"The first set especially I felt that I started the match too nervous, no?" Nadal said. "I wasn't able to hit the ball long. My movements weren't fast enough. I was nervous because he was playing well. I thought that I didn't put enough balls in when I was returning, so I only had break points in second game."
"It's difficult against a player like him, because you don't have chances on return. He hit the ball very, very hard and very flat. Very difficult to find the rhythm."
The 2009 champion said that reaching the semi-finals here will give him plenty of confidence for the rest of the season.
"I felt it was really important match for me, because quarters to semis is a big chance. You start with very good feeling the season. You know, quarterfinals is not a bad result, but at the same time is not a good one, no?" Nadal explained.
"That's why maybe I start the season a little bit nervous, and that's human. But my attitude was positive, which was the right way to overcome the situation. I think I finished the match playing at one of my best -- fourth set was one of my best levels on this kind of surface, returning inside the court, making a lot of winners from with the first ball."
Nadal will now play Roger Federer in Thursday's semi-finals.
