If the surface would matter a lot then Rafa would have won already in Miami, if he has won in fast court why not in slow?
"Q. Actually since Beijing you seem to be playing better and better. Do you feel it? Do you think this surface in a way, which seems quite slow, helps your game more than others or not?
RAFAEL NADAL: I don't play very well in that slow surfaces. I play better in little bit faster surfaces, not slow.
People thinks because I had a lot of success on clay, people thinks I play better on the slower surfaces. But the real thing is in hard court, in the courts that I had more success are in fast courts. Montréal is one of the fastest courts. I had a lot of success in Montréal. When I won the Olympics, was very fast court. Madrid 2005 was a fast court. And for sure Shanghai is fast, no?
When you are playing well, you are playing well in all the surfaces. When you are playing bad, you are playing bad in all the surfaces. Is not true that I play better because the surface is slow, no. I prefer to have little bit faster surface than a slower surface.
I am playing better since Montréal. I was practicing well there, in the US Open, too. If the results don't say that, you don't see the practices, but I know how I was practicing there.
Then the results on Beijing, Shanghai, Basel, Paris confirms that I am playing much better, no? So happy for that. As I said in Beijing, my main goal is try to start next year with my level, with the level that I want to be. I am working to make that happen.
Q. But you were just also saying when it's fast out there, you won Montréal, you were playing great, you won Wimbledon, it was fast. If it's fast here, maybe you can win it?
RAFAEL NADAL: I never say that it's fast here. I never say that is fast here. Here everybody is saying that it's slow. It's not that I'm saying it's fast.
The court is not fast. The court is okay. But it's obvious that I am playing against the best players of the world. I only won the first match. That's important for me, very important. But remain a lot to qualify for that semifinals. I cannot think about winning the tournament today when I only won the first match.
I think about the next match. Then if I am able to win next match, probably I will be in that semifinals. If not I going to keep fighting in the third match to try to be qualify for that semifinals.
I go day by day, that's all."
