I knew I had played a good tournament -
- and was close to winning.
But it was tough at the time,
because I didn't know if I would ever have another chance to win Wimbledon.
Each point I play and every ball I hit has the intention,
of harassing the opponent.
Finding a way for that shot to win me the point.
The opponent serves and then you need to return.
So you have to go from something that is very explosive, very athletic,
to something calm, with a lot of feeling,
with anticipation and harmony.
And to combine these two opposites -
- results in a good game.
I believe doubts are good -
- because they keep you alert at all times, regardless of your opponent.
Never considering myself good enough and always having that doubt -
- constantly pushes me to improve.
I think he played way better than me.
I wasn't able to do anything.
I didn't play as well as the other days, like I wanted to play,
but, whatever.
Rafael began to train as a kid, every day.
Every day, every single day of his life,
as if it was a tennis tournament.
As if he was playing a final.
I always thought that to make it to the top...
would be hard.
And that we would have to face many kinds of problems.
That's why I always tried to foster in Rafael a tough personality,
to be able to withstand such difficulties.
My ambition would be to get to the highest level.
But for the moment, I'm here, I'm 112 in the world,
and there's still a long way. You have to keep trying, improving, everything.
It's not easy at all.
Well in that time he wasn't the Nadal that we all know now.
I was practicing with him very frequently in Mallorca,
so we knew each other very well.
During that time I won a Grand Slam,
I was number one in the world.
I remember that in practice I almost always beat him.
But once you began to play with him on the court, he turned into a machine.
The first time we played an official tournament was in Hamburg.
I started playing professionally when I was very young, 16,
so I was not as strong as the other players.
Because the ball came to him a bit faster, he hit it a bit late...
And he began to lift his arm more than he was supposed to.
And he realized that was also helping him win.
He's able to play a type of tennis that hadn't been seen before.
Making it so quickly to the professional circuit,
made me find solutions to be competitive -
- and that's the truth.
But it's clear that he had a killer instinct inside the court.
An ambition that I could only wish I had half of.
The tournament you'd most like to win?
Wimbledon.
When something looks easy, it does not mean that it's easy.
It means that Roger is able to do something very difficult.
He's a lot more complex than the majority of players.
Much more creative.
I think I'm the kind of person that -
- always gives it my all.
Competition is about winning.
Rafael, I think he had a great year in clay courts -
- so we went to Roland Garros.
And I believe Rafael played his best tournament.
Game, set and match, Nadal.
6-1, 6-3, 6-0
Wimbledon is a very special tournament.
Personally, I always dreamt of playing on grass,
because it's pretty much the only tournament where that can be done.
It was 2007.
I felt bad in the sense that...
I wasn't able to overcome the adversities in such an important moment.
That hurt.
Yes, so he was very young. He was the youngest of all the players we had at the time.
There were still a lot of moments where he had difficulties concentrating.
He had so much in him already, but he could not express everything yet.
He quickly realized that working on his physical fitness,
would help him to do what he enjoys most, playing.
And to express even better what he can do so well,
which is being creative.
He went through times when he was very, very hard on himself.
He is very, very self-critical.
It's difficult for an artist when he has a desire to express himself,
and he knows how to express himself.
But he can't actually express himself the way he wants to.
And that's why at the beginning of his career,
it may have taken a while,
because there were so many things to put together in the puzzle.
One therefore has to find this harmony.
That's why it's crucial for Roger,
that the man he is, embodies the player he is.
That those two are one and the same thing.
Federer's serve is much better than mine.
He has won many games with his serve,
in under a minute and a few seconds.
That doesn't happen to me...
So I need other virtues that he doesn't have.
We reached the tie break of the third set,
Rafael lost.
Always, when we started,
I used to say to Rafael:
"Good face."
When he started to train I always used to say: “Good face."
Why?
Because it's impossible to learn,
to improve or do anything right when you don't have a good attitude.
When he has had situations against other tennis players,
that have overwhelmed him,
well he has almost always been able to turn things to his side.
And I think doubt or the uncertainty of not being the best...
Makes you try to do it better in some way.
I've never considered myself good enough to just go and train, and just train.
I've always gone training with the desire of improving.
I believe he has no reason not to be humble...
He has no reason to feel special.
He's special when he plays tennis in New York or in Wimbledon,
where there are 20,000 people in the finals.
I don't think it is possible to stop being humble because you perfectly hit a tennis ball.
I don't see the world as Rafa Nadal, the tennis player or tennis star.
I see the world as a normal person.
My life here is completely normal, like any of my friends.
The feeling of belonging to Mallorca, an island,
a place where you always feel comfortable -
- and where you always want to go back because you think it is the place...
That gives you the energy to continue with your professional career.
I think for Rafael this is the place where he feels the tranquility -
- that he can't feel in any other place.
When he comes here, he feels supported by his friends.
He feels the way he did as a kid.
So Rafa, even though he's been traveling since he was young,
he has always wanted to come back.
I believe he has never imagined himself living anywhere but Mallorca.
Here I can see my friends and my family every day -
- and that makes my relationship with my family one of the most important things in my life.
You can spend some time with your family -
- if they come over and you can have a positive and peaceful atmosphere.
Sometimes I cook. Sometimes someone else does.
I like cooking. I have no issues with that.
I can imagine that Nadal, who is a great tennis fighter,
has always looked for the challenge of solving problems.
And I think that with Roger, it's the same thing.
Maybe they each have their philosophy about how to solve the problem.
Roger always needs to feel something positive.
He always needs to feel the opening up of a possibility, a path, a solution.
He's always been himself and I think -
- that this has been his great mental labor his entire life.
I noticed that already when he was young,
he always tried to find a balance between what he does and who he is.
Roger looks for the perfect game. He seeks harmony. He seeks creativity.
But we must not forget that Roger is also ready to fight.
Roger is an artist who knows how to fight.
Whereas Nadal is a fighter who knows how to be an artist as well.
It's similar to ballet.
We don't see the effort, but we know that these people work very hard...
To express grace, to express harmony.
I think that controlling time is what leads you to success.
The greatest sportsmen of history,
have the mental capacity to think faster, see faster -
- and make important decisions faster than others.
Rafa! Roger!
I remember that...
Rafael was up 5 to 2 with two serves.
The match was almost won.
At that moment I started to feel nervous.
When he missed his first serve,
I told Carlos Costa who was sitting next to me, I said: "Double fault."
I didn't want to look.
Once I missed my first serve,
I had a feeling I might double fault.
When I was serving to win Wimbledon,
I thought:
“I'm gonna win Wimbledon”.
That was the worst feeling I’ve had on a tennis court.
I never think “I'm going to win.” Instead, I just focus on the next point.
But that match was so important, I felt that the ball was there and I'd win.
The match was stopped at 2-2 in the fifth set.
I thought the match was lost.
That Federer had a better chance of victory.
Rafa had lost twice before to Federer.
He had had a chance to win,
and it had vanished in front of him.
I went to the locker room,
because I thought I was going to find Rafael with very...
Very low hopes.
I thought: "What can I tell Rafael to motivate him,
to raise his spirits?"
I don't know what Toni meant to tell me at the moment,
but...
I was prepared to take on the challenge and deal with adversity at every moment.
And that's what I told Toni, that I wouldn't fail.
Federer could win.
But I wasn't going to lose.
If he wins, so be it.
But I won't lose.
I do admire Federer's style -
- and those who don't -
- either they don't know about tennis...
Even if you're someone else's fan,
you need to be able to recognize excellence -
- and Federer is excellent in every sense.
Compared to the way things were for years, history was now being rewritten.
The circuit evolves. The players evolve.
If you want to keep the same position,
you have to improve and evolve from the player you were 8 or 10 years ago.
They are always forced to reach their limit. To go a bit further.
But it's not about becoming better, just to win.
But becoming better as a matter of life.
One can win...
Or one can lose.
That's part of our lives.
We need to know how to live with both, defeat and victory.