Juan Ignacio Londero: 'I felt like a champion facing Rafael Nadal'
Juan Ignacio Londero lost to Rafael Nadal in a straight-set French Open fourth round. The Argentinean player takes the positives from this experience. "I feel sort of like a champion because on such a big court I played very well against Nadal. I felt that I was going to be more nervous, but in the end, it was not the case. So I'm very happy because I played very well. And I moved very well on the court", said Londero.
Asked what he learned from this experience during a Grand Slam, Londero replied: "I won three matches. It's going to be a great lesson for me, and I'm going to use this experience for the next Grand Slams. First, I have the experience of having played a final draw, and then playing three matches in a row. And physically I feel fine. After having played one in three sets and then one in four sets and then one in five sets, and 2 hours and 15 with Nadal, I gave everything. Maybe I should improve my physical shape, but I feel -- I'm really satisfied. I feel like a champion. It's strange what I'm going to say, but I had the impression or the strange feeling indeed. It was like a normal match. It's strange indeed, but today when I woke up, my heart was beating very fast, because I knew I was going to play Nadal. And then five minutes before the match, I said, Okay, listen, let's try and play a normal match. So I came on the court with all my means and with my usual tennis. And I thought I was not going to play as well as I played, so I'm very satisfied. I'm very happy because I really fought very well. I fought very well, and I had the impression that at some point I could even win the match. So I had excellent feelings. It showed that I looked somewhat to the crowd, to the top, and it's incredible to play on such a big court. Whereas in the past I was playing on very small courts. It's true that it's been an incredible week. At the same time, I knew that it was a Grand Slam, but I had also the impression that it was a normal match."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2QOaKBK
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