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ROGERS CUP MEN

August 13, 2010

Philipp Kohlschreiber

TORONTO, ONTARIO

R. NADAL/P. Kohlschreiber
3-6, 6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Can you speak about how effective your serve was today? Definitely for the beginning part of your match, but I just looked at the stats, you know, and on the first serves you were almost dominant when you got the first serve in play. What do you think you could have done differently in the second and third set to maybe try to close the match?
PHILIPP KOHLSCHREIBER: Well, overall I have to say the serve was fantastic. I would say today I served pretty hard, pretty accurate. Rafa, I think, is the best return player. He's getting normally many, many balls back. So I think that was the key that the match was very close today.
But unfortunately I couldn't play the whole games like that. I mean, it was clear that maybe I have to fight for a couple of service games, and, yeah, especially in these moments you saw him that he was, yeah, very effective returning the second serve very deep and then tried to attack the next one.
Yeah, well, it's tough, but it's like that. Yeah, he broke. Then when I was a little bit losing the rhythm in the first serve, then he was right there.

Q. Rafa is obviously the No. 1 player in the world for a reason. When you do play against him, is it that important to not drop a level at any point just because he keeps coming and coming and coming and coming?
PHILIPP KOHLSCHREIBER: Well, I think that he played, after losing the first set, I think he played very, very aggressive from the baseline, so he pushed me back from my side, and then it was tough. I felt always a lot of pressure during all the games when I didn't serve so well.
I mean, he improved so much, improved the serve, he improved the return, that he's changing, coming closer to the baseline and makes more pressure.
So I think that's also the reason why he's improved now to No. 1, and like you said, it's the reason for that, because maybe sometimes you can read his game a little bit better than others. Now he's changing much, much more. The serve is much better. Like you saw, physical and mentally even like always like very strong.

Q. Is it your best match against him?
PHILIPP KOHLSCHREIBER: Well, it's tough to say, but for sure that I was -- that I won the first set, that he was a little bit more under pressure was maybe something special. But like I said before, I had couple of good matches, good fights against him. Okay, on clay I have to say he's just too strong, but on hardcourt we had really tough battles in the Grand Slams over three-and-a-half hours, so it was always great to play against him.
I like it, actually, but unfortunately it's not enough. And, yeah, well, I keep improving, keep playing better and get the next chance maybe.

Q. There have been a lot of great German tennis players in the past. How does it feel to be the No. 1 ranked player in your country, and what does that mean to you at this moment?
PHILIPP KOHLSCHREIBER: It's -- for me, it's really nothing special. Um, for sure, it would be nicer if I had a nice ranking. I would give a little bit more for that, like top 20 or whatever.
But, yeah, still working. It's nice, but it's really nothing special.

Q. I just want to follow up on a point you made before. What could you read maybe years ago in Nadal's game that he's corrected that you can't read as much now?
PHILIPP KOHLSCHREIBER: Well, I think he was more predictable, like he was serving like higher percentage to the backhand side of the opponent.
Now he's mixing up much better. He's serving more to the body, more to the forehand. Like I said, I thought before he was always returning far behind the baseline so always get the time to maybe put a right tactic for the next stroke. Now is changing a little bit. Sometimes he's going back; sometimes he's stepping in.
I think he's a little bit more aggressive. Before he was maybe a little bit more -- yeah, he knew he's fast, he has a good power, good strokes, but now he's looking for dominating the points and I think improve the net game, the slice. So I think he made a big champion. All this very, very small weaknesses maybe he had before. I mean, we're talking about a really good player. But he's just improving there, and that's why I think he's so strong now on every surface.

Q. Do you think that maybe in your game you can maybe attack a little bit more in certain situations when, I don't know, you're down Love-30 in a service game to maybe change it up for yourself for your future?
PHILIPP KOHLSCHREIBER: Yeah, sure. I mean, was like one break in the third, but I had the chance before, I think, Love-30 you said, break point. I missed second-serve return.
I think that are the key moments which, yeah, maybe Rafa and other players in the top 10, they don't make easy mistake there. They give you always one more ball to hit, and, well, I missed that shot. I missed maybe Love-30 I was maybe too passive to return.
So it's like few things which maybe instantly I did wrong in the moment, but overall I think I played many, many good shots today. Just if I would play every day like this, I would say I would improve my ranking, and actually, that's the goal that I try to keep, yeah, keep the level like today.

Q. After he very nearly broke you, I think it was at 2-2, he was serving at 2-3 and he got finally to his advantage. You had him backed up. You had him pinned. He hit the forehand pass that just clipped the net. Is that kind of the difference between Rafa and maybe the rest of the tour right now is shots like that and that kind of moment?
PHILIPP KOHLSCHREIBER: Well, that he's excellent defense player, his speed. Yeah, these kind of strokes, you think normally the point is over and he's stretching his legs, and, I don't know, moving his wrist up. And, yeah, it's like really amazing shot that is just maybe one player can do.
But overall I think it was not one shot today. I mean, maybe I missed my small opportunity I had to maybe make the break. Doesn't matter if I would win the set then, but still I had the chance there, and that's I think more the key moments that I had maybe to play a better shot that to give him at least one deep return that I'm in the rally. Maybe he's missing, maybe he's nervous. So, you know, these kind of things I have to learn to play a little bit more with the situation.

Q. Do you think that having a one-handed backhand is a liability playing Rafa? Could you just talk a little bit about how you feel about having a one-hander right now?
PHILIPP KOHLSCHREIBER: Well, actually I have to say I like my one-handed backhand. I think -- no, yeah, it depends. I think for every player, Rafa's spin is quite hard to play.
Maybe sometimes for one-handed backhand, player is like you have to move very well because you have a better reach, but maybe you lose a little bit power if you're out of your striking zone.
But overall I think it's, for everybody, if he's playing with this power, with this spin, for everybody it's hard. I would say you have, on both sides, one-handed or two-handed backhands, you have the plus and minus. I would say maybe you have better control if you play maybe two hands, you have more power, more stability. But on the other side, you can maybe make a lot of spin with the one-handed. You have -- maybe the opponent cannot read so well because you can hit a little bit later or whatever. So I think it's equal if you play one-handed or two-handed.

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