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AUSTRALIAN OPENJanuary 21, 2020Rafael NadalMelbourne, Victoria, Australia R. NADAL/H. Dellien 6-2, 6-3, 6-0 THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. How does viewing a tournament like this match by match rather than as a whole affect your mindset throughout? RAFAEL NADAL: Sorry? Q. How does viewing a tournament like this match by match rather than as a whole affect your mindset throughout? RAFAEL NADAL: I don't understand. I'm so sorry. Q. You say a lot of the time you look at each match by itself, match by match. How does that help your mindset? RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know, because I never worked the other way, so I cannot compare (smiling). But honestly I think another way is being very arrogant. Every day when you go on court you can lose and you can win. There's no other way to approach the tournament. My feeling... Q. How happy were you with your opening match today on center court? RAFAEL NADAL: Well, have been a solid start. I think the third set, yeah, was a great set. I think I played a very good level of tennis. The first two I played with a little bit more caution. I think I was just trying to not do something very good, but not doing something very bad. Just trying to play a solid game with not many mistakes. Just try to do the things that I know that I can do it. Just try to put myself on rhythm. That was my goal at the beginning of the match. Then, of course, with an advantage on the score, I just tried to play the way that I really believe I need to play if I want to have a positive result here. Q. You've won here once, you won the US Open four times, obviously Roland Garros 12. Why do you think you've had one year less, even though you've been to the final five times? RAFAEL NADAL: Why I won here less? Q. Yes. RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. I have been break up twice in the fifth set and I lost. Another time I have been injured in a final, of course, against a great opponent. At that time against an opponent that in that moment I have been, like, 14-0 against him on the head-to-head record. I had a problem on my luck in the final. Then other times, like 2018, I get injured against Cilic. I went through a couple of things, more than in New York honestly. But I don't know. Maybe the conditions are better for me in New York than here. That's the only reason that I can find. Q. If you win this tournament, that will be your 20th Grand Slam title. What would you say to that? Do you think of that? RAFAEL NADAL: No. I think about Sousa or Delbonis. That's all. I think about my practice of tomorrow, try to follow up the level of tennis that I played in the third set. That should be my main goal today, no? I need to play at my highest level if I want to keep going on the tournament. If I am able to reach my highest level, that's the thing that I have to worry about. If I am able to play at my highest level, normally I am able to produce some good chances. If not, impossible. So I don't care about 20 or 15 or 16. I just care about try to keep going, keep enjoying my tennis career. Is not like 20 is the number that I need to reach. If I reach 20, fantastic. If I reach 21, better. If I reach 19, super happy about all the things that I did in my tennis career, no? I am very satisfied about my tennis career because I give it all most of the time. That's only thing that matters because I don't think -- honestly, something I don't really think about it. I don't think in the future being achieving 21 Grand Slams, for example, I'm going to be happier than if I am 19 in 10 years. I won the US Open few months ago, and I was super happy in that moment. But today I'm happier than if I didn't win the US Open? Probably not. That's the only thing that matters in this life, no? Of course, I want to do it the best way possible because that's what I am doing since the beginning of my life almost. But only thing I can do is put all my efforts on try to keep going the best way possible. The rest of the things, the future will see. Q. You always try to develop your game. If you look back 10 years, what changed the most about your game? RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. Probably everything, no? Difficult to say. Q. Or from last year to this year? RAFAEL NADAL: From last year to this year is difficult because I even don't recognize last year or this year. I have been just a straight season, no? I did some treatment at the end of the season, stay four days at home, and work again. I was not able to see a very significant thing. Sometimes, you know, like before 2017 season I had three months or two months and a half to work because I didn't play after Shanghai or something like this anymore, no? I have plenty of time. When you have two months and a half or three to work on specific things, then you can expect new things or you can expect some improvements. In terms of this year, the only thing that you can expect is try to work on the things that you need to work on competition. That's a little bit more difficult to see a significant improvements. But let's see. I hope to have some chances to work in specific things between Acapulco and Indian Wells. I'm going to have almost two weeks, so let's see. Q. I'd like to know from you what do you think of Jannik Sinner? He's the top-ranked player, 18 years old right now. The second top-ranked 18-year-old is 299. He is the first one since your time to be that high in the rankings. I'd like to know what you think about it? Compared to Djokovic, just seven positions in front. RAFAEL NADAL: I think Jannik will be very happy if 15 years later he has a career of Novak, so... That's just statistics. The only thing what matters is how much he will be able to improve. That's it. That's only thing that matters in this sport. You can remember a lot of good names, and I will not name today or now for respect to them, but with 18 years old had a lot of good perspectives in the future and it never happened that good. Personally I think that this will not be the case because my feeling he's a humble guy, he's a hard worker. I practiced with him the other day. He has a good character on court. He's positive. I see him having a great tennis career. He has everything to achieve a great tennis career. The only thing that he needs to do, in my opinion, is have the right people around and work. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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