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ROLAND GARROS

May 27, 2015

Stan Wawrinka

PARIS, FRANCE

S. WAWRINKA/D. Lajovic
6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. How did you feel about that match?
STAN WAWRINKA: I feel good. Good win for me. In general start well, play well. In general of the match I had some trouble with my serve, but that's it. I'm happy to get through one more match. Good level in general. That's the most important for me.

Q. I think you have played your next opponent before, Steve Johnson. What do you know about him? How do you prepare for a match like that?
STAN WAWRINKA: I never play him. I saw him. I never practice with him also. That's quite strange. I saw him play a few matches already. He's a dangerous player. He's playing well. He's good from the baseline, good forehand, trying to put pressure. I need to watch a little bit more some of his match on clay, especially, to get a little bit more.

Q. You just said it's strange that you have never practiced before. Are there many -- do you stick to the same players usually or are there many players you haven't practiced with before?
STAN WAWRINKA: No, there is only few I never practice with them. He's not on the tour since many years either, so maybe that's why. Yeah, sometimes we practice always with the same player.

Q. We have been talking to the players about their preferences between staying at hotels or apartments when they are traveling. What's your preference and how often do you do the apartment thing?
STAN WAWRINKA: Depends. I quite like -- I really enjoy the apartment in Wimbledon. That's also why I play Queen's, because then I can stay for one month more there in the same place. But I don't know. Here I have my routine thing in hotel, nice hotel. I have some friends here. And I never try the apartment in Paris. I just stick with the hotel.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. Two questions: The first one is: How did you feel on court No. 2? What difference does it make for you to play on a smaller court than usual? Second question about the balls. Roger said the balls were not alive, so to speak. So could you tell me how you feel the balls and the change with the Masters 1000?
STAN WAWRINKA: Well, court No. 2 is a court I like. It is not as big as the Lenglen or the center court, but in Geneva I have a much smaller court as well, so it's not an issue for me to play on a smaller court. Now, regarding the balls, they do not react as in the past. When you play them with your racquet, they are slightly more flat. It's more difficult to play with these balls as compared to a Penn or Dunlop ball we had in the last weeks. But this is a ball I quite like. It's heavy, so I can place my shots. I can place heavy shots. And I have played with these balls in Geneva before, so it's an advantage for me. I didn't have to adapt when I arrived here.

Q. Rafa explained that he didn't want to be with Carlos Bernardes as umpire since February. Would you make a similar request? And would you say it's a fair request, or should it be an exception?
STAN WAWRINKA: I have already made such request over a short period of time for direct problems and issues I had with the umpire. So when a player makes such a request, it should be granted only if the umpire has made mistakes or faults. If it's just because you don't like the person, this request should not be accepted. Now, I'm not aware of Rafa's motivations. I have read a few articles that said that it would be about the pressure this particular umpire put on him with regards to timing. So you need to be more strict about the 25 seconds, and umpires don't all keep the same watch for all players because they know that if they have trouble with one of the top players and they can't be on their match, well, tough for them, because they like being there for the finals, and if they have problems with top players it becomes difficult with them. So that's the problem we have on the tour with regards to particular rules. Umpires are not as strict on the center court when they are with the top players as compared to when they are on court No. 17.

Q. There are four Grand Slam tournaments in the year. Which is the most difficult for you?
STAN WAWRINKA: All of them (smiling).

Q. Yes, but which is the toughest one for them?
STAN WAWRINKA: No, they are all tough. I was fortunate I won one, but those four Grand Slams are very difficult, and you need to be at a very high level.

Q. For the match today, what happened during the third set? Did you have more difficulties, or is it your opponent that started playing better?
STAN WAWRINKA: He was more relaxed. He played faster. He started playing better. As for me, I was focusing too much on the mistakes I was making. There were things I was not happy about in my game, and then I became negative. As I said, I was probably focusing on things that I was not doing well. So I need to be able and accept that sometimes I don't play the way I want to play, and I need to be able and be more positive about this. But then in the fourth set I played very well. So I'm happy with that.
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