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DAVIS CUP FINALS: SWITZERLAND v FRANCENovember 21, 2014Jo-Wilfried TsongaLILLE, FRANCE S. WAWRINKA/J. Tsonga THE MODERATOR: Questions in English. Q. Jo, your feeling about your overall level of play, and if you feel that maybe Stan's match play helped him manage the match in the critical situations better than you. JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: I don't know. About me, I just did my match. Was not easy. Stan was good today. He played a good match. That's it. There is nothing to say really. He was just better than me today. He took the point. That's it. I think, of course, he played well, you know, during the season. He always play well. He played more big matches than me, you know, this year. So, of course, he's got the experience. But, you know, I'm playing this competition since a while now. I'm supposed to have also this experience. So today he was just better than me, and that's it. Q. The first match is always important. What is your general feeling about the team and chances after the first loss? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Yeah, the first match is important. But anyway, you know, I think now I have to stay positive for my teammates. You know, personally I'm a little bit disappointed, but I have to stay positive for my teammates. It's not finished. We're still in the game. We can come back. I hope Gael will do the job and bring France to 1‑1. After that, if he does it, we're still in the game. Q. What does it feel like to play in front of the biggest crowd of tennis ever? Today was the record of all times. JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Yeah, it was good. It's not every day it happens. You try to enjoy it, but at the same time you play a Davis Cup final, and you don't think really about it. You just go on court to play your match and try to play your best tennis. So it's really cool to have all these people cheering for us, for tennis. But anyway, I'm still disappointed. THE MODERATOR: Questions in French. Q. You said Wawrinka had a very good season, but did you expect such a tough match? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Yes, I expected a very tough match, like it was. It's been awhile already that Stan has been playing very well. He is top four, and he's there for a reason. He improved a lot lately. Of course, I was expecting a very complicated match. Nowadays in top tennis, sometimes it's just a matter of little things. Today I believe he was better on those little things and that made a great difference. I have nothing more to say about today. I don't believe I could have done a lot better. Of course, I could have had a better first‑serve percentage and I could have hit the ball a bit harder. But it was not today, and that's it. Q. Before the match you said it was not a matter of tennis but rather a matter of emotions. Do you believe in the first set you were maybe caught by your emotions? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Well, every time I play in Davis Cup I am a bit overwhelmed by my emotions. I believe this happens to all of us. Some are able to manage that a bit better. But I believe if I lost 6‑1 in this first set it was also because he played a lot better than I did, nothing more. Q. Do you believe that the difference also comes from the rhythm? He just played the Masters and he's still on a roll. Maybe the fact that you played fewer matches in competition lately made a difference? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: It's always tough to say that kind of thing. Look at Roger now. He hasn't stopped playing for four months. He won everything. He just lost the first set 6‑1. So there's no rules. The only thing I can say is that Stan was better than I was on that first set. We shouldn't try to find reasons that do not exist. Q. Do you think the crowd was supporting you enough or did you expect more? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: It's a bit what we expected. When the teams were introduced, they applauded Stan more than us, Roger more than us. We hear the Swiss spectators more than we hear the French ones. Stan, for example, announced that the ball was out, and it was in. I just went to check the mark, and I was booed in my own country ‑ maybe not by the French spectators but by the Swiss spectators. It's annoying, you know. But we need to go and get the enthusiasm of the French crowd by the quality of our game. It's because I was not winning today maybe that this happened. I'm hoping that for the next matches it's going to change. Q. We saw you getting a bit annoyed talking with Clement. We understood you were maybe not able to hit the ball harder. Was it the racquet? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: I don't really want to comment on this because every time I answer to that type of question, people say I'm trying to find excuses. So I don't really want to say anything about this. Sometimes on the court we say things to each other. We have a feeling at a given moment. We are trying to explain to the captain what we are feeling so that he can find a solution for us. We are trying to talk. But I'm not going to comment on every wordy said on the bench. First of all, my mind is not very clear in those moments. I say things, but it's not always very wise what I'm saying. Q. You were talking about details that made a difference. Which ones were there? At Love‑30 on Stan's serve, for example? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Yes, it's that type of thing. In those moments, that's where the difference is made. In the beginning of that game I was playing well. I lost my serve. After winning the second set, I maybe unconsciously hit less hard or I was less aggressive. That gave him the opportunity of coming back into the match and being aggressive. There are, indeed, moments in the match that might be key, but I didn't see the match on video yet. Q. From outside we had the feeling you were not hitting well. Did you change something in your racquet? Did you change the tension of your strings? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: No, I didn't change anything. I get my racquets back during the match because I have them strung, but I didn't change anything. Q. Now are you eager to play the doubles match? Maybe that disappointment can give you a lot of strength. JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Well, yeah, I want to compensate and do better. I don't want to stay with this. But it doesn't depend on me. I'm not the one deciding. We are going to talk about this with the team. I am hoping that Gael will win the second point. I hope the discussion will take place with us being 1‑1. Q. So the general feeling is a disappointment? You didn't start the final the way you wanted to, or was Stan just better than you? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Well, the feeling is that today I just played someone who was better than I was at that given moment. Nothing more. What can I say? I went on the court giving everything I had, everything I could today, and it was not enough, or at least it was just a bit less than my opponent. But I hope I'll be able to do better in another match. I hope it will be positive that time. Q. You've been waiting for this moment for four years. We know in Belgrade you were extremely hurt. Maybe waiting such a long time made it a bit more difficult for you today. JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: I don't really know. It's difficult to say. It's complicated to say things like that because we don't really know. Maybe tomorrow I'll play the best tennis of my life, and the day after, too. Who knows? Or, on the contrary, I might play extremely bad. I'll talk about it at the end. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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