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MUTUA MADRID OPENMay 9, 2013Kei NishikoriMADRID, SPAIN K. NISHIKORI/R. Federer THE MODERATOR: Questions in English. Q. Congratulations. Great victory? KEI NISHIKORI: Thank you. Q. How are you feeling at the moment? KEI NISHIKORI: Feel good, of course. I wasn't really expecting this, not easy, but 6‑2 in the third, that's not easy against him, you know. Yeah, I played well. I was a little bit tight of course, but he didn't make much first serve in the third set and I was able to attack his second. I was even more aggressive in the third set, so, yeah, I played well. I'm pretty happy the way I played. Q. Did you feel pressure in the second set with a little bit of unforced errors? KEI NISHIKORI: Yes. Honestly, yes, because he was playing much better. He wasn't making many unforced errors in the second set and he was playing aggressive, I know. So I was a little bit worried. The first game in the third set really important for me. But, yeah, I played well. Tried to hit to his backhand more in the third set, and everything worked well. So, yeah, I was a little bit worried, but overall it was good. Q. Congratulations. In the third set you got the break. How important was it for you to get that break at that point in the match? Did it relax you a little bit more? KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah, for sure. You know, like I said, he was playing much better in the second, and beginning of the third set, too. It was really hard to break his serve. I wasn't making much return. Maybe first and second. You know, return was the key for me into this match. Yeah, get two break, you know, to get from him it was, yeah, good feeling. Q. What do you think about your next opponent, Andujar? KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah, I guess I haven't seen his match, but for sure he's playing well. He's from Spain, he likes clay. I think he has won a tour on clay, so not easy. We have played before, but I don't know when. A long time ago. Hopefully I can keep it up like this today, and, yeah, try to play another good match. Q. The courts are different this year; last year it did favor Roger's game. How do you think you were able to be aggressive and keep putting pressure on him? He was always on the defensive. How did you do that? KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah, I guess I like this court. It was a little bit slippery, but it was really good for me. You know, I can hit a lot of forehands to his backhands. I was able to hit backhand down the line and I can change the rhythm a lot. Of course he made some unforced errors and didn't make first serves, so I had much more chance than him. Q. I know you've had some very good wins in your career, but a first win over Roger Federer is always extremely special. Talk about that in your career, to beat a player of his quality. KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah, well, he was my idol. Actually, you know, to beat him, that was one of my goal for my tennis career. It happens on clay and it's amazing. You know. It's not my really favorite surface, you know. I lost second or third round last week and I was a little bit struggling, so I didn't have much confidence. But I played good two matches this first and second round, and beat Roger is‑‑ yeah, I need couple days to celebrate. Q. You don't have two days. You play tomorrow. KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah, maybe after this week. Q. What is the most difficult for you on clay? We all know how good you are on hard courts. KEI NISHIKORI: Uh‑huh, I think different, I think. I was hitting good forehands today. Really aggressive. But sometimes he makes me run side to side and I couldn't hit deeper ball, you know, like Rafa does. So that's something I have to work on. But I think I have enough ability to move quick so I can get many balls. That's something I have to do on clay. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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