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U.S. OPEN

September 7, 2010

Fernando Verdasco

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

F. VERDASCO/D. Ferrer
5-7, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. What was going through your mind when you were down the two sets and then down 1-4 in the fifth set tiebreaker? How were you able to come back?
FERNANDO VERDASCO: Like I said after the match, after I lost the first two sets, of course, it's tough. You know, that you don't have margin to recover. You just need to win all the other sets.
About the tiebreak, you know, just trying to fight till the end. I came back till the fifth set, and of course even that I was 4-1 down in the tiebreak, I was not going to say, okay, that's it. I was going to try my best till the end.
Just that, no? Just try to play good, try to play aggressive, try to do my game, and the things came in a good way, no? I was, of course with 4-1 down in the tiebreak much more chances to lose than to win, but I didn't. Just fighting and trying.

Q. Could you kind of describe match point? That's a shot that is going to go down for a long time.
FERNANDO VERDASCO: Is tough to explain. You are just -- you are with your sixth sense in the ball, in the point, knowing how important is, and, you know, just trying to run, fight, all the balls.
So when I did the backhand along the line passing shot, you know, I was like even surprised that he took the volley. Of course, my reaction was just keeping the point and start running forward. Because normally with these volleys it's a dropshot, no, you gonna make another long volley.
So I start running, and I just saw that space. (Smiling.) You know, is tough. Is tough to explain, because is like really short period of time and you are just running and trying to get the ball. When you see there a little bit of space, you just try to put the ball in. It was like unbelievable.

Q. But was the space you were looking at actually between the net and the chair?
FERNANDO VERDASCO: I was just first trying to get the ball; after that, yeah, it was only space. He was in the middle of the court, so I didn't see a space to play crosscourt. I saw a little bit of space just on the top of the net, just in between, like you said, the chair and the net, and I just tried to put the ball inside, inside out -- no, outside in, and it's good. (Laughing.)
So happy when I saw that the ball was going in.

Q. What kind of treatment did you require after this match? Anything unusual?
FERNANDO VERDASCO: Just try to eat good, drink good, rest a lot, and of course hot massage, stretch on everything that you need, no? It's not also good if you are like having massage for three hours or stretching for three hours.
I think that just the normal routine, like every match, no? Like maybe about 20 minutes stretching and about maybe one hour massage.

Q. But no IV or anything like that?
FERNANDO VERDASCO: No. Maybe you can take some anti-inflammatories. You know, it's a very long match, and normally you have your body pretty -- you know, you have pain in your foot and your nails and in part of the body of course from tension of the match. You take some anti-inflammatories, and that's the only thing.
The other thing is just eat a lot of proteins and carbs to try to recover the best and as soon as possible.

Q. You're gonna maybe play Nadal in the next round. You have not a great record against him. Can you just talk about the challenge of playing Nadal, and also talk about if you feel like his serve has changed or has improved in the last few months.
FERNANDO VERDASCO: Yeah, well, I think that in this tournament I improve my serve a lot. It was one of maybe the biggest change from the last tournament to this US Open. Gets me a lot of free points, and, you know, like confidence.

Q. I'm talking about Nadal's serve.
FERNANDO VERDASCO: Oh, Nadal's serve? No, well, I think he's serving also better. You know, I think that he even improved the serve. In Wimbledon this year he was serving better than normally.
I don't think about that, of the grip, no? I don't see like really, you know -- he's there, and I don't see when he's serving a big change in his grip.
But he comes with confidence, no? He's making a great year. Of course when you are with confidence and you are trying new things like, for example, hit stronger the serve, you know, is easier to work well than when you are without confidence.
So I think that he improve his serve, and of course helping him to improve his game, also.

Q. Did you and David Ferrer talk in the locker room after the match at all?
FERNANDO VERDASCO: Well, we just saw each other for a few seconds, and we just, you know, normal. He told me, well done. I told him, like, I'm really sorry. Then I told him, like, you know, that we need to keep fighting to be both in the Masters Cup.
We have a great relationship. Of course when you lose a match like this today for him -- if I lost this match, for sure I was so upset and pissed on the -- it's true -- on the locker room.
But at the end, you know, we are good friends, and I want him the best, no? I want him to be in the Masters Cup. And of course I hope that he will do it.

Q. Looking ahead to the Nadal match, because I don't think you've had that many -- been two sets down and come backs like that. Does that give you massive confidence, what you pulled off today?
FERNANDO VERDASCO: Well, I hope that is gonna give me big confidence, this match. And also I hope to be 100% physically after a tough match like today to play against one player like Nadal that you need to be like 100% to try to face him, no, to try to beat him.
You know, I will just try to do all the things right and good, as best as possible. Then if he wins his match like he's winning right now and I play against him Thursday, I will just try to play my best tennis and try to beat him for first time.
Everybody knows that he's No. 1 in the world; he's great player. My record is not good against him. But I will keep trying and keep fighting to make the first time here.

Q. Can you talk about your physical state here. When you were treated in third set, was that your ankle?
FERNANDO VERDASCO: It was because the tape that they made me before the match, it was like giving me a little bit like a blister in my Achilles tendon. So it was bothering me, and I just said to change it, to cut it and make a new one, because it was cutting a little bit and making me a little bit of blister in the Achilles tendon. That's all.

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