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ROLAND GARROS


May 24, 2016


Rafael Nadal


Paris, France

R. NADAL/S. Groth

6-1, 6-1, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.

Q. How do you feel after this victory in three sets?
RAFAEL NADAL: It's obvious that was a good start for me. No, no. The most important thing that I had to do today I did well was the return, and then I was playing with not many mistakes. I think it's obvious that the opponent plays better in faster surfaces.

But in general I think I played a solid match.

Q. Very fast victory. How far is the "La Decima" title for Roland Garros?
RAFAEL NADAL: No one say for this. Thank you for the congratulations, but now, no, for sure it's not the moment to talk about these things.

Q. We saw that the crowd reacted really, really positively on your great shots. I just want to know how much does it feel the support of the crowd here and the way that they receive you?
RAFAEL NADAL: Well, it's nothing new, no? It's great to play here in France and in Roland Garros. I feel always the support of the crowd here. It's true that is a great feeling, no? Because is the most important place in my career, so to feel the support of the people here is something very special for me. So just can say thank you very much to them for that.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in Spanish.

Q. What about this match? What is your analysis of the match? The games went by for you. Is it more complicated?
RAFAEL NADAL: It was a fast match, but fortunately I managed to break him very quickly. It was important because against such an opponent it's not easy to take his serve. He wanted to put pressure upon my shoulders. It was difficult for me to break him, but for him it was also difficult to break me. So I had to maintain some pressure.

We could have reached 3-All, 4-All, and if it had been the case, things would have been made difficult for me.

But I managed to break him, so the match changed. I managed to concentrate myself very well. It could have been an easy match.

When you are a break up, you feel calm and you know that you can close out the set.

Q. You're in favor of Hawk-Eye here for clay?
RAFAEL NADAL: No, I don't think so. It's not a good thing, especially for the Hawk. This is something that I said loud and clear.

Q. So it was a short and easy match. Is it better to start like that, or is it better to have a tougher match?
RAFAEL NADAL: What matters is to win and to advance to the second round. That's what matters at the end of the day.

I'm not tired. Life is great. Everything is well. I played all the clay court season whether it's a long match or a short match. It doesn't change anything for the future.

Today I won, but it doesn't mean that I will win the next match.

Q. Can you talk about the two opponents that you might be facing?
RAFAEL NADAL: I can't give you an answer, but these two players are two lefties. I might play against Bagnis. He's a tough opponent. He plays from the baseline.

Regarding De Schepper, he's very aggressive. He's a big server. It will be a totally different match.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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