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ROLEX PARIS MASTERS

October 27, 2019

Rafael Nadal

Paris, France

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.

Q. First of all, congratulations on your wedding. Just a question about how do you feel in Paris? You won of course so many times in Roland Garros but never here. How do you explain it? Is it too late in the season for you? Is it the surface? Is it bad luck?
RAFAEL NADAL: If it's not good luck that I won 12 times in Roland Garros, it's not bad luck that I never won here. That's the real thing. I get injured a lot of times, it's true. I miss this tournament a lot of times in my career. And other times I didn't play well and other times opponents have been better than me.

Of course it's an indoor surface that in the past is the surface that I had less chances. I think I have been improving the game to be able play well. I think this year the surface is quite quick, quite fast.

But I don't know. I'm happy to be here. As everybody knows, for me it's the most important city in my tennis career, so I love to be in Paris. Always gives me good vibes.

And I think I'm doing the right steps to try to be ready for the action on hopefully Wednesday. Let's see.

Q. How is your hand doing? Do you play pain-free? Do you still feel something going on?
RAFAEL NADAL: Don't ask me these kind of things. (Laughing).

Q. I have to.
RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. As you know, I had my problem in the hand after the US Open, so I couldn't finish the Laver Cup the way that I wanted. Then I had to stop for a while.

And I feel better, that's why I'm here. And I am here with the goal to play my 100 percent. That's what I expect.

Q. Congrats on your wedding. Is this your honeymoon here in Paris?
RAFAEL NADAL: Not at all, no.

Q. You've been very busy since your wedding. Did you play a charity thing in Kazakhstan?
RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, I played a charity exhibition in Kazakhstan for my foundation. Novak came to Kazakhstan to play for my foundation. So that was -- I can't thank him enough. So have been great feelings.

But obviously after the wedding I have the Sunday off. And then Monday, Tuesday, practice; Wednesday, flying to Kazakhstan; and Thursday late night here.

Q. So will you have time for a honeymoon or something?
RAFAEL NADAL: No, no. (Smiling) No, no.

I have been -- the things that I had to do, I take my weeks off during the season, and we decided that well. And in the world of tennis, you have to find your priorities, and we decided the way that we wanted to do.

We take our time off before the wedding, and now is the moment to be back on the tour.

Q. You've got a busy November coming up. What is your sort of program the rest of the year?
RAFAEL NADAL: My program, everybody knows, is here, London, and Madrid. But as always, depends on how I feel.

Q. This is the first time that you're in a race to end world No. 1. This is the first time you're close and in the battle at the end of the season. Is this one different? Is there any specific feeling of this one? Is it still meaningful for you?
RAFAEL NADAL: It's not the first time. I have been in that position a couple of times in my career. I remember I have been here in 2017, I need to win one match, and I came here and I won the match. Another one have been close in the World Tour finals.

I said during the whole season is fantastic. I prefer to be No. 1 to No. 2 and No. 2 to No. 3. And of course, finish the year world No. 1 is something special, and I would love to make that happen. But as you know, I didn't went to China. That's something sad for me, but I need to find my priorities.

As I said during the last couple of years, is not my goal to be No. 1. It's about I need to organize my calendar to play as long as possible. If with my calendar at the end of the season I am number one, super happy. But I will not try to follow or to make extra things to be No. 1. I just going to do my normal schedule.

And that's the way you need to take decisions, and my decision is to try to do the right things to play as long as possible to give me more chances to play more years on the tour than try to be No. 1.

Then I going to try my best during the next couple events.

Q. You said that you will be in Madrid for Davis Cup finals. What do you think about the new formula? It's something that you're going to discover as are the other players and the public.
RAFAEL NADAL: I can't think much because the thing is you need to try it to have a real opinion.

And there is things in the old format that have not been working well. There's other things that have been working well.

But is true that there is a important thing that we were not able to make that happen for the last couple of years, that is the best players of the world playing usually the Davis Cup. So when this kind of stuff happens, you need to find solutions, so the solution was that and let's see what's going on.

Of course we need to fix couple of more things on the tour to make a big, big competition, you know. I think two team tournaments, Davis Cup and ATP Cup in one month, is something that, in my opinion, is not good.

And my feeling is we need to create one big, big competition to stay together. ITF, ATP, that's a good opportunity to make that happen and we need to make that happen.

Q. Whatever happens here this week you get back to the No. 1 spot next Monday because we don't have any more points from Masters. Can you compare the feelings you have when you get to the No. 1 spot regarding when you win a Grand Slam? It's the same kind of pride for you?
RAFAEL NADAL: No. No. (Smiling.)

Honestly not. When you win a Grand Slam, you win a Grand Slam on court.

Sometimes when you are No. 1, for example, I know I going to be No. 1. It's always not that you win this point and you are No. 1. So that makes a big difference.

For me, the first time that I have been No. 1 in my tennis career was 2008 for me. It was something that was really important because for four years, almost, I have been there being No. 2 and playing great tennis. So, for me, something that I wanted to be. Then of course to finish, like, end No. 1 for me is more important than just be No. 1.

So let's see. Let's see what's going on. My feelings are not -- I sleep the same well when I am No. 1 and No. 2. Of course I prefer to be No. 1.

But as I said, I'm super happy with my season. Have been a tough beginning of the season. Then I was able to find a way to be back playing at very high level of tennis and be in the situation that I am today.

Think about it before Monte-Carlo was something -- or after Monte-Carlo was something very difficult to imagine. So I'm very proud about the year that I am having and is the moment to keep pushing a little bit until then and enjoy the last three events of the season.

The season is done and remain to make something special here and London, and I going to try to make that happen.

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