Transcript of Rafael Nadal’s presser after the Troicki match.
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. You were trying your hardest at practice and during the matches but it’s not going your way for now. After Beijing, what do you think about the match you played today?
RAFAEL NADAL: Well, I played against a player that his serve was huge during the whole time. No, I played better than in Beijing but was not the day to win.
He played better than me. He deserve to win more than me, and I need to keep working, need to adjust things, need to put the things together.
And I need to be confident again, no? I need to play my matches, to practice more and just to keep playing. That’s all. I think is the end of the season, is being tough part of the season for me. The tournaments are difficult. Surfaces are difficult for me and is difficult at the end of the year historically. I suffer at this part of the season. Normally when I arrive playing so good, this year after the injury had been a little bit tougher if I play some good matches, but I have been tough to be confident.
I am trying, no? I tried. I tried during the whole time but I lost. That’s it.
Q. Do you think the defeat against Pouille in US Open makes maybe a difference for the end of the season or in terms of confidence?
RAFAEL NADAL: Things change. Things can change with one victory or two more victories, but it’s stupid to look to the past, always look at the things that you cannot change. Is better to look at the things that you really can change.
No, if you are thinking about if I didn’t get injury, if I won the match against Pouille, if I win the match against Del Potro in the Olympics, that’s never happened and never gonna happen. That’s already past. We have to look about the day of tomorrow and then the day after tomorrow. And that’s the only way to change things, and that’s the only way to try to be at the level that I need to be to compete around the world.
Q. Have you and your team sat down to look at what’s technically different about your game? Are the balls falling shorter? Less spin or less pace than compared to years before?
RAFAEL NADAL: I know what I have to do and I gonna do it. I have two months and a half since the next season start, so I have two months and a half to put myself at the level that I need to be, and I have the confidence that I gonna do it.
For me the season is almost over, and I accept that. Since the day after day just looking about what I need to do to be 100% ready for the beginning of the next season, no?
That’s my motivation; that’s my goal. I gonna do all the things that I need to do to make that happen. I cannot say I gonna make that happen. The only thing that I can say is I gonna do and I gonna try my best in every single moment to make that thing happen.
Q. The race for the Masters not so important for you? You think most for the next season now?
RAFAEL NADAL: I don’t know. I don’t know what’s gonna happen in the next couple of weeks. Is something that I need to think about, and let’s see.
I cannot say now what I gonna do during the next month. I’m not sure about my calendar. I’m not sure about the things that I need to do to try to be at 100% ready for the next year.
I need to speak with my team. I need to speak with my uncle, too, and prepare myself for calendar to try to do the things that I need to do and to work on things I need to work, because sometimes keep competing is not the solution. Sometimes the solution is practice and stop and have a process of training. And maybe that’s an opportunity to do it. I’m not sure about that.
Maybe I gonna play in Basel in two weeks. So it’s not the day and not the moment to analyze all these kind of things.
But I am a person who — you know, the losers or the victories doesn’t change a lot the mind. Let’s see when I’m talking about the coach.
Q. Have you thought of working with a mind coach, or is that part of your program?
RAFAEL NADAL: No.
Q. When you say you need to make some adjustments and to work on things, can you just tell what kind of area of your game or fitness or whatever you’re thinking of when you say that?
RAFAEL NADAL: I need to recover the forehand. I know I need to hit forehands. I need to — every time that I hit the forehand, I need to create pain to the opponent, something that is not happening today. Maybe because I had an injury on the wrist and I am scared. Maybe because I still have some limitation in there.
But at the end of the day, nobody cares about that and I don’t care about that. The real thing that I care is I need to create pain with my forehand to opponent. No, is something that is not happening very often now, and is something that needs to happen for the next year.
So I need to know what’s the best way to try to make that happen. If that happens, then for sure I need to recover a little bit the electricity on the legs. Need to move faster to hit more forehands. But I need to be more confident with the forehand to make that happen. Everything is a cycle. I need to do the things together.
Q. You have great achievement in terms of doubles matches. Will you focus more on doubles matches in the future?
RAFAEL NADAL: No. I am not a doubles player. I am a singles player.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
I read that Rafa intends to play Basel, probably because he has a contract with them. He is playing doubles too. I don’t mind that one, but think he may want to consider whether or not to play Paris and London. I also read that he is making changes to his 2017 schedule including dropping the SA swing. The weather and humidity are too great and that seems to bother him more now. I also like his start in Australia. I try to be realistic, but I still think Rafa can play better before he retires.
What is the SA swing?
SA=South American
I’m sure it must have occurred to other people, but it’s possible he simply isn’t telling the press things that might be discussed in private. Why should he? He may be talking about psychiatrists, new coaches, or whatever, but he’d be stupid (which he isn’t) to reveal everything to the press at this stage. He must hate these press conferences. They ask the same old questions. He gives the same old platitudes, or contradictions sometimes. Polite, but not exactly deep, or revealing. I’m inclined to think there may be one or two changes behind the scenes. After all, if something seems obvious to fans, it must be absolutely glaring to his team. If anything’s going to change, I don’t think news of it will come via the tournament media.
Let it go and keep up to work harder smile I understand what you said everything don’t give up okay please positive strong and figure out to work thing better as you can it alright
I need rafa to hire best professional coach that would help to work out with rafa practice very hard while in couple of months until rafa get better to ready for coming 2017 . I love watching tennis player game and see rafa doing to need 100 percent good job as he can do it take him to step time and time then become best perfect player job smile good luck and good strong health always
If uncle toni hve such mindset i really want rafa to either hve no coach or another voice
Setting target of winning rg 17 is such a dissapointing thing
as a coach why toni fear to say we will try to win ao17
Such a one surface mindset uncle toni have for great player like rafa
Really dissapointed
@Teresa
Rafa Nadal+Control Medico+MundoDeportivo
Should be the first choice that comes up in the search. It will say “6 Hours Ago.”
I don’t know how to do the link thingy inside RNF comment section.
I watched the Rafa/Pablo doubles last night for the first time. I could not believe what I was seeing. Rafa was like a piece of wood struggling to move. The contrast between him and the other players is ridiculous, he was tense sitting on the edge of his seat, getting up too quickly. As Rafa Fan 1 said below, panicky etc.. But he had no reason to be nervous in a 500 doubles! His problems last year were mental – we know this because he said so himself many times. This year he seems unwilling to admit he still has these problems but you have to defy your eyes and senses to not see the same problem. These reporters are asking him about mind coaches for a reason because they know him and they are not blind either. No one should lose confidence to the point of where they cannot play. Tension in his body will cause injury. Rafa, in tennis terms is old, yes, because he has been playing longer than most his age but, his losses are not consistent with the aging process – Troicki is also 30. The game can’t have changed that much since he was No 1 in 2013 – I think that is nonsense I’m afraid – tennis is simple and most of the players on the circuit are still the same. His opponents are free to play their game and look good because Rafa can barely move. Is this new? No. E.g. Roland Garros 2006. Rafa won but was visibly upset in interview ‘I could not move’ losing the first set 1-6. And we had the commentary, Roger is too good, majestic etc. No, he wasn’t – tennis can be an illusion. One plays bad, the other looks good.
If I was to hazard a theory in the mental department, Rafa has traumatised himself from playing through too much pain and relying on painkilling injections. You can only fool your own mind for so long before it starts throwing out stress signals – fight or flight. The mind also makes associations – tennis court = danger. This is basically the problem he had last year – we know because his team said so. He also has a tic disorder (since childhood), which in nearly all cases is genetic – it is neurological – we know this because he has said so. This leaves sufferers vulnerable to anxiety for the rest of their lives (around 90% develop OCD).
It’s possible that we see no change because the challenges he faces are not of the tennis variety and he knows this. In interview he is just going to say what he thinks fits.
Sorry lecture over!
According to MundoDeportivo, Rafa visited his doctor, Angél Ruiz Cotorro, in Barcelona after his loss to Troicki. This article quotes Rafa as saying, “I have to recover my right [wrist] to be able to do some damage to my adversary, something I did not succeed in against Troicki.” (A right wrist injury forced Rafa to skip the 2014 US Open.)
Much of the interview is identical to the one here (Post Shanghai).
He “hopes to be in Basel in two weeks.”
I hope his visit to Cotorro brings good news on his physical condition.
RAFA FOR ROLANDO
I’m getting a home page only and cannot find the article. Are you able to provide the link Margo? Thanks
@Teresa Gil Maybe you can help better than I can on this interview with Toni on MundoDeportivo.com, Oct. 14, 2016.
Toni: “I see Rafa retiring in a few years, he will continue well on the circuit. Rafa lacks tranquility and when that happens any problem can become much larger. Rafa is disappointed. Friday evening we will talk about making the decision to continue or not for this season. Rafa is thinking of doing the maximum to be prepared for next year. Rafa is not prepared to leave winning or to leave being competitive. He is prepared to return to win at Roland Garos. That is his great dream.
I have the conviction that will return to play very well.” (There is more but I am translation maxed out.)
I wish you the best in your quest for your “Dixième,” Rafa!!!
RAFA FOR ROLAND GARROS
@Teresa Gil I should have left out the .com as it will not take you to Toni’s interview.
RAFA FOR ROLAND!!!
@Teresa Gil It’s Toni Nadal+Mundo Deportivo and that will bring you directly to the interview.
RAFA FOR ROLANDO
Lack of tranquility comes from fear. Rafa fears big serves, fast courts , flat shots and anything that interrupts his rhythm. His game is a defensive one that requires a very fit body and running legs. He did well as long as those physical qualities were there but the age is catching up with him and his refusal to adapt to a more aggressive offensive game had him in this vicious cycle of loss after loss. Tony Nadal needs to go, diagnosis without having a solution won’t solve anything. He’s passed his expiration date very long time ago.
I haven’t seen this Margo, but thanks I will look at it tomorrow. I’m not sure I’ll get any more than you out of it – my Spanish is appalling.
I translated only a part of it at the beginning.
RAFA ROCKS
Well he must be very low – his ambition is to win RG – it used to be other surfaces!
Or perhaps he is being realistic? I remember, after this latest injury, voicing my desire for him to choose more carefully the tournaments he would play. He has won on all surfaces, something many greats have failed to do. RG is a logical choice for another Slam. I know he wants it. Perhaps that is something for him to aim for and in the process gain some momentum…
I am just hoping for the best for him.
RAFA ROCKS
I have now read it – and I can’t elaborate on what you report. It comes across as though Rafa is lacking calm (his favourite word:). But the injuries are less of a problem. He is very, very disappointed:(
Glad you found it.
RAFA ROCKABILLY