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MONTE-CARLO ROLEX MASTERS


April 16, 2014


Rafael Nadal


MONTE CARLO, MONACO

R. NADAL/T. Gabashvili
6‑4, 6‑1


THE MODERATOR:  Questions in English, please.

Q.  Your impressions of this first match?  The start was maybe a little bit slow.
RAFAEL NADAL:  Yes, I think I started little bit slower.  But is true that he was playing very, very aggressive, hitting very strong, with no mistakes.
Always the first match, the thing that you want at the beginning is get in rhythm, play some long points, find the feelings.
But is true that I didn't have that chance because he started very quick with finding the winners in the first ball that he has the chance.  If it's later in the tournament, it's a little bit different.  But being in the first round, is tough to see the way how you want to manage that, no?
It was very important that point, 3‑1, breakpoint for him.  I saved it with one good shot and one good volley.  After that I felt that was the time to try to push a little bit more and increase little bit the rhythm and the intensity.
I did, I think.  I play a good game to have the break back.  I had the break back.  I felt that I had the match a little bit more under control again because in the 4‑3 I had deuce, and I had a mistake with my backhand in the return.  So I think I will have the chance to have the break before.

Q.  Are you still struggling with the 20, 25 seconds between points?  Is that something that annoys you?
RAFAEL NADAL:  I need to check the video today.  Sometimes I am the first one to accept the things.  Today I cannot accept this one because was after a very long rally, was breakpoint against.  The umpire, that I consider a good umpire like Pascal, was not right.
At the end, if you want to make the things that way, the easier thing is put the chrono on court and we don't need umpires anymore because we have all the lines.  We can put the Hawk‑Eye here.  Why we doing to have the umpires anymore?  We can have the electronic, like we have, scoreboard and we can see 15‑30.  We don't need nobody that is just saying 15‑30, 30‑All, game Nadal or game Gabashvili.  That is my feeling.
If the umpires are not any more ready to understand and read a little bit the match, so there is no job anymore for them.

Q.  You faced four breakpoints in consecutive service games in the second set.  Are you unhappy with your serve today?
RAFAEL NADAL:  No.  I felt comfortable in the second set.  I think I was playing better.  Sometimes I felt the match under control in that moment.  That's the real thing.  When I had the break, automatically I have another time the break for the 5‑1.
So I felt that if I needed to play a little bit more with focus, I would not have that breakpoints against in that moment of the match.
You tell me at the beginning of the match, is completely different history.  I will be worried if that happen at the beginning.  But in that moment, second set, I felt that I was playing much better and I had the match completely under control.

Q.  Have you any thoughts on Roger Federer deciding to play here?
RAFAEL NADAL:  No, no.  I think what's more difficult to understand sometimes is when somebody decides to not play Monte‑Carlo, no?  It's one of the nicest tournaments of the year.  Is a Masters 1000.  Is one of the most important tournaments of the world.
It's s0 not surprise Roger is play here.  For me is more surprise when he decide to not come here.

Q.  The time violation, is it still a topic among players?  Are you trying to make this change or...
RAFAEL NADAL:  I need to change.  I need to go quicker a lot of times.  I know that.  I am the first one who tries that, the first one who accept when I am wrong, when I am playing bad, when I am not doing the right things, when I am too slow.
At the same time I think when the things are not right, I never have any problem to say that things are not like this.
My feeling today, the way that the match develops, was not the right day to have two warnings for me.  No one chance that that happen, no?  Is because the umpire really wanted to do.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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