Friday, June 27, 2003
Q. Do you think Srichaphan is good enough to win this championship?
RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. I think there are players that have
better chances to win this tournament, like Federer and Roddick.
I don't see him as one of the top favorites.
Q. The one thing that struck me watching today was Paradorn seemed
to be a lot stronger than you. His serve was almost 15 miles an hour
more. Do you hope that with age that you will fill out, develop and
get stronger or are you trying to get stronger by working on a
strength program of any kind?
RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, the most important thing for all the young
players like myself is to get better in the areas where you need
to work. And, of course, if I want to win more matches, I have to
work on my serve and develop that weapon. I think, you know, if I
had the same serve as some of these top guys, I would win more matches.
Q. In Britain, we're crying out for a young player like you. Are
there loads of kids like you in Spain that you know, friends of
yours, coming through?
RAFAEL NADAL: Well, you know, it's been quite some time since I
last played the junior events, so I really don't know. But there's
a lot of young players that are playing in Spain right now, and
there's a couple of players that are coming up pretty well, like
Bautista from Valencia and Tomeu Salva, who is my age.
Q. This is your first Wimbledon. What do you make of your experience?
RAFAEL NADAL: (Rafael speaking in English) The last year I played
the Juniors.
Q. I mean, at this level.
RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, of course, it was a nice experience. First of
all, it's a different surface, and that makes you realise that you
have to work on shots that maybe are not important on clay, like
the serve, because I realise that I have to work on the serve now.
Second, I mean, I could play three matches at a very high level,
and that's going to help me a lot in my game.
Q. What was your feeling about your performance today?
RAFAEL NADAL: Well, first of all, I didn't start out very well
today. I got broken in the first game. And that's really important
on a fast surface like grass. Because if you get broken on the first
game on clay, you always have a chance to come back. So I was behind
from the beginning. At the end of the first set, I was two breaks
down, then I got one break. At the end of the first set, I had
chances to go 5-All, and I didn't do it.
Then in the second set, I was leading 4-2, 30-Love. Okay, I
double-faulted once, which is acceptable because my serve is
not so good. But then I made an easy mistake on the forehand
that I shouldn't have made at that time.
Q. Overall, are you disappointed with your performance, your
whole Wimbledon? Do you feel you could have done better? Or do
you feel great?
RAFAEL NADAL: I mean, it's been a good tournament. I won two good
matches on grass, a surface upon which I hadn't played for a year.
And today I lost against the No. 12, No. 13 in the world. I'm No.
70. So normally, the 70th ranked player doesn't beat the No. 13.
Q. What have you learned from your experience here this year?
RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I learned, first of all, I really have to
improve my serve. I'm okay from the back of the court. I really
have to improve my serve, and then everything else.
Q. What do you do when you're not playing tennis? Do you have
something special you like to do to relax?
RAFAEL NADAL: Normally, I'm in Mallorca, a place that I like
a lot. I see my friends. I like to go to the movies, go to the
beach, maybe some of the nights I go out, as well.
Q. You look much more comfortable on grass than most Spanish
players. Can you explain that?
RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I think that in general all the young
players from Spain, but also from the rest of the world, are
very interested in playing better on faster surfaces. You know,
you've got guys like David Ferrer, Verdasco, Feliciano, and Tommy
that are playing well on faster surfaces. And I think that in
the future, they can be in the later rounds of this tournament.
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.csie.ntu.edu.tw)
◆ From: 61.230.109.15