INTERNAZIONALI BNL D'ITALIA

May 12, 2021

Rafael Nadal

Press Conference

R. NADAL/J. Sinner

7-5, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How pleased were you with the level you played at tonight? How strong was the challenge that you faced from young Jannik Sinner?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, good. Have been a positive match for me, no? I think I did a lot of things well. I played a solid match.

Yeah, happy in a lot of positive things against a very tough player like Jannik, no? Yeah, very pleased with the victory.

Q. I'm curious if you felt you saw any particular growth from Jannik since the last time you guys played or from the practices you had?

RAFAEL NADAL: I think Jannik is a very complete player, no? He's still improving all the time. You can't appreciate the improvement in one day. I mean, to see the improvements of players, you need to follow them tournaments in a row, no? You follow him and you see that his level is higher and higher all the time.

Q. Were you surprised at all how aggressive he plays with his backhand? I'm guessing no, because you know him so well. But how hard is it to defend that shot of his?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, first, he has a great backhand and a great forehand too, no? I think I tried to do well, no, because I hold well, not going back too far from the court. If not, you are dead. I think I holded well the position on court.

I hit some very good forehands, cross-courts too to avoid his great backhand cross, and then he has a great change down the line, no? So I think I did that well.

Is not a surprise for me. No, I know how good he is and the shots he has. He has great shots when he's running. He has always great comebacks from tough positions, no?

So, yeah, I know that. I was on court with big with respect for him and very focused every single moment. That's why I am here with a victory.

Q. I would like you to tell me, do you think it's possible to win a match against you if you lose five times your serve? Do you think that the service is the weaker part of Sinner nowadays?

RAFAEL NADAL: You need to analyze everything. We have been playing night session. Very slow conditions. So is tough. Here is not Madrid.

With the service, you can't have this big impact especially under these night conditions, no. So, yes, I mean, you can lose the serve and you can still win the match under these conditions without a doubt.