	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

ROLAND GARROS

June 2, 2018

Rafael Nadal

Paris, France

R. NADAL/R. Gasquet

6-3, 6-2, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. How is it to play someone today who you've known so long and played so many times?
RAFAEL NADAL: Good. Yeah, it's a nice experience. I said other day Richard is a good friend and is a nice person.

We grow up together. Lot of talks between both of us when we were kids. Now we're older, that's all.

Yeah, was a great feeling. I think was emotional thing for me to play with him here in this court.

Q. Maria Sharapova was talking an hour ago about how much she had enjoyed hitting with you in Rome. Was it something you enjoyed, as well?
RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, of course, was a good practice for me. I won the tournament there (smiling).

Yeah, any time. Yeah, ready to do it again. Was a good fun, yeah.

Q. On the first round you mentioned that the court is more slippery than usual. How was it today?
RAFAEL NADAL: I think the courts are improving. That's my feeling. It's less wide coming up from behind. That was the problem the first days, the gravel, I don't know, from the back was coming up and then was mixed in with, mixed with the clay, so that was the problem. That's why it was very slippery.

I believe that every day the courts are better and better.

Q. You have been coming here for so, so long, many, many years. Could you just take a minute and talk about how you have changed over these years, both as a man and also on court since you first came to Roland Garros.
RAFAEL NADAL: No, was not a big change in my -- my life didn't change much. That's the real thing. In terms of normal, the personality, of course, changes a little bit during that years. The style of game, too. And the general life, of course, after 13, 14 years, of course changes a little bit.

But nothing crazy. I said it before, my life didn't change much, and I am very happy to keep being here around, and I feel lucky for that, too.

Q. What do you know about your next opponent?
RAFAEL NADAL: I saw him play. I saw him play the other day against Shapovalov. And I saw him play a little bit against Zverev in Munich a couple of weeks ago.

Yeah, he's a player that has a good potential. He's a player that has a good serve, good forehand. He hits the ball with big topspin. He has power, so he's a dangerous opponent. He's playing well. He won very easy today, no? Being in that round, winning good matches. He's of course playing well.

I, of course, need to take care about what's going on. I hope to be ready to play a good match. I think I'm improving, too, every day, playing better and better. And that's my goal and my way.

I have another opportunity to practice tomorrow, to keep finding the right feelings, and then try to play the best match possible on Monday.

Q. I know it's a French problem, but we don't have any more French players in the tournament. How can you explain?
RAFAEL NADAL: That's the sport, you know. That's the sport. Sometimes things go better; sometimes the things go worse.

I saw that Caroline Garcia is winning, so she's playing well. Let's see what's going on on the female, no, the women?

But that's how the sport works, and you cannot be very negative about that, because your country is the country that probably have more players in the top 100, so that means that the work of the country on this aspect is great. Then remain just a little bit more to win a Grand Slam. But the right work is there, and that's work of every day to keep looking and fighting to win one day here, one French player.

But, you know, is very difficult to create big champions, because you need to be born a little bit with that. But you can work very well. And what really means that you are working very well, the French Federation is working very well, is that there is a lot, plenty of French players in good position of the ranking.

Q. Sascha Zverev is No. 2 in the seedings.
RAFAEL NADAL: He's still in the tournament?

Q. He's still in the tournament. Yes. He's struggling a bit, because he played five sets, Lajovic and Dzumhur --
RAFAEL NADAL: But still in the tournament?

Q. Yeah, he's still winning.
RAFAEL NADAL: Physically he's holding well, no?

Q. He's holding very well.
RAFAEL NADAL: Ah, okay.

Q. Are you surprised that he had to fight five sets in the first round with Lajovic and five sets, saving match point with Dzumhur, or not?
RAFAEL NADAL: It's sport. Everybody suffer, everybody have problems, and it's normal that you have challenges every day. Is not a surprise. Lajovic was playing well. It's true that was surprise against Dzumhur because he was winning very easy. I saw the first set and beginning of the second and then I went to practice and I forget it. But I came back and I saw what's going on. I didn't know what happened.

But he's still in the tournament, and, you know, it's important in the Grand Slams win. The first matches doesn't matter the way.

Q. You played Richard so many times. You said yourself when you were juniors you thought he was the better player. You obviously have beaten him 16 times out of 16. Towards the end of the match you applauded one of his shots, very good volley at the net. With his talent, are you surprised he's never won a Grand Slam?
RAFAEL NADAL: I can't say yes, and I can't say no, because it's difficult.

Richard was a great player when he was a kid, and he improved during the years and he had some chances, especially, if I'm not wrong, in Wimbledon.

But will not be fair from my part if I say yes, because I feel that there is a lot of players with great talent. Even players that were even more solid in terms of being in the top positions, doesn't matter if Richard -- he's a good friend of mine, and I like him a lot. It would not be honest if I say Berdych didn't win a Grand Slam, David Ferrer didn't win a Grand Slam.

A lot of players, and I can keep naming players, but is true that for 10, 12 years have been very difficult to win slams, no?

Between three, four players almost all the Grand Slams went that way, so was difficult for the others. So I feel there is a lot of players that should win at least one, and they didn't.

Q. I saw a video of your practice and Toni being on the court. Just wondering if it was planned that he would come here for Roland Garros and help, or how did it happen?
RAFAEL NADAL: No, he's my uncle. He's here. He's a very important person for me. He's here, I think, until Monday. I don't know. Maybe it will be great if he stays more, if I still here.

But I don't know what his plans are. I happy to see him on court with me, and I happy to see him around.

No, no, no, not issue about that, no? Is nothing strange. He was in Monte-Carlo -- no, he was in Barcelona a couple of days. He was in Madrid, too.

Yeah, no, no, I proposed him to came to Rome, but he could not come because he had work to do with his things, so he cannot manage it.

And he's here and happy to see him here. That's all.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in Spanish.

Q. What do you say to a friend? You say you have known him so long. You won 16 times against him. Did you tell him something? Did he tell you something?
RAFAEL NADAL: No, he just said I had played very well, and I said, Well, I'm sorry. Let's continue.

Also, Richard had a back problem for a while, and so he's had quite a lot of interruptions. As I said, he's a normal person, a good person. He's got a very natural behavior. He never has any problems with anyone. He's someone I really appreciate. I'm just sorry that he had to play me again here. But that's the sport.

Q. Someone said the other day that it was impossible to win against you on clay. Gasquet said the same.
RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I don't know what the others think. All I know is about me. What I know is I go to the court, and I know that I could very well lose. I can win, I can lose. I don't come here saying, You can't win against me.

Of course I have won a lot, and it can maybe influence my opponents. But that's their thing. It's their problem. I can't answer about that.

Q. Marterer said he was your sparring partner here when you were juniors, or when he was a junior. Do you remember him? Because you have a lot of sparring partners.
RAFAEL NADAL: No, I don't remember him from then. But what I know is he's a player who is playing well, and as I said, when he played Zverev in the first round in Munich, he lost it, but he was very good.

The other day here against Shapovalov, he was playing at a very high level. It's always difficult to play Shapovalov. So he's a difficult opponent.

But obviously this is a round where it's getting very difficult. Whatever the round, it's going to be difficult. I'm happy with the victory of today. I believe I played well. Tomorrow I'll practice, and then the day after I'll think about what can happen.

But while things are on the right track, well, all the better. I'll try to continue winning.

Q. A different question apart from the match. Now that sports people at your level have some different techniques, the other day Del Potro said that to recover after a tournament he was doing yoga. I don't know if you've done that. Have you looked at these kind of techniques to recover?
RAFAEL NADAL: I'm sorry, but no.

Q. What do you think for the sportsmen who do it?
RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I believe that everyone should do what serves them best. Because every time you talk about new things, at one point people said they were winning because they were eating gluten-free diets. You know, every time something new appears and someone wins, it seems to be "the" thing. But the reality is the ones who win are the best, and they win because they are better.

Now, yoga can be very good for someone. I'm sure it can. I agree that for some people some things help them. For Del Potro, it may be yoga that helps him relax and feel better physically. Well, then let him do yoga.

For me, sincerely, when I have free time, I do other things. I play golf, I swim, and it's my way of relaxing.

Well, this kind of thing, I don't think I need for the moment. Maybe if I need them one day, I'm perfectly open.

Q. Apart from tennis, knowing that you're super-focused on this tournament, you must be aware of what's happening with the Spanish government. What do you think about the change in the government and all that?
RAFAEL NADAL: Well, yes, I've got my opinion, but these are difficult moments to give your opinion, because any opinion might be ill-taken by both sides, and in fact, there is not two sides but many sides. It's a difficult moment, and I don't think that what's happening is good for anyone, because in the end, when so many things happen, if I look at my own case, when you have a lot of things happening, a lot of changes in Catalonia, the government, this and that, in the end, the trust of citizens, the trust that the rest of the world has in us as a country tends to be somewhat damaged.

Now, do I like what happened? No. I'm not talking about the fact that whether I like that the government should change or not. The thing is that I don't know how the newcomers are going to be able to govern. I don't know what the majority -- I don't know what they'll be able to do.

These are difficult times, difficult situation for our country. We have to weather it, and I believe that according to my understanding, but I don't want to lose caution. I believe that the best would be to vote again, at least I would like to vote again, because with all that has happened and it's not minor, I believe that what citizens would like to do would be to be able to vote again.

As of today, I don't think that whoever comes to the government, none of us in the country, the citizens won't feel that they are properly represented, because there are so many changes that our vote -- well, we don't really relate to what's happening, and it's my personal feeling, but it could be a general feeling.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297