Rafael Nadal Feeling No Extra Pressure

Written by: Staff on 9th June 2012

Rafael Nadal Feeling No Extra Pressure

epa03254697 Rafael Nadal of Spain returns to David Ferrer of Spain during their semi final match for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 08 June 2012. EPA/STEPHANE REIX |

At just 26 years old, Rafael Nadal stands on the verge of becoming the first man in history to win seven Roland Garros titles. Standing in his way is World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, a man who has beaten him in the past three Grand Slam finals. The pair will meet for the 33rd time in Sunday’s final, with Djokovic also playing for a piece of history – the chance to become the first player since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four major titles at once.

Speaking the day after his straight-sets dismissal of World No. 6 David Ferrer in the semi-finals, Nadal commented, “It is an opportunity for him. He’s No. 1 in the world. He is having a fantastic season. We’ll see tomorrow. It’s going to be a difficult match for me; hopefully for him, too. I will try my best, as every day.”

The Spaniard also insisted that he feels no extra pressure at the opportunity to write his name in the history books. Nadal won his first Roland Garros title in 2005 (d. Puerta) and reeled off four successive victories before suffering his only defeat on the red clay in Paris to Robin Soderling in the 2009 fourth round. Since then he has won back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011.

“The pressure is the same every year,” said Nadal. “I am here because I try my best every day and because I have a lot of motivation to try to win the tournament. It is not because it’s the seventh, but because it’s Roland Garros. It’s one of my top tournaments of the year, if not the most important. So seriously, extra pressure for me with it being the seventh is zero. The pressure is the same as in any other final of Roland Garros, and that’s the most important thing for me.”

Nadal has enjoyed a scintillating run to the final. Having dominated the European clay-court swing with titles at Monte-Carlo, Barcelona and Rome, the Mallorcan has wrapped up six victories in Paris without losing a single set. He dismissed one of the world’s best clay-courters, Ferrer, for the loss of just five games.

“Yesterday’s match just gave me confidence,” said Nadal. “It confirmed that I am playing well. I played well almost every day. That’s the most important thing for me. For sure, I will have my doubts for tomorrow (against Djokovic). For sure I have to respect the other opponent. He beat me a lot of times. But I am here to fight every ball and to try my best in every moment.”

Before victory over Djokovic in the Monte-Carlo and Rome finals, Nadal had lost seven successive finals against the Serb, including a five hour, 53-minute contest in the Australian Open final in January. It was the longest major championship match in terms of duration. Nadal does not expect a repeat on the clay of Roland Garros, but certainly took a lot from the encounter.

“Before the final it is difficult to imagine another match of six hours,” admitted the left-hander. “But I will be there fighting every ball. We cannot predict what’s going on. He is playing with confidence, and I have to play aggressive; I have to play my game. Try to keep playing the same way that I am playing.

“You want to play very well. You want to be aggressive. You want to change the rhythm. You want to make him uncomfortable. You want to be able to defend with very deep balls. You want to have a very good serve, fast serve, and I guess the rest will follow.”

Topics: David Ferrer, French Open 2012, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Robin Soderling, Roland Garros, Sports, Tennis News