interview MonteCarloRolexMasters2010

"Ask me if I'm happy" (INT)

4/15/2010Rafaholics

Rafa gave an interview for Corriere della serra..

Nadal, tennis is not everything
"Ask me if I'm happy"



Two or three things about Rafael Nadal Parera from Manacor, Majorca, 6 Slams and 23 years of age. It is not true that, in the flesh, he is thin (he is considering getting back to the sleeveless shirt to show that, from triumphal 2008 to 2009 "annus horribilis" [horrendous year] - and more precisely from Paris onwards - his biceps are as big as always). It is true that he smells of aftershave (one of a good quality), that he hates cheese (he eats pizza without it). He's a very sober, a very nice guy (2 kisses everytime he meets you and other 2 kisses when he says goodbye, a total of 4), he is on the defensive showing some whims because he is shy, a short laugh with a "stock phrase" [I am not sure what the interviewer meant by that, sorry], sniffling included. With his inseparable Blackberry, he arrives late in the hall of the hotel he stays in in Montecarlo, wearing a pair of jeans and a fashionable Safari jacket. He gulps down a bottle of mineral water (with the help of a straw). His eyes are like two pin's heads.

I: Rafa, twelve months ago you were the number 1 in the world. Federer was lying on a pychoanalysis couch. Now things are completely different, the other way round. Roger is running away, Rafa is after him. What's about this particular moment for you?

R: "Happy, more than what it may seem. I'm playing well. My tennis level is back to high standards. There's some room for improvement, but a very small one. Some confidence is lacking, perhaps. Physically, I am 100% all right. Intact. Even the pain I had in my wise tooth has disappeared!"

I: How did you recover, when you were in Majorca, after the terrible loss you suffered in Paris and after the withdrawal from Wimbledon?

R: "I live in Manacor and there people live a quiet and relaxed life. My "peace of mind" comes from there, from the fact that I can behave as a normal person. I am neither a V.I.P. nor an icon. When I am on the island only tourists ask me for autographs. I wake up and I watch the see; this is the best way to start the day."

I: What about the role your girlfriend, Maria Francesca, has had duiring the period when you regained your #3 spot?
[actually, #4 was a very brief period]

R: "She has always been very conscious of her role. During good times and bad times. She studies, she leads her own life and she has her carreer. She is an indipendent girl and I like this. It's not true that now she comes to tournaments more often. I wouldn't want her to be always with me, sometimes I prefer my friends and family. But when we decide that she comes, I am happy."

I: Were days long without tennis?

R: "If you stay at home and you cannot practise you are sad. I thought back to the loss against Soderling in Paris and to my withdrawal from Wimbledon. But I had never thought of stopping playing tennis. Never."

I: Eleven months and 13 tournaments. It is the longest period of your career as a pro player without trophies.

R: "Winning is not an obsession. I would be worried if I were sick or if I played poorly. By I am rolling on all cylinders. A win will soon arrive, I can feel it."

I: What is teaching you the rivalry with Federer?

R: "For me it is important to have someone so strong and talented before me. Roger is a much more complete player than me. I have had to improve a lot in order to beat him, I have had to raise the bar of my tennis, I have had to bring out the best in me. He helps me in this."

I: Is it true that you often textmessage each other?

R: "I have his number, we have known each other for many years, we get in touch when we have to congratulate each other, when we have to wish something to each other. We respect each other. When in 2009 he won Paris, I sent a message to him: I was very happy for him because he deserved it [oh please, Rafa... ]

I: You have an uncle who is a Barcellona former defender. Were you close to become a footballer?

R: "Not really. But if I had become a football player I would have been a striker, very fast and very "physical".

I. "Your" Real Madrid is in a transition phase just like you.

R: "Players, coach, a new project and very few time to put everything together. We are not doing that bad in "La Liga". We lost "El Clasico" [I presume is how they call the match Real vs. Barcellona] because Barça was simply better."

I: Will you watch the match Barcelona-Inter, semifinal of the Champions League?

R: "Sure, and I choose Barca: having Messi, they are simply the best team in the world."

I: Nice video of "Gypsy" with Shakira.

R: "I enjoyed doing it, Shakira is great. I met her in Miami, I saw her again at a restaurant in New York by chance. When she got in touch with me for the video I accepted it without even thinking about it. Encantado!".

I: You have always been very strict when it comes to antidoping rules. Have you "softened" your attitude a bit now that you are older?

R: "I am sorry that it seems that I do not want to undertake antidoping tests because it is not true. I do the tests and I want to do the tests. And I want that everybody does them: tennis must be a clean sport. But I am honest when I say that the antidoping rules and procedures - to stay home from 8 am to 9 am or to notify the list of the places where you intend to go to, with whom you intend to go, etc. - are against players' privacy. It's my opinion, of course."

I: So, they do antidoping controls...

R: "Always. I have been "drawn" in every tournament I played this year. Last week I was in Manacor and my bell rang.
I am not asking not to do them. I am asking that the rules are more reasonable. Tennis is a clean sport, we do a lot of tests: I do 20 tests per year at least. By they do not have to be a show, something spectacular or sensational."

I: The strongest emotion experienced so far?

R: "Wimbledon, but it is not the only one. The first Roland Garros, then the second one. But even the final in Rome against Coria was very emotional".

I: Do you ever think to have children like Federer? (at this point Rafa gives a pantagruelic yawn and then smiles)

R: Have I replied to this question?

I: Your dream of happiness.

R: "I have health, friends, a beautiful family. I have a lot more than I have ever dreamed. I'm happy. And winning does not change anything. To triumph in Paris or Wimbledon gives a momentary joy. It's the other happiness that interests me."

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