| March 25, 2012
    
R. NADAL/R. Stepanek

6 2, 6 2

An interview with:

RAFAEL NADAL
 THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.
 Q.  I believe you've lost six games in two matches.  How do you feel you're playing?
 RAFAEL NADAL:  Good.  I did good, solid start of the tournament, no?  Two good matches, comfortable wins.  So happy to be in the fourth round.  That's good.
 Just happy to be in the fourth round winning two matches with, you know, positive feeling and with comfortable results.  Just try to keep doing well and try to keep improving a little bit the level.
 Q.  You played with Marc in Indian Wells and you're playing with Marcel here.  Do you know who you're going to play with in the Olympics?
 RAFAEL NADAL:  I said the other day I'm going to play with Marcel, yeah, if nothing strange happens.
 Q.  Since the subject came up, are you planning on playing mixed doubles at the Olympics?
 RAFAEL NADAL:  That's very far, three tournaments, you cannot play three tournaments in a row during the Olympics, so you never know what's going on.  I don't know if I am gonna be in both competitions competing when the mixed starts.
 If that's happen I will not be able to play, because the rules says you cannot play the three in a row, well, three at the same time.  So I didn't decide that.  I don't have any plan to play mixed, but I am open.
 Q.  Where do the Olympics fit into your priorities for this year?  How important are you treating the games?
 RAFAEL NADAL:  Seriously remain a lot of important tournaments for me before the Olympics.  Olympics is a great event, probably the greatest event in the world of sport, and I am very excited to be back there in the Village, enjoying with the family of sports, family of the world.
 But, you know, I am thinking about Miami now; then I will think about Monte Carlo.
 Q.  You haven't won here.  Does that bother you, or are you going to change it this year or try to?  Obviously try to.
 RAFAEL NADAL:  That's not bothering me.  No, no, no.  I don't gonna win in every tournament.  That's the real thing.  I don't gonna finish my career winning all the tournaments of the tour.
 I will try my best every year here.  I tried in the past playing three fantastic tournaments, three finals.
 So I didn't play enough well to win.  I will keep trying the rest of my career, but that's the game.  No, no, you win, you lose.
 Q.  You are next opponent is Kei Nishikori.  You played with him last year.  You won.  But I think Kei improved a lot from last year, so it will be close match I think.  What do you think?
 RAFAEL NADAL:  Yeah, well, he's a fantastic player and will be a very difficult match for me.
 He has a big talent to hit the ball very early, to play very aggressive.  So, yeah, will be a really tough opponent, no?
 If I am not playing my best, I will have not very good chances to be in the quarterfinals.  So I gonna try to play well.  I gonna try to play aggressive with no mistakes.  If not, gonna be very difficult.
 Q.  You said many times that you play a lot of golf.  I was wondering how often do you play?  Why?  Is it a way to relax for you to play golf?
 RAFAEL NADAL:  I play golf because I love sport in general.  I love all the sports.
 Golf today is a sport that the risk for injury is, you know, very small.
 I love the game in general, no?  I was watching all the afternoon the last round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.  I am a big fan of the sport in general, and golf is one of my favorites.
 Golf is great, because you are always in beautiful places when you are playing.  Most important thing at the same time is you can spend three, four hours, four hours and a half with good company, with friends, with family.
 So that's makes the round good.  You are not playing with people that you don't know.  The family is completely different, no?  Spending time with friends, with family, when I am going to play golf and I will play with them, that's great.
 Q.  A question about your next opponent.  You have played him both on grass and also hard court.  On which surface did you feel comfortable when you play against Nishikori?
 RAFAEL NADAL:  Every match is completely different, but I beat him two times on grass, I believe.  One time here last year.
 I remember all the matches really difficult.  No one match can be easy against him.  I said before, so will be a really difficult match.
 Q.  Nice to catch a little break?  You came on a little later so you didn't get the heat and the humidity that you would get if you played earlier here in Miami.
 RAFAEL NADAL:  I am happy playing that late.  For me is not a problem.  I like to play at this time.  Well, if I play before it's fine, too.
 No, no, no.  So I don't have any problem playing earlier or playing late.

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