Q. It’s a little like yesterday, you’re down a set and down a break today and you have the maturity to turn it around?
A. Well I always believe throughout the whole match that I can turn it around and I was right. He was definitely the better player for a set and a half. He was more aggressive. I just felt quite slow on the court from the start of the match and it took me a while to really get into the rhythm but when I did, when I made that crucial break it was much better.
Q. Tomorrow, you against Rafa, he on his clay court streak you on your unbeaten record; it’s going to be a special day?
A. It’s great for the crowds it’s great for the tournament and for us in the end because every time it’s a big challenges and we both look forward to it. We are competing a lot in the last couple of months and we’ve had some really good matches, especially the ones in the United States recently. Of course the memories come back from Madrid 2009 when we played that very very long match. It’s going to be great for the people to see us play.
Q. Do you think about the fact that you have never beaten him on clay can be a psychological issue in the match tomorrow?
A. I don’t really think about not beating him, I just think about winning the match and that’s it. Of course I am motivated to win against anybody especially against Rafa because it’s the ultimate challenges on clay courts. I think anyone would wish to play him in the final of a clay court. You want to step in and give your best and you want to try to win. He’s an incredible player, an incredible competitor and he’s been winning on clay courts so much over the past couple of years but we all know that, I know that but I need to believe I need to step on to the court and try to win.
Q. About your knee, you changed your strapping from yesterday; is it a physical thing?
A. No, it just looks better! No, it’s more or less the same really because sometimes the strap that I have goes off when it’s humid so maybe it’s better like this. Sometimes I do this style sometimes the other but it has the same affect.
Q: But you don’t have any pain?
A: No, not something major that can affect my game or my movement.
Q. If you can be honest, were you a little bit surprised by Bellucci’s level today?
A. To be honest I was more surprised with my movement on the court which was really bad in the start but all credit to him he was hitting the ball really well and he was aggressive. He was taking his chances and it gave me results. On the other side I tried to stay calm and hold my emotions and wait for the opportunity because I believe that I will have the opportunity and sooner it later it’s going to come. So it came and I used it and from that break I started playing much better.
Q. Rafa said in his news conference earlier that he thought you had turned down your aggression a little bit recently; would you agree with that?
A. I do have variety in my game that is a positive fact. At this level it’s important to be able to switch from being defensive to offensive and vice versa so depending on the payer, depending on your tactics, on a certain day. You cannot feel the same every day, you cannot feel 100% on the court but you try to bring out your best game. Today I was a little bit too defensive at the start but then I took the control of the match – I was stepping into the court and that gave me a better result.
Q. It’s generally accepted is much stronger than it was a year ago; how about your clay court game? How has that improved in the last year?
A. I’ve been winning all the matches that I’ve played this year on clay. I think that just in general I feel much better as a player, feeling much better on the court, on any surface hat I played on the court in the last five months than I had twelve months ago. Twelve months ago I wasn’t playing here in Madrid. I was going through a tough period where I
didn’t have good results. Now it’s all coming together. You always have something to ork on. I’m aware that my game is not perfect as is nobody’s so we always try to improve.
Q. You mentioned that 2009 defeat; that was one of the most painful defeats in your career wasn’t it?
A. It was but on the other hand I know that I can play even against him on this surface in these conditions and that match proved that and I can believe tomorrow that I can win. That’s the only way you can beat Rafa is to believe because he is a very strong player mentally. You basically step in and you have nothing to lose.
Courtesy: UBItennis
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