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ROLAND GARROS

May 30, 2015

Timea Bacsinszky

PARIS, FRANCE

T. BACSINSZKY/M. Keys
6-4, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French, please.

Q. Congratulations. Can you tell us how much your first game, that is the second in the match, how much it was important for everything that came afterwards?
TIMEA BACSINSZKY: Yes, I do think this second game was very important. To put me on the right tracks. That's always good. It was a good start. Then it was a way for me to show I was very much present on the court. Whatever the number of break points that would be against me, I would do everything I can to keep my serve and win on my serve. If I had not been able to do that, she would've been leading 2-Love. So it was a very good attitude I managed. I sent signals to show that the match would be difficult and long, and that's it.

Q. Tactically I think your game was absolutely excellent. Had you designed a tactic before your match, or did you find it as you played?
TIMEA BACSINSZKY: Before I play each match, I have a pre-established tactics. Like I have a Plan A, Plan B, Plan C. I'm a very spontaneous person. You probably noticed that for those of you who have been following me for a while. That's something you can also see on the court. This is also something I use. I use my instinct at crucial moments in the match, or maybe at less crucial moments. There is always this touch of spontaneity. I'm not always sticking to the tactics. Of course you can decide on something with your coach, but when the point is being played, it's the player who decides to play the point with their forehand or backhand. This is what best the players use a lot, their instinct. I'm working on this with my coach at the moment. Of course, he's sort of steering the ship, but he will always let me express this spontaneous side of me.

Q. You were talking about having the right attitude. I have been very impressed, and I think many people have been impressed, by how focused you were. You were very much focused on your game. Even if someone had walked bare naked on the court you would not have been disturbed.
TIMEA BACSINSZKY: It would take more to disturb me.

Q. No, but it's as if you were in your bubble and you could not be distracted. Have you worked on that a lot over the last six months?
TIMEA BACSINSZKY: This is a whole process. It takes time. You can't be entirely focused for two hours without making any mistakes, so of course I worked on that. But I've been working on that for quite a long time. I've been trying to do that both during practice and during matches. Maybe you can see that on the court today. I'm very proud of it, because I think that's a constant in human beings. We always go for what's easy. It's easy to be sitting there doing nothing. What's difficult is to go back to work, to try and push back your limits. Of course it's difficult, because there are days which are more difficult than others. You may have things in your private life that make your job more difficult. But we always said, Okay, we have two hours, three hours, four hours to be present on the court, so I worked on maintaining my focus for as long as I could. If there is a drop in my focus, okay, fine. It happens. Next time I'll try and focus for one more minute. That's already a small win if you manage to be focused for one more minute.

Q. It's here that you had this opportunity to come back to tennis and have the second phase of your career. What do you feel about it?
TIMEA BACSINSZKY: I'm so proud and happy. It's funny, by the way. There is a colleague in the hotel I was working at, his name is Jules. I remember I'd called in the morning and said, I can't make it to work this morning, so can you put me through to the director? He said, I should have recorded this conversation, because your voice was incredible. I think it's going to be a beautiful story. He told me that. And after my match he sent me a text message and he said, Do you realize that two years ago you were walking off the job and going to play at Roland Garros? I think it's nice to have these small stories. It does show that human beings can go beyond their limits and that they can try and create something new. Whether here or on any other tournament, a Grand Slam or in any other tournament, each time I win a match I'm very happy. We all know that life can go the other way at any moment. So whether it be a first round, second round, semifinals, whatever the tournament, it's very important to enjoy every success and to absorb positive energies for your next round.

Q. There won't be any DiCaprio this time.
TIMEA BACSINSZKY: Maybe other things.

Q. Talking about Plan A, B, C, how do you prepare? Did you watch videos? Did you know Madison Keys well? You said you had a bit of time to prepare, so how did you work out your tactics?
TIMEA BACSINSZKY: How can I answer your question without giving too much information? I'm not going to tell you everything that works in my preparation. How can I give you information without giving too much information? That's something I need to learn. Of course I knew the kind of player she is, so I knew that this would not be a Spanish-school type of the match. I knew her game a bit, so I felt okay. This is how she should start the match, and if she doesn't, I'll adapt and do something different. But I want to show that I was very much present on every point, and that if she wanted to win this match, she would have to fight a long match and play every point. That was the basis for my tactics. I think I did a good job in this answer.

Q. Your next opponent, Kvitova, you won in January. Do you remember the match?
TIMEA BACSINSZKY: It was a very good match on my side. She is a very good player. She plays very well on important points. For that match, I probably managed better couple of difficult points in the match. Otherwise it was 6-4, 6-4, a very tight score, very -- we were very close all match long. She is very aggressive and she has very accurate shots, an extremely good serve, and huge experience at large events. The further we go in the tournament the more difficult the matches, so I do expect a big fight. I hope I can find a way to win as many points as possible. I hope for the best. I hope I can go to the next round.

Q. There is a big match tomorrow in the men's singles, Monfils and Federer. When we look at GaÃ«l, we don't know what is going to come out. You know him quite well. Could you describe this player, his character, and tell us what you feel about tomorrow's match?
TIMEA BACSINSZKY: Yes, you're right. Over the last few years I knew him pretty well. Now, over the last two years we've not seen each other that much, whether in Lausanne or Lyon. But we sometimes see each other during tournaments, and over two years we evolved a lot as human beings. But from what I know from GaÃ«l when he was playing in juniors, he's a guy who loves to make the show. You know that already. Sometimes he finds energy when you think he has no energy left. Maybe he uses too much energy by playing very long matches, by sticking to tactics, or going freestyle. Anything can happen. His major asset to me is surprise. This can knock some players out, because they don't like being surprised. Physically he is a great athlete. He's incredible. I think he can transcend with the support of the crowd. He likes to put on a show because he's playing in front of his crowd in his country. Now, I think Roger, well, I wouldn't dare talk too much about Roger's game. I want to be very modest here. But I think he loves this cat-and-mouse type of game. Although we are in Paris playing in front of GaÃ«l's crowd, I'm confident Roger can play a very good match. So it's going to be a great match, and I'll be watching it.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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