WIMBLEDON

June 27, 2003

Rafael Nadal

MODERATOR: Good afternoon. Rafael Nadal. We'll start in English and Nicola will translate as necessary.

RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. I think there are players that have better chances to win this tournament, like Federer and Roddick. I don't see him as one of the top favorites.

RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, the most important thing for all the young players like myself is to get better in the areas where you need to work. And, of course, if I want to win more matches, I have to work on my serve and develop that weapon. I think, you know, if I had the same serve as some of these top guys, I would win more matches.

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, you know, it's been quite some time since I last played the junior events, so I really don't know. But there's a lot of young players that are playing in Spain right now, and there's a couple of players that are coming up pretty well, like Bautista from Valencia and Tomeu Salva, who is my age.

RAFAEL NADAL: (Rafael speaking in English) The last year I played the Juniors.

RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, of course, it was a nice experience. First of all, it's a different surface, and that makes you realize that you have to work on shots that maybe are not important on clay, like the serve, because I realize that I have to work on the serve now. Second, I mean, I could play three matches at a very high level, and that's going to help me a lot in my game.

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, first of all, I didn't start out very well today. I got broken in the first game. And that's really important on a fast surface like grass. Because if you get broken on the first game on clay, you always have a chance to come back. So I was behind from the beginning. At the end of the first set, I was two breaks down, then I got one break. At the end of the first set, I had chances to go 5-All, and I didn't do it. Then in the second set, I was leading 4-2, 30-Love. Okay, I double-faulted once, which is acceptable because my serve is not so good. But then I made an easy mistake on the forehand that I shouldn't have made at that time.

RAFAEL NADAL: I mean, it's been a good tournament. I won two good matches on grass, a surface upon which I hadn't played for a year. And today I lost against the No. 12, No. 13 in the world. I'm No. 70. So normally, the 70th ranked player doesn't beat the No. 13.

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I learned, first of all, I really have to improve my serve. I'm okay from the back of the court. I really have to improve my serve, and then everything else.

RAFAEL NADAL: Normally, I'm in Mallorca, a place that I like a lot. I see my friends. I like to go to the movies, go to the beach, maybe some of the nights I go out, as well.

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I think that in general all the young players from Spain, but also from the rest of the world, are very interested in playing better on faster surfaces. You know, you've got guys like David Ferrer, Verdasco, Feliciano, and Tommy that are playing well on faster surfaces. And I think that in the future, they can be in the later rounds of this tournament.