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ROLAND GARROS

May 26, 2015

Stephane Robert

PARIS, FRANCE

K. EDMUNDS/S. Robert
2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French, please.

Q. After the match, how do you feel? I mean, probably lots of emotions, nice atmosphere, and then disappointed at the end?
STEPHANE ROBERT: Yeah, incredible atmosphere. It's wonderful to be supported during the whole match. Incredible atmosphere. It's always been the case for me last week during the qualification rounds and today again. So today I didn't play my best tennis. I was good and strong in my head because I accepted to play, but I thought, I'm not hitting enough. I accepted this fight and that's part of the game sometimes. Then I'm disappointed about the fifth set because I had some problems with my racquet. I thought, I'm not hitting the balls, I'm not on the court, and morally I was suffering. I thought, No, I'm not going to be able to fight against him. Then I won the fourth set and it was a bit based on emotions, because I had the impression he didn't know how to play his tennis and he was a bit nervous. Therefore, the fourth set, I won it out of surprise. Well, of course I played a number of nice points. I tend to forget this now. But, yeah, then during the fifth set I was no longer on the court.

Q. (No microphone.)
STEPHANE ROBERT: Yes, I have some problems with my racquet sometimes. I don't like breaking the strings during the match. When I have different feelings it's more complicated. But I didn't have great feelings from the very beginning, so it was not easy to manage for me. But then I was a bit puzzled by that.

Q. And when you see Andy Murray came during the fifth set and he was shouting a lot and supporting his friend from the same country, how did you feel about this? Don't you care?
STEPHANE ROBERT: What happened?

Q. Andy Murray came as if he were a fan. He was shouting a lot.
STEPHANE ROBERT: That's good. He supports his country. That's good. He's happy as well. And he's young. I don't know how young, 20 I suppose. The Brits, they're right in supporting their players. They don't have that many players so they have to encourage them. If he's got the support from No. 1, of course he's going to be happy. Look at this player. This player is so strong mentally. I didn't make his life easy today, but he was holding to it, sticking to it. He's very solid. He is one of the future hopes of tennis, I think.

Q. What about you? Did you hope you would get those emotions? Did you think before you would experience such a thing?
STEPHANE ROBERT: Not at all. I reached the qualification rounds and I am living each match as they come. I have not won many matches so I thought, Okay, well, I prepared well; I feel good. Now there is a difference between that, practice and competition. We know that sometimes the difference is difficult to manage. I got qualified, and then you know what I did? Some of my matches I was nervous during these matches because I have not competed enough. I'm happy to have managed it this way, because last match during the qualification rounds was a complicated scenario for me. Odds were against me. But then I managed to win the match. I was so very satisfied. Also, you know it's not that easy for me to be qualified during Roland Garros. So it's the second time. I was very surprised. Not very surprised. I knew I was playing well. I was working to get qualified, but there are other parameters I can't control, like the draw. For me the draw was not that bad, which means I could go through the qualification and then another good draw for me. So, well, you see, I had luck.

Q. I have two questions: Did you realize that he almost had a cramp during the fifth set? Probably you saw that. Another question is what about you with five sets? Is that something you thought you could do even with your legs?
STEPHANE ROBERT: Yes, I saw he was suffering from cramps. Not my problem. I was in my game. It was tough for me. It was difficult. I saw him, but I didn't want to hit harder because sometimes it happens that you see he's going to have a cramp, therefore I'm going to win the match. But that's dangerous. Sometimes I've won matches when I had cramps, so I know you can be dangerous sometimes because you feel you know that you have the energy, and therefore you do your best to try and finish with a few strokes. As far as I was concerned, it was okay for me. I didn't have any problems. It was not too warm. Therefore, I was quite at ease, comfortable, and I didn't have to run a lot on the court, so I felt really good mentally.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. Were you at all worried about the fact that Edmund went away for that break at the end of the third set? Can you just give me an impression of how far you think he might go in the tournament?
STEPHANE ROBERT: It was no problem for me. I was thinking, What can I do when he's out? For me doesn't matter. I was wondering if I have to run a little bit to keep the warm in my body, but doesn't matter. Otherwise, yeah, he's a really strong player, I think mentally strong. Yeah, it's a bit funny to see this guy because he has a game to play on clay. Looks like he's very comfortable on clay. So, yeah, it's strange feeling for a British player. I think maybe he's the best guy on clay. I don't know. Yeah, he's playing with spin with the forehand. It's not typical for a British player. For example, Murray is playing flat on both side. So, yeah, looks look he likes to play on clay.
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