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U.S. OPEN

September 4, 2011

Rafael Nadal

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

R. NADAL/D. Nalbandian
7-6, 6-1, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You must be happy. David is a tough competitor, but are you happy with the way you played?
RAFAEL NADAL: Very happy the first set and second set I think I played a very high level. Even if he was beating me 4-2 and 5-4 on serve, I was very pleased about how I played the first set, no? He was playing fantastic in my opinion at the beginning.
I didn't have unforced errors. I played well. I just tried to wait my moment.

Q. You said after the match that this was your best game so far. Are there parts of your game still that you're not too happy with that you feel you need to work on?
RAFAEL NADAL: No, I happy about almost everything today. I think my movements worked pretty well, and the forehand worked really well, and the backhand, too.
Just when I had to win the match with the 5-3 I played a really bad game there. For the rest of the match, I happy about everything.

Q. You were looking a moment ago at the monitor. Have you seen much of Donald Young? What are your observations of Young's career and the way he plays?
RAFAEL NADAL: How old is he?

Q. 22. 21 or 22.
RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. I played against him in Indian Wells a few years ago. I didn't see much of him here.
Sure, he's young. He has a good future. But a lot of years I heard about Young, so that's true. He had very good matches in US Open in the past, I think. I don't know what year, but I saw him playing really well few matches.
But after seems like I didn't see him on the tour for a while. So it's a little bit strange, no? But he can play really good. He has very good shot in my opinion.
But I don't know, at the end of the day important thing what makes you good player is the mental part, so I don't know enough him. But he's young. Normal thing is a process, and he will be there.

Q. I think there have been 18 players who have withdrawn or retired from the tournament this year. What do you think of that, and is the tennis schedule too long during the entire year?
RAFAEL NADAL: Is not the time to say. Well, is the right moment to say lot of, I don't know, bad things about the calendar, bad things about things. I don't want to do it now that. I did in the past. I advanced that a lot of times. Nothing to say now.
Just when that's happen you have to find reasons. I already found a lot of reasons in the past, so is not the moment to say the same reasons another time.

Q. On court you're so intense, so focused. You have such drive. Off the court you're a very humble man, very kind, down-to-earth. Some say there's no other player like that.
RAFAEL NADAL: Thank you (Laughter.)
But I think I am not that strong on court. I am positive on court. I am not sad.

Q. Not sad, but you're very intense. In your book you say you never smile. Ask Roger. Every point is a battle, and so relaxed off court. I think you know what I'm talking about, just the difference in the two parts of your personality. Could you just talk about that a little bit, please.
RAFAEL NADAL: I think my personal opinion is I am normally happy person, and inside the court I am focused but always in -- or almost always - in a positive way. I am never, you know -- normally I accept when I played bad. I accept the mistakes and I never talk too much. I never say bad words. Almost never.
I am focused, but always in the positive way. I think I have a good personal control on court. That's the work, I think.

Q. It's not your conduct on court. It's tremendous. It's just the focus.
RAFAEL NADAL: Everything is practice.

Q. Was the 11:00 a.m. start a factor in the first set being so close? Was it a bit tricky to play him then? Normally that doesn't happen to you.
RAFAEL NADAL: You have to wake up early, but I usually go to bed very late. I tried yesterday to go early; didn't work. (Laughter.) I was in the bed earlier, but still can't sleep until late.
No, for me is not a problem. Sometimes is a problem you have to play very early for practice, but to play third round of the US Open, I was enough not tired when I wake up to go. Is not a problem for me. I am ready today.

Q. Your relationship with your Uncle Toni is a complicated one in that he was tough on you growing up.
RAFAEL NADAL: Not that much.

Q. He was pretty tough on you growing up, as you said, to push you, and yet, as you said, you wouldn't be where you are today without him. Is it necessary in tennis to be an elite player to have somebody behind you that's gonna push you pretty hard sometimes?
RAFAEL NADAL: Every person, every character is different. Some people need person there; another people don't need one person there.
In my case, I always said without him, big chances to not be here without him. So I only can say thanks to him for everything. I know he was tough with me a lot of times, especially in the past. Not now. When I was a kid especially.
Now, no. I am already have 25, and the relationship is, like everything, change a little bit around the years, no? But because of him, today I have this under control. I have good control of myself inside the court. I am positive.
Because of him probably can resist the pressure these years, because I practiced with pressure all my life. For me is nothing really strange when I feel the pressure when I am on court.

Q. Agassi said before that he had a lot of anxiety when he was releasing his biography; he had some nerves about revealing his personal life. How did you feel when you let the book come out and see a lot of personal sides of you? Did you feel any anxiety?
RAFAEL NADAL: (Through translation.) Can you repeat the first part of the question?

Q. Andre Agassi when he released his book Open, he expressed that he was very nervous about how people would perceive his personal life? Did you feel the same by releasing your book, nervous about releasing things like that?
RAFAEL NADAL: Is different kind of book. (Laughter.)
Everybody knows a little bit more my life without the book than Andre's life without the book. I wasn't really nervous. The problem is always the same. When some people take some words from the book and put outside, you know, change a little bit the way that it really means.
That's the only problem. But for the rest, I don't have. My life is really clean.

Q. Did you read the book?
RAFAEL NADAL: Seriously, I didn't. I'm gonna be -- I need to be big concentration to read the book in English, and I know my life. I will read when that happen in Spanish. Very soon. I will. I will do it because I am interest how it works, no, how is writed, no?

Q. There is quite a bit in the book that's very outspoken that tells us a lot about your experiences with Toni, your experiences with your family, your pain. You're still comfortable with that? You have no problem with expressing those things in your book?
RAFAEL NADAL: If I had a problem, I never gonna express that in the book. That's the answer, no?
I had a book because -- I went to make the book, me and my team or my team and me, we thought that was the right time to do it, even if I am at the beginning of my career (Winking.)
For me is not the problem. No, no, no. If I don't want to say nothing to the crowd, I don't gonna say.

Q. What gets you more excited: your own big victories or Real Madrid's big victories?
RAFAEL NADAL: Always personal victories are more special, no? I am big fan of football and I enjoy all the matches. I am a Real Madrid and Real Mallorca fan. For sure I enjoy a lot when they win.

Q. Can you describe your thoughts on your first week of play here and on your next match?
RAFAEL NADAL: I think I played every day better. Today for moments I played, my opinion, very, very positive level, very high level.
I am happy about two weeks here. I arrived Monday after Cincinnati. I practiced Monday. Since I arrived here I think everything was really positive. Even if I lose next round, for me was a positive week.
After Wimbledon I had the injury; I didn't practice a lot. I practiced seven days but really with motivation three days. And the allusion for the competition, the allusion to come back, you know, was tough at the beginning, because I was a little bit too tired mentally, a little bit too tired physically.
But after two weeks of practice in Montreal, Cincinnati, I arrived here and I have the right motivation. That's the most important thing for me, be happy playing tennis, have the motivation to go on court every day, and to try the best in every moment.
That's what I did here. That's the way to do it, and that's why I'm still playing tennis. That's why I want to keep working hard the rest of the year and next year, no? Accept all the difficulties, the problems, and try to play another time at my best.
The next opponent will be tough one. I already lost with him in Wimbledon 2005. This year was tough, especially tough, two sets against him in Wimbledon - fourth round, too, I think. Fourth or -- I think it was fourth round, no? (Through translation.)
Was tough, really tough third round. He's a very aggressive player. Fantastic serve. I have to move him. Probably his movements are the worst thing, but the rest of the game can be really dangerous.

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