|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
ROLAND GARROSJune 2, 2015Jo-Wilfried TsongaPARIS, FRANCE J. TSONGA/K. Nishikori THE MODERATOR: Questions in English. Q. How much did the scoreboard metal falling down change the match, do you think? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Yeah, I think it change a lot, especially because I think Kei discuss during this time, you know, with his coach, and he came on the court with different purpose. He played a lot better. He gave me a lot of difficulty, you know, to find a solution. So the match turn, and then it was a fifth set. But then I served pretty well and I was really solid. Finally I closed the match. Q. Kei just said his strategies didn't work at all, especially in the first set. So how about your side of the story? Did you prepare any specific tactic for this match against him? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Yeah. You know, my best tactic, you know, it's to be ‑‑to play, you know, on my best shot, you know. Today I don't really care about who is in front of me, you know. The most important today is me, just to be focused on what I'm doing good. Of course, you know, there is some tactic. You know, some times you have some guys who have better forehand than backhand and stuff. Of course we try to do as good as possible, you know, on this point. But today I think the most important was, you know, really be focused on what I'm doing good, because I think I will win with my best shot, you know, and not with the weakness of my opponent today. Especially because now, you know, we are in quarters and semis and all the players are really good, you know. They don't have so many weakness. The best thing is to fight and try to be focused on what I'm doing good. Q. How did you get the idea to make yourself a T at the end on the ground? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: You know, I just had decided a long time ago and when I finish the match, I said, Okay, I will do that. But, you know, it was something I will say that‑‑ I don't know. I don't have in English, but... Sincere. It was sincere from me. You know, anyway, people, you know, always support me a lot during those match, and so it was the possibility for me to thank them. (Smiling.) Q. Obviously today is really windy, and Kei said he was struggling with this condition a lot, but did you feel like you did handle this situation quite well today? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: You know, when you win you always did well. (Smiling.) I was struggling too with this wind. It's never easy for both of us. Today was tough conditions. I just manage a little bit better than him maybe because I won, but I had also troubles with wind. But, you know, that's tennis. The round before I played against Tomas Berdych and the condition was also horrible. But, yeah, anyway, we have to play. You know, it's good when you win. (Smiling.) THE MODERATOR: Questions in French. Q. Would you say a month ago that you would have said you would have reached the semis here on the French Open? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Well, yeah. (Laughter). Well, you know what? You know, we're working hard all the time. We have ambitions. My ambitions I always say each time I start a tournament, I say I want to go as deep as I can. Had it been quarterfinals, it would have been quarterfinals. If it's semis, it's semis. If it's more, if it's better, voila, this is it. I will play for that. That is, to try and see how far I can go and what I can do. I will try and do as best as I can. There's one thing that is clear enough, is that I never set myself any limits in terms of my results, because we are to try and achieve as best as we can, the best results of our lives, of our careers. Therefore, I play these matches as best as I can, and then the results are what they are. Q. The beginning of your match was really good. The first two sets were really impeccable. Then the metal plate fell and you stopped. Then you were back. Everything changed. What happened in between? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Well, you know, a total turn around, that's true. I won the second set, and I think that Kei had the opportunity to speak with his coach during the break. I think he couldn't find the solutions himself on his own during the first two sets. Since we had stopped, he had time to discuss with his coaches and they decided something. I felt that when he was back on the court. You know, he came with different intentions altogether, and therefore this is something that upset me. I thought, I'm going to continue with my plan. Everything is going to go on really smoothly. He turned around the match at that moment. And then during the fifth set I was very solid when I was serving. I put more pressure on him. Physically I was trying to push him back to the wall, and this paid off at the end of the day. Q. Now, even though he came back two sets all, I had the impression that you never were too much afraid. Is that what you're working on, as well? That is, how to manage a full match? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Sometimes you don't really know where you are. All players do that. It's happens it all of them. What's very important is if you're no longer in the match is how long it's going to last. If it's too long, then you're going to lose the match. It's as simple as this. This time I "managed" not to be too frustrated. Well, not long enough for me to go down. So my head was clear, if I can say, two sets all, and I was clear sighted and solid. Q. Before the match people talked about his backhand shots. You made your first direct unforced error backhand error in the middle of the second set. Do you feel good now with this shot, which is perhaps your weakness, was your weakness during the tournament and for this match as well? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: It's always been one of my weaknesses, that's true. I don't miss many of those because I don't try many of those. (Smiling.) You know, I try to turn around the ball and hit with my forehand. I know that my backhand shot is not my strong point with which I'm going to win the match, so I try and do what I know and the shots I know, the winners, the winning serves, so that I don't have to use my backhand and then turn around my balls so that I can hit forehands. You know, the one with which I make many mistakes or errors is when I give the opportunity to the other players to become more aggressive. Look at the statistics. I don't make many errors, but I don't have many winners, either. There we are. Q. Back to the moment when you stopped. He changed his tactics. Is that what bothered you, or is it because you stopped because you were on the right tracks? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: It's a bit of everything, you know. I don't know. If I were to play the same match, I don't know if I'd play better. I'm not sure. Well, that's true. He had other intentions. The fact that we stopped, well, you know, I'm a bit like a diesel engine, you know. I'm a strong guy, so that the machine gets started after a while. When it's stopped, it's been switched off, it's a bit complicated. But I did that rather well, I think, because otherwise I wouldn't have won the match. Q. Let's talk about this match against Wawrinka. What's going to change for you now in terms of the pressure versus the Davis Cup matches? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Well, nothing much can happen to me, you know, now. Nothing much can happen. I have reached semis here, and I'm going to play against a better‑seeded player who has been playing better than I have in the recent past. Well, you know what I will try and do? I will try and do what I have done since the beginning of the tournament: to be serious and to try and "focus on what I can do best." That's about it. Nothing to lose, I think. Not much to lose. Q. Six semis in a Grand Slam. It's an interesting career. What would you say about this? And also, now when people look at your career, the journalists, the public, etcetera, do you think they are too tough because you have not won any Grand Slams or Davis Cups? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Well, you know, it's up to me to change the deal. Of course I don't really like being criticized. Nobody likes this, I think, to be criticized. Therefore there are moments when it's more difficult. For example, it all depends on your results. This means that you're going to be criticized. And finally, you're going to be praised when you reach semis at Roland Garros as if you had already won the tournament. Whereas, in fact, well, you know, to me it's not ended yet. Therefore, since the most recent episodes, I try and take a lot of distance and not to pay too much attention to all these papers. What I do is for myself. It is also "my own dream." Now, the dream of others is not my dream, and therefore, I try and focus and stay on my path. Q. (Off microphone.) JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Well, these six semis, well, that's wonderful, but I have not yet won it. So six semis, that's all very nice. I have not yet won it. The good thing would be to win one day. The earlier I can do this‑‑ well, if this happens, the earlier the better, because then it will do me a lot of good. But, well, we'll see. We'll see when the time comes. You know, the future is the next match. I will try and focus on the match to come, and that's all. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|