What does Rafael Nadal do to prepare for playing Bernard Tomic on Saturday? He plans to go to the aquarium.
Rafa joked with journalists, demonstrating his much improved English, and analyzed the Federer V Simon match in his post match interview today.
It gets good from about 3:30.
Q. If you haven’t have experience, it’s not someone you played against a lot, what do you do to prepare yourself if you’re a little unsure of the way he plays?
RAFAEL NADAL: If I play against Tomic?
Q. Yes.
RAFAEL NADAL: What can I say different? What can I do different? Practice little bit tomorrow, rest in the hotel, maybe going to the aquarium. I didn’t go this year. I go every year. So that’s all.
Q. So you’re pretty relaxed about it?
RAFAEL NADAL: No, but I gonna be nervous, if you want, 10 minutes before the match and when the match start. But two days ago, before, if I start to be nervous two days ago, I have a big problem, I think (laughter).
Q. What did you think of Roger’s match last night?
RAFAEL NADAL: Very nice match, I think. Very high level of tennis. I think Roger started the match playing very aggressive, very well. But always Simon is very difficult to beat, no? When he’s playing well, he’s fast. When the match is longer, he don’t have mistakes. You need to play all the points really good to beat him.
Five set match, that’s long time. You have to play well long time to beat Gilles. I think he had amazing comeback, two sets all. He had a good chance in the beginning of the fifth with Love 30, but I think Roger played very well the important moments, no? He played aggressive. He had good serves, very good cross backhands and good volleys.
Was a very good tennis match. Finally, I think Roger deserves to win because he was playing really well.
Q. Do you think it’s harder these days for a young player to make headway in the game, to improve quickly enough to be at a standard to play the number of players there are in the game today, a young player, with so much pressure on them?
RAFAEL NADAL: No, I think always happen that. When I arrived, since like is impossible to be in the top, because in that moment, all the players was very good and very young: Coria, Nalbandian, Roger, Lleyton, Roddick. A lot of ones in the top.
And when I saw the rankings, I say, Well, I don’t know how I can be there, no? But finally you improve every year, you improve every day, you’re going to have your chance, no? And that’s what I tried.
Finally I did in 2005. So when I started to play well, I improved little bit my level, I think I was able to go there. And for sure this is difficult, but I think is the problem of the best today is I think we are still young. Del Potro is young. Murray, Djokovic, Soderling, Berdych, hopefully myself (smiling). We’re still young. Hopefully we can be there for a long time.
But the tennis is very hard sport and is really difficult have a very, very long career, no? So you always gonna have problems. One injury, three months out. Another one, one month out. Another one is tired mentally. So everybody has his chance.
Q. You experienced what it was like to be a teenager on the way up playing against the very best. How do you think Bernard will feel if he does play you? How do you think he should approach the match?
RAFAEL NADAL: What he needs to do?
Q. What he would need to do.
RAFAEL NADAL: Play very bad, please (laughter). That’s what I can say to him, so…
I don’t know what he has to do, no? The first thing, he has to play well.
Q. When you were a teenager playing against the best in the world on your way up, how did you approach the games? What was your attitude?
RAFAEL NADAL: Is much easier when you are a teenager, I think. When you have 17 or 18, everything is easier. You play with no pressure. You can win, you can lose, everything is fine. That’s a different mentality. You can play more aggressive. For everybody is the same history I think, no?
When you arrive, you hit all the balls like crazy and without think, without pressure. When you are there (indicating at a high level) you start to think a little bit more about you have to play this shot, you have to play another shot, I can’t lose this match, I have to win this match for sure.
That’s a little bit more problems. When you are coming up, you play quarterfinals perfect; you play semifinals fantastic; you play final very good; and if you win, is unbelievable. So when you are there, you play quarterfinals, say, Well, is good. Is not my tournament, but you are going back very happy at home.
So that is different view and different perspective of the game. So the pressure is higher when you are in the top. Seems like can be a different thing, but believe me, that’s what happen.
Q. How do you deal with the high pressure because everybody expects you to win every game? How do you deal with this high pressure?
RAFAEL NADAL: I think I am in a different moment of my career. That’s happened to me in 2006, 2007 perhaps, but not the day of today. The day of today, I am lucky. I have 24 and a half. I won what I win, what I won in the past, and that’s more than what I ever dreamed.
So my moment is different. I am very happy about what I did. That’s give me a lot of calm. I have probably less pressure right now, last year’s season, winning a lot. I have to work hard every day. That’s what I do: keep practicing with humble, illusion, and motivation for sure, waiting my chances, trying to find my chances.
But I have pressure, yes, but for sure less than when I was playing in 2006 and 2007.
