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BARCLAYS ATP WORLD TOUR FINALSNovember 20, 2011Rafael NadalLONDON, ENGLAND R. NADAL/M. Fish THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Can you give us your thoughts on tonight's win. RAFAEL NADAL: It was a very important victory for me, for the confidence, to start the tournament with positive feelings. Was a good start for me. I think I played a very good first set after the break from the beginning. The second was hard. I had a big mistake with 1‑Love, 40‑15 for me in the beginning of the second. That was a lot of confidence for him. And after that, all the match was close. The third set was a little bit more crazy, up and down. But I felt very bad from the stomach since the beginning of the third. I was seriously really lucky for the victory, and I for sure am very happy. Q. Did he produce some of the best tennis he's played against you in the second and third sets with dropshots? Has he played as well against you before? RAFAEL NADAL: He played aggressive for moments. He played good shots from the baseline, playing good serve and volleys. He played very well for moments. For another moments, with 3‑2, was a tough game for him. He didn't play his best game with the 3‑2. And the tiebreak, probably he had a lot of mistakes. So that's helping a lot, no? But for the rest, I think he played well. I was happy to stay in the match because with the stomach and with the level what he's playing, so was a positive thing, no? Q. You obviously have a fixed routine of stuff you eat out on court. Can you explain to yourself how it sort of suddenly started, this stomach stuff, in the beginning of the third set, and how do you feel now? RAFAEL NADAL: I feel not very well now, no? I really need to come back to hotel and rest a little bit because I played for one hour suffering a lot. Because when you don't feel well, you have to keep running, all the muscles are more tired than usual. The feeling of my body is not the best now. But, you know, I was there. Positive thing, I was mentally there all the time until the end. So that's give me the victory of the first match, and that's give me a lot of confidence. For sure an important victory to try to be in the semifinals. Q. Do you think you'd eaten something? RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. I just eat some pasta before the match. For the lunch, I eat some pasta with salmon at the hotel. So nothing strange and nothing unusual. That's the true, no? But during the match, start to feel something half of the second set. But really getting worst and worst at beginning of the third. After going to the toilet with the 2‑Love, I went with 2‑Love because I asked to the umpire that I needed to go to the toilet. I say to him, I need to go to the toilet. Can I go at the next changeover? He told me I had to go before my serve. So that's why I had to go with the 2‑Love. I said, Going to be crazy if I go with the 2‑Love. But he told me that's better, so that's what I did. Q. Did you take any medicine? RAFAEL NADAL: No. I take a Fortasec during the match to try to retain a little bit the stomach a little bit better, but nothing special. I cannot take nothing. Q. Are you now worried about your next match? RAFAEL NADAL: No. I am worried about getting better for the practice of tomorrow. I think two days are enough. Q. You were watching Roger Federer earlier. How do you feel he played? RAFAEL NADAL: I didn't so much, that's the true. I saw the beginning of the first match, the first set there. Roger was playing well. Jo in the beginning, he didn't play his best in my opinion, even if Roger was playing well. I missed the second and I arrived here with 5‑4, went on the court with 5‑4, so I didn't see much. Q. What are your thoughts on facing him next match? RAFAEL NADAL: It will be a challenge for me. He's playing fantastic, winning two tournaments in a row, and now today. It will be a very difficult match. I will try. Q. Do you have any comment on the remarks that Yannick Noah made a day or two ago? RAFAEL NADAL: What's can I say? That's going to be difficult to explain what I feel in English. This guy deserve not write anymore in the newspaper, you know. What he said is completely stupid and he knows better than nobody. Say that today is a totally stupid thing because you know how many anti‑doping controls we are having during all the season year by year. So, in my opinion, his article, what he writed, was from a kid. And when one kid say something, is not painful for us. So that's what I feel. I don't know how to say in English, but especially I think that's worst for French, for France. Is worst for his country than for our country, in my opinion, because the image of the country when one guy, important guy like him, say that, is terrible. Q. Before the tournament you said maybe it would be better if the finals was not in London because of tax. RAFAEL NADAL: I didn't say that. That's the beginning. I answer the first thing. Q. Do you think the tax laws should be changed? RAFAEL NADAL: I am nobody to say that. I am nobody to say that the tax rate must be changed. First thing, what I said have been taken out of context, for sure. Everything comes because I going to play at Halle next year, not Queen's. I am free to play where I want. I played in Queen's for the last four years. So Halle tried to watch me there another time after 2005. So I'm very happy to come back to Germany. I didn't play in Germany since 2008, so was three years outside of the country for playing. So for me is important to come back in Germany playing. Queen's is fantastic tournament, historic tournament in a traditional tennis club, so that makes the tournament more special. But, you know, there is more tournaments on the tour even if Queen's is one of the best. Q. So it's not a question of while the finals is in London you will not play Queen's? RAFAEL NADAL: I am here and I am going to play in Wimbledon. So that's my answer, no? Is true that the tax situation here is tough for the sport, for the big events like this for sure. If I think about ourself, for sure the tax situation in the UK is too much for us. But I am nobody to say that because every country do what they want for themselves.            FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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