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AEGON CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 11, 2010

Rafael Nadal

LONDON, ENGLAND

F. LÃ“PEZ/R. Nadal
7-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You did say yesterday that you thought it might be a very difficult match. That's exactly what it was. He played brilliantly.
RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, he played well, I think. I had too much opportunities the first set. But yeah, I think his serve was very good, and, you know, from the baseline he has very good slice, and with the forehand he can have a very good shot.
I just congratulate him. I think he's playing well, and yeah, I wish him best of luck to win the tournament.

Q. How do you feel your own game is?
RAFAEL NADAL: I feel a little -- yeah, pretty well. I think I played for moments very good tennis, very good forehands. I played much better than the previous days with my forehand. That's very positive thing. I think it was more that today than the rest of the days to the court.
No, I feel I playing well, but I played in the tiebreak -- well, I played a very bad game after the break in the first set. That was the bad thing on the first set.
In the tiebreak I lost three points from the baseline when he was serving second serve, so to win the tiebreak, you can't lose three points from the baseline if you are better player than that from the baseline, no? If he served well, he win the point with the serve. Well done. But from the baseline I had to win minimum one point of the three, and after, I had amazing mistake with the match.
So that was the set. And after that I -- I think I played worse the second set and he did well in a way. He had very good volleys.

Q. Were there any injury problems today?
RAFAEL NADAL: No, I feel it a little bit, but I told you yesterday I will try to play and I did. I am happy. Seems like it's not nothing very important, so that's the very positive thing. Still there, but it is not a big problem, I think.

Q. Do you feel ready for Wimbledon?
RAFAEL NADAL: I will know in one week. I feel ready to come back at home and to enjoy a little bit of my home and the family, the friends. Before, since before Indian Wells, I didn't spend not one week in that home, so in the same time it gonna be positive thing for me to be there and to enjoy a little bit Mallorca weather and the island too, no? (Laughter.)
Sure, disappointing to lose today but at the same time be at home for a few days. Gonna be very positive thing for go to Wimbledon with very, very good motivation, I think.

Q. Do you know what time you will arrive in Wimbledon?
RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know even at what time I gonna be in Mallorca.

Q. What will you do over the weekend? Will you do any work? Will you pick up a racquet over the weekend?
RAFAEL NADAL: This weekend?

Q. This weekend.
RAFAEL NADAL: No way. Not this weekend, no. This week, yes, but not this weekend.
I think I gonna enjoy a little bit, watch all the family, watch all the friends, you know. Have some dinner with the friends and maybe play some golf. That's it.

Q. Do you think it matters that much whether you play three matches on grass, four matches, five matches before Wimbledon?
RAFAEL NADAL: What?

Q. Does it matter that much that you play three or four or five matches or just that you've had some competition? Does it matter how much matches you've played?
RAFAEL NADAL: Sure, if you can play more, better. But hopefully will be enough for me. I think I gonna have a few days next week in Wimbledon to practice, too.
If I'm not feeling ready, I always have an exhibition, but it is not on my calendar play exhibition before Wimbledon. I played a lot of matches the last few months.
My feeling was not bad today, so that's positive. Just adjust a little bit more the things. You know, here you don't have a lot of time to practice, too, because you arrive and you play. But next week in Wimbledon I gonna have more time to practice and to adjust a little bit more the serve, a little bit more the backhand and the movements on the grass. So that can be good thing.

Q. You were just saying that this weekend you will not pick up a racquet. Will you do any sort of work? Any sort of training at all or nothing?
RAFAEL NADAL: Any what?

Q. Will you do any sort of training? Will you go for runs or you'll do nothing?
RAFAEL NADAL: I don't run a lot. I run a lot this month, so it's enough for me I think. I don't need more physio performance. No I gonna be enough for Monday, Tuesday, gonna work a little bit with Toni and with Juan Forcades, my physical performance trainer, and that's it. I think gonna be more negative practice this weekend than positive. Sometimes it's worse practice than not practice.

Q. Family and World Cup?
RAFAEL NADAL: World Cup always. World Cup always. I was watching start, first match now in the locker, and sure, this I can't see today France against Uruguay because maybe I in the plane, but I gonna be always watching the football because it's my favorite sport.

Q. Is there any one reason why so many seeds have gone out? Is that because of conditions here?
RAFAEL NADAL: Because the tour is difficult and all the players can play really good, and especially in the fast surfaces, everything that happen. When you play against big servers like Mardy Fish, Feliciano, all the match depends on a few points.
Grass is not easy surface. First week on grass is always difficult for everybody, so anything can happen.

Q. You have obviously played a lot of matches in the last two months. If you look at Murray, Roddick, Djokovic, they have not played many matches. But would you rather be in your position maybe a bit more tired by having won more matches than to be fresh and not having won so much?
RAFAEL NADAL: I think almost everyone wants to be in my position, no, when you came for three Masters 1000 and a Grand Slam.
If you tell me that six months ago when I didn't win a tournament and when, I don't know, Federer win in Madrid, Roland Garros, later Wimbledon, I gonna be -- well, I only want to be tired if I win. I think everybody prefers to be tired and win. That's no question, no?
But everyone have his own preparation for Wimbledon, and I think everybody gonna be ready to play his best tennis there.

Q. Would you like one day to see there be a little bit more of a gap between the French Open and Wimbledon so we could have three weeks perhaps on grass?
RAFAEL NADAL: I would love, but we have to do it a shorter calendar. We need more weeks between Roland Garros and Wimbledon. I don't know where we gonna find the weeks. But sure, two weeks is, when you played a very good clay season, is crazy to only have two weeks to play and to practice on grass. But at the same time, you know how difficult this to change the calendar, and I don't know how we can do.

End of FastScripts

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