TMS MONTE CARLO

April 11, 2005

Rafael Nadal

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

RAFAEL NADAL: It was not easy for me. He's a player of my age. He plays well. He beat Gaudio in Australia, and he played well in Miami. He's confident. It is his first year. In this case, everything that happens is a good thing, everything is positive. If you lose, it doesn't matter. I know that because I went through it myself. It's easier the first year. After one or two years, it becomes more difficult. When you lose, it's not the same anymore. This match was difficult for me, so I'm happy that I won.

RAFAEL NADAL: It's not easy. The beginning of the year was impressive. I played a lot and I got tired afterwards. Last week I had a bit of rest. It's difficult to have the same routine every morning, to get up in the morning. In Miami I played well against Federer, but this tournament here is very important for me. I came here with a lot of pleasure, and I can say it's the most important tournament of the year for me.

RAFAEL NADAL: It's nice of him to think of me as a favorite, but it's not the way I feel. This year is the first year I'm playing with a certain guarantee. Two years ago I was 16, I only played to win one match. This year every match is important; every win counts. For me, the favorites are Coria, Gaudio, Moya, Ferrero, Federer. I'm not playing sufficiently well.

RAFAEL NADAL: It's only a matter of hope. For me, a future duel seems very far away. Today I played well, but I am not at the level where I can think about a duel. I still need to improve my ranking a lot; therefore, I'm not thinking about that. Also, there are many other good players. Earlier I was compared with Gasquet, so it could be him or Monfils or me or another player who's going to turn up next year.

RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. I'm thinking about my next match against Malisse. I'm not thinking about a duel against Federer; Malisse first. It's true that I was two points away from victory against Federer, but I wasn't able to succeed. I'm not thinking about my future rivals, but rather to improve my game. I feel good physically, I am fast, I have good shots, but what I need is more wins.

RAFAEL NADAL: I don't believe I'm stronger, but on clay there are more players. I lost more often on fast surfaces. In Australia I almost won against Hewitt, who is one of the best players on the surface, and there also was Miami and Indian Wells. I don't believe there's a real difference. But simply on clay I feel more relaxed. Many more things can happen during a match.

RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. He's a player who plays inconsistently. Sometimes he's defending; sometimes he's attacking. His game is not well-defined. It can be positive, he can be deceptive for the opponent; but it can also be negative because he can make mistakes. It was a very difficult match, very tight. I was more solid than him. The long points were important. I felt good physically. In the second set I felt he was getting a little bit tired. He was losing faith and during the long points, the long rallies, I made the difference.