MELBOURNE SUMMER SET

January 9, 2022

Emil Ruusuvuori

Press Conference

R. NADAL/E. Ruusuvuori

6-4, 7-5

Q. You played very well tonight; however, unfortunately Rafa got the win in the end. How are you feeling after the match?

EMIL RUUSUVUORI: Well, it was, first of all, one of the best experiences on court for me. I mean, on one of the biggest courts against one of the best players ever. For sure there were some nerves before the match, and it looked like he had some, too. The first few games weren't the best.

But it was a good match overall. I thought for a while I did good things, some things for sure. It's improving; that's also a good thing. But the main thing is it was a very, very cool experience.

Q. I guess you've reached the semifinal of this tournament; are you pretty impressed with how you've gone throughout the week?

EMIL RUUSUVUORI: Yeah, it was a good week. A couple of -- it's very nice to get four matches the first week of the year and kind of get in the groove. Yeah, things started rolling, so it's a positive thing.

Q. What will be your focus between now and the Australian Open later this month?

EMIL RUUSUVUORI: Well, I think actually next week is still -- I think it's not even possible for me to play. It was planned that I would still play, but the quallies start tomorrow or even I would say today, so I think we won't make it there, so if we stay here, then it's just practice and get prepared. We'll for sure go through this match and take the positives and the things to work on, and we will work on those things and then go for the AO.

Q. You were supposed to play the next Melbourne Summer Set, too, but now with this result you have to just stay in Melbourne and train instead of --

EMIL RUUSUVUORI: Yeah, I'm actually not sure. I guess my coach will tell me, but I'm not sure if I was eligible for the special election or not, so I guess I will see in a bit.

Q. But that means it's still open; you might be playing the next one?

EMIL RUUSUVUORI: Yeah, I don't know.