00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:02 Hello.
00:09 [INAUDIBLE]
00:10 [INAUDIBLE]
00:11 Hello, everyone.
00:12 Please, no filming.
00:14 Rafa, welcome back to Roland Garros.
00:16 When did you find out about your first-round opponent,
00:18 and what was your reaction?
00:22 Well, I was playing some parchees.
00:25 And yeah, at some point, somebody tell me the draw.
00:31 I mean, the reaction is--
00:33 I mean, something that I expected in some way.
00:36 When you are not seeded, anything can happen.
00:40 So that's part of the business when you are not seeded.
00:45 In my case now, I just accept.
00:50 That's the thing.
00:53 You never know what's lucky or unlucky.
00:55 Of course, on the paper, it's not the best draw.
01:01 I play against one of the toughest opponents possible.
01:06 And at the same time, he came here winning the last event.
01:11 And he's a Master 1000.
01:12 He's not a small one.
01:15 So just, yeah, what can I do?
01:18 That's the draw.
01:19 Just try to be ready for it.
01:21 [LAUGHTER]
01:23 Hi, Rafa.
01:27 Hello.
01:29 When did you decide for sure to play here this time?
01:34 You had said you had some doubts in Rome.
01:38 And have you decided for sure whether this
01:42 will be your final French Open?
01:45 Because everybody is assuming it will be.
01:47 But I don't know if you've decided that for sure.
01:51 No, I don't assume that.
01:54 I mean, I said in Rome after the press conference,
01:58 have been a little bit of misunderstanding in some way.
02:01 But I say that my feelings, even after that tough match,
02:06 was that I had been improving in some ways,
02:09 in terms of physical issues.
02:11 So my goal was--
02:13 my reaction was I wanted to play here.
02:16 Then I needed to check how I felt the days after in different
02:28 matters, in terms of tennis, in terms of mentality,
02:33 and in terms of physical issues.
02:37 So of course, immediately, I didn't
02:40 want to say in the press conference,
02:42 immediately, you have the feeling
02:45 that I did a disaster in Rome.
02:49 So you feel, OK, I need to play Roland-Garros to do it better.
02:53 But at the same time, I wanted to wait a couple of days,
02:59 give me some time to see how I feel in all the matters
03:05 that I told you.
03:06 And I felt better.
03:08 I felt ready.
03:09 Mentally, I was with the right motivation to be here.
03:15 And physically, I feel better, honestly.
03:17 I am improving in different ways.
03:22 I have less limitations than three or four weeks ago,
03:26 without a doubt.
03:29 And in terms of if that's going to be my last Roland-Garros,
03:32 it's a long answer.
03:33 But I think I need to answer that,
03:35 because we're going to avoid future questions
03:38 since the beginning.
03:40 So I'm going to do it.
03:45 As I said, it's a big, big chance
03:48 that's going to be my last Roland-Garros.
03:50 But if I have to tell you it's 100% my last Roland-Garros,
03:55 sorry, but I will not.
03:56 Because I cannot predict what's going on.
04:01 And I hope you understand myself.
04:05 I have been going through a long process of recovery
04:10 with a very difficult injury, almost two years of suffering,
04:15 a recovering process that seems like I feel better now.
04:23 I am not a guy that reacts because I lost there
04:27 or I lost in the other place.
04:28 No one reacts about my personal feelings.
04:31 And my personal feelings are better now
04:33 than one month and a half ago, without a doubt.
04:36 So in some way, I don't want to close 100% the door,
04:43 because of very simple things.
04:46 First thing, I am enjoying playing tennis.
04:48 Second thing, I am traveling with the family.
04:52 They are enjoying.
04:53 I am enjoying sharing all this process with them.
04:57 And third thing, I was not able to explore yet
05:03 the proper way how I will be able to play,
05:08 being again in more or less healthy conditions,
05:12 playing without limitation.
05:13 So give me some time, maybe in one month and a half.
05:19 I say, OK, it's enough.
05:20 I can't keep going.
05:22 But today, in some way, I cannot guarantee
05:26 that that's going to be the last one.
05:28 But of course, it's a big chance.
05:31 Rafa, given how special this place is,
05:33 what emotions do you think you're going to feel this week?
05:36 And secondly, what will it feel like to have your son
05:39 watching you at this special place play tennis?
05:41 No, I don't think he is not watching me.
05:45 I think he doesn't realize nothing yet.
05:47 So I just enjoy every time that I have the chance
05:55 to be around here.
05:56 I am feeling an amazing support of the people.
06:01 That gives me a lot of power.
06:06 And emotionally, it's something that
06:08 is going to stay with me forever.
06:11 And yeah, I am having a good week of practices.
06:15 I probably will say it's the first week
06:18 since I come back playing tennis that I
06:21 am able to run the proper way without having
06:26 a lot of limitations.
06:28 And that encourages me.
06:29 I mean, of course, that does not mean
06:35 that I'm going to be out there on Monday
06:36 and I'm going to play incredible.
06:38 No, I think it's going to be something very difficult
06:40 to make that happen, because I didn't have under my shoulders
06:45 enough moments to play at that highest level.
06:49 But in some way, this place is magical for me.
06:53 So it happened a lot of times, things
06:56 that were difficult to imagine.
07:00 So if in the bottom of my heart, I
07:04 don't have any hope to have success here
07:09 and to create a beautiful thing this year,
07:12 I will not be here in front of you guys.
07:14 So I'm still having the motivation.
07:19 And a small, but at least it's a small hope to play well.
07:25 Rafa, it's unusual to see the top players playing
07:28 the week before a Grand Slam.
07:29 I think I'm right in saying you've never played
07:31 a tournament the week before.
07:32 I did, but a super long time ago.
07:34 Sorry for not realizing.
07:36 Can you just talk about whether you've ever
07:38 considered, when you're struggling for formal fitness,
07:40 whether you've ever considered playing the week before Roland
07:43 Garros?
07:43 And if not, why not?
07:44 For example, Novak's playing this week,
07:46 and we're surprised to see that.
07:48 I want to be here before.
07:52 That's the main reason.
07:53 I mean, I don't think playing Geneva or Lyon
07:58 going to make a big difference on what can happen here.
08:03 Doesn't matter in some way.
08:05 And I prioritize the practices here.
08:09 First of all, what moves myself today is the motivation.
08:16 And I do the things that still give myself
08:27 positive vibes, positive emotions.
08:30 And practice here one week before
08:32 is giving me a lot of things that the other two events will
08:37 not give me internally.
08:39 So that's, for me, the main thing,
08:40 more than other stuff.
08:41 Just about personal feelings and emotionally.
08:46 Hi, Rafa.
08:47 You talked quite a bit about limitations
08:49 and that you've been able to remove
08:51 some of those limitations, as in moving better.
08:53 Are there other things that are holding you back right now?
08:56 And how have you progressed overall,
08:57 training-wise, since Rome?
09:01 I was practicing better in Rome, too.
09:02 Then I was not able to show on court.
09:05 No, but in terms of-- obviously, not showing.
09:10 [LAUGHTER]
09:13 I mean, it's a different tournament.
09:14 It's a different feeling completely.
09:19 But I progressed.
09:23 In the practices, without a doubt,
09:24 I improved, especially in terms of movements.
09:30 So I don't feel the limitations that I
09:33 felt in Rome in terms of running both sides.
09:37 So that's a lot for me.
09:39 I mean, not only about thinking in terms
09:44 of having an amazing result here,
09:46 but thinking about give myself a little bit more room
09:51 to think about what can happen in the future.
09:54 Hi, Rafa.
09:58 You said this was a magical place.
10:00 Has just being here made your body feel better?
10:04 Has it had an effect on--
10:06 I mean, just in terms of being comfortable,
10:10 or in the way that your opponent on Monday
10:13 once said that when you come here, you hit the ball harder?
10:16 No, unfortunately not.
10:17 It's not that magic.
10:19 But I am feeling better.
10:24 That's the truth.
10:25 Not because I'm here, probably because we did things
10:31 to try to feel better.
10:32 And we have been working without a stop
10:37 to keep going with the process to try to arrive here
10:43 in a proper way.
10:44 Then, of course, the process have been not the ideal one.
10:48 I wanted to have that process months ago
10:50 and start with the feeling that I have today.
10:55 In Monte Carlo, you can't manage what you can't manage.
11:00 The things went like this.
11:02 And here we are.
11:03 And I am grateful that I am able to be in Roland-Garros
11:07 and give myself a chance to play at least one more time here.
11:12 Maybe the last one.
11:13 Maybe not.
11:14 But let's explore.
11:20 I mean, I can't.
11:24 I hope to be clear.
11:25 I mean, I don't want to create a big confession.
11:27 But I am enjoying what I am doing.
11:30 And sorry, but I am feeling competitive on the practices.
11:35 Probably not yet on the professional matches.
11:39 But yeah, on the practices, I can tell you.
11:44 I am able to play almost against anyone.
11:48 And I don't feel much worse than the others.
11:50 So that's giving me some hope.
11:51 Yeah.
11:53 Hey, Rafa.
11:54 Rafa here.
11:55 Whether or not this is your last Roland-Garros,
11:57 all the fans and the players have
11:59 talked about how thankful they are for what
12:01 you've done for the sport.
12:02 Is there anything you'd like to say to them as well?
12:06 No, I just can't say thanks.
12:08 I saw some things.
12:09 I just can't say thanks to all the love
12:12 that I received from the players, from the organizers,
12:16 from the tournaments, from all the community of tennis
12:20 and sport.
12:20 I feel very proud that I live a positive legacy there.
12:30 Not only about tennis, not about probably like a human person.
12:36 So that's more important than any result
12:39 at the end of the day.
12:40 Because the results are there.
12:42 That's it.
12:43 The rest of the things, in some way,
12:46 it's something that makes me feel proud
12:49 that I am going to the places and the people
12:52 are happy to see me.
12:56 I mean, in some way, you can fake the crowd.
13:01 You can fake the people who don't know you in a diary basis.
13:06 You can create an image there.
13:08 But you can't create an image with all the people that
13:12 are working on a daily basis on the ATP tour,
13:15 on Roland-Garros, on Rome, on Madrid, on every day,
13:20 people who really know who you are
13:22 and who you are realistically, not like a tennis player,
13:26 like a human person.
13:28 So I feel very proud and happy that I am going to the places.
13:32 I feel the love of all the people
13:35 who are involved in the tournaments behind the scenes.
13:39 That's great.
13:41 I don't feel that I am the player that, OK,
13:44 I don't want to see him another time.
13:47 I feel that the people who are working on the tournaments
13:50 feel happy to watch me again.
13:52 And that's something that I enjoy.
13:55 Rafa, you seem happy with the way this week has gone.
13:58 But when you don't know what will happen,
14:01 how you will respond to a match day,
14:04 is that a little bit different to before?
14:05 And does it make a little bit anxious sometimes?
14:08 No, I am not anxious.
14:09 I am focused on trying to play well.
14:11 That's it.
14:14 It's a super tough first round.
14:16 Maybe I go there and I repeat the disaster of Rome.
14:21 It's a possibility, of course.
14:24 I am not hiding.
14:26 I don't want to hide that.
14:29 But in my mind, it's do something different
14:35 and play much better and give myself
14:37 a chance to be competitive.
14:38 Then it's going to be enough or not.
14:40 I mean, I didn't play five matches
14:42 since a super long time ago.
14:46 I didn't play at this level of opponents
14:50 being competitive since a super long time ago.
14:52 So all these questions that I understand
14:56 that you are making to me, I am asking to myself too.
15:03 But the answer is going to be on Monday.
15:05 That's it.
15:06 The rest of the things are just talking and talking
15:10 and at the end it doesn't matter.
15:12 No, it's about my feelings.
15:13 My feelings are better.
15:14 I want to enjoy that match.
15:17 It's not ideal that it's the first match
15:19 because I feel competitive to have this match later
15:23 on the tournament.
15:25 But it's how it is.
15:25 And I need to be ready since the beginning.
15:28 Let's see.
15:29 [MUSIC PLAYING]
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