have worked so hard in the past months.

So I'm here. I'll do my utmost, which is always what I do when I practice, when I play a match. I put out my best tennis, and we'll see what's going to happen.

I'm not particularly obsessed in anything in particular, except that I have to play my best tennis. Then we'll see what's going to happen.

Q. To start with, can you tell us how you felt and what you have to improve before Wednesday?
RAFAEL NADAL: Well, it was a 6-1, 6-4, 6-1, not bad, and it's the first round, not bad, either. I defeated him before, but he played really well, so it wasn't that easy.

And I'm very happy to have won this match. I was hitting hard with my forehand. During the second set, I was careful to hit at his forehand, but then my forehand crosscourt is my best shot, and I realized that I could use this type of shot, as well. I was not obliged to play on his own forehand. But anyway, that's another shot I could have used better.

In any case, what I've got to do is focus on my game, focus on my shot. I know how to do this really well. I think that when we were 4-3, I was doing well. Then after this, I broke him. The match I played was good. I'm happy, and for a first round, I'm very happy.

Q. Roberto Bautista was saying that due to the heat, the balls are not that easy to control. Do you feel the same? Have you felt the same? What about the temperature out there? Will it be that warm on Wednesday or not?
RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I don't know what the weather is going to be like on Wednesday, but personally after all of these years I was never as hot as this year. But this being said, the balls, you know, mainly when these balls are new balls, they fly. They are difficult to control. That's true.

The thing is is that the touch is not good enough, and it's easy to make direct errors or faults, direct faults, unforced errors, unforced errors. But then I have to adapt.

It's something quite unusual to have such a heat here in Paris. We'll see what's going to happen on Wednesday. I don't know what the weather is going to be like.

Q. This year you started the year off in an incredible way. Mainly on hard surfaces.
RAFAEL NADAL: No, no, we are talking about clay now. It's true for hard surfaces but we're talking about clay.

Q. My question is about the Australian Open, in Miami, you talked about clay and you said, I'll be playing better. I'll succeed on clay. And in Monte-Carlo you said it's wonderful. It's great.
RAFAEL NADAL: No, no, no, I wasn't saying this to myself. But I know deep within that if I can play well on a hard surface, then maybe I can reuse this high level of game or play on clay.

But you know what worked? Some years were not necessarily work every single year. Sometimes I had a very good clay season and I wasn't doing that well on a hard surface. So we never know. We never know.

I can't say that there is a moment that's good, that's therefore going to have a positive impact on what's going to come next. I work each day, each day that comes, each tournament, each opponent. This is my mental state.

In doing that, you can meet your objectives. Not always, but sometimes. This is how I look at things. What's more is that, you know, people can come up with assumptions, hypotheses, illusions. People might say "maybe" or "what if" and "maybe," "maybe I can play more," "maybe I can play better," but these are only assumptions.

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