	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

SHANGHAI ROLEX MASTERS

October 13, 2011

Rafael Nadal

SHANGHAI, CHINA

F. MAYER/R. Nadal
7-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Rafa, please.

Q. Florian is a very unorthodox player. Did you find that part of his game tough tonight? He's not like most players.
RAFAEL NADAL: He play very well. That's true. He play really well. I didn't. I felt that I was not playing bad from the baseline. But my return, when he was serving the first serve, was terrible tonight. I only won four points in whole match with the first serve of him. So we cannot expect win a match when the opponent is playing well, is serving well, is doing very good serve and volleys, returning, and only winning four points with returning the first serve, no?
Congratulate him.
For me today is disappointing day. I felt that I did everything right. I was in the right line since the week before the US Open. I think I was doing everything right, practicing with good motivation, practicing well in general. I had a good result in US Open. I had a good result last week.
Today is a tough lose, that's the true. Just congratulate him and that's it. For me today is hard to say more things because I felt that I was doing everything right before the tournament. Was not my day. I am out of the tournament. I gonna work hard for the next tournament.

Q. Could you compare with the loss of last year at the same stage of the tournament or is it quite different?
RAFAEL NADAL: Against Melzer?

Q. Yes.
RAFAEL NADAL: No comparation. Last year I was too tired. I came here with not less motivation, because always I want to play well, always I want to have a good results, but I came to this tournament with different feeling.
This year I came to this tournament with a positive feeling, thinking that I am doing the right things. Last year I came here and I felt too tired. I felt not ready to compete at my best. This time I felt like this, and I didn't.
Is an opportunity lost for me. To be in the top, to win tournaments, can happen less, you cannot lose opportunities. Today I felt I lost an opportunity to have a fantastic tournament here, and that's the negative part.
If you are playing bad and you lose, it's fine. But my feeling is I was playing really good before the tournament. Is for that reason that the lose is tougher. But that's sport. You win, you lose. That's part of the game. That what makes the game interesting for everybody.
Just accept the lose, accept that I have to keep working with the same line for the next two or three months, for the next season, and hopefully I can start the next season with more power, with a few things better.
I think I'm in the right line. But today was little bit breaking.

Q. Before next season you still have three pretty big events this season. You're not going to play anything between now and Paris? Paris, London, Seville?
RAFAEL NADAL: I hope so. I hope so. I don't know nothing about my calendar yet. The season is been long for me. Very positive season but at the same time tough season for me. These kind of loses affect. It's normal.
Today is not the best day to think about the rest of the season. Today is the best day to go to play golf tomorrow morning, to have a rest little bit.
I think I don't need rest now, but always will be positive have a week off. That's what I gonna do, have a week off, keep practicing the same way that I was doing before this event, to try to be ready for Paris, for London. That's what I gonna do.

Q. A question about next year's schedule. Can you tell us about your reasons for not playing at Queen's next year and how much of this has to do with the UK tax law, the amount of money you stand to lose from your endorsements?
RAFAEL NADAL: First thing, Queen's is a fantastic tournament but is not the only one that week. I didn't play in Germany for the last three years. I like to play in all the tournaments when they really want me. For last four years, I played on Queen's. So we thought is the right moment to change. I am not changing because Halle is paying me more money than Queen's. That's not the reason.
But is true, the tax regime from UK is complicating a lot of things because to go and play Queen's, the problem is not win, the problem is I can lose money because I go there, I play for one week, they take out money from my sponsors. That's a lot.
I gonna play in Wimbledon. I gonna to play in the World Tour Finals. So there is a lot of weeks, a lot of tax. Is being more and more complicated to play in the UK in these moments.
But the true is Halle is a fantastic tournament, and they really want me there for long time. I finish my contract with Queen's. So the reason you have to watch that is not only the tax problem. I played on Queen's for the last four years with this tax regime, so is not only that, not only for that. I like to play in all the tournaments on the tour when they really want me. I went to Bangkok last year. Now I going to be on Halle. That's fine.
I gonna be in Wimbledon playing and I gonna be in the World Tour Finals playing, so London is not done for me. But for sure I love Queen's.

Q. Back to tonight's match. Obviously you were so sharp yesterday, it might be a bit early, but is there a moment you can pinpoint where your game wasn't right?
RAFAEL NADAL: From the beginning I felt he was doing a lot of things really good when he was serving. He put all the times balls in really complicated situations for me.
But seriously, from the beginning I felt playing well, too. So I wasn't really worried because I was happy with how I was playing. But when the match was coming and coming, I felt that I wasn't able to return well the first serve.
Playing against a player who is doing really well, the serve and volley, who is finishing the balls and the points very easy with lot of confidence, if you're not able to return the first serve longer and, first thing, put the ball inside, is a lot of pressure for the rest of the points for me.
I returned well the second serve. I did well when he was serving the second serve. But he served a big percentage of first serves and was too much pressure for me when I was serving.
But for me the mistake, the really big mistake, was in the second game of the second set. It was Love-30. I have Love-30 and two points with second serve. When the opponent is playing well, you have to convert these opportunities. I had the mistake from the return in Love-30, and 15-30 I returned shorter than the rest of the points with my forehand.
So that's sport. He did better than me. I am out. He gonna play tomorrow. That's all.

Q. Back on the tax question in the UK. The World Tour Finals are in London for two more years. After that, do you think the top players will maybe think they will not want to do another deal for London because of the tax situation?
RAFAEL NADAL: What do you want to heard?

Q. I want to hear what you think.
RAFAEL NADAL: I believe, what I believe in my heart, there is a fantastic event. Full crowd every match. Fantastic stadium. But London is not the only city in the world.
Is true, is really tough what's happening today in the UK with the tax. There is lot of things really positive. This thing is probably really negative. So if that change the chances to keep having the World Tour Finals in London, gonna be very, very high.

Q. Yesterday you complained about the ball. How do you feel tonight? The same feeling as yesterday?
RAFAEL NADAL: I like to have comments about things like the ball when I am winning, not when I'm losing. I said what I had to say yesterday. Today is not the right day.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297