|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
ROLAND GARROSMay 25, 2015Thanasi KokkinakisPARIS, FRANCE T. KOKKINAKIS/N. Basilashvili 3-6, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2 THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Thoughts on that win? THANASI KOKKINAKIS: It's always good to win my first main draw French Open. Narrowly missed out last year. It's great to be in the main draw this year and get a win. It was a scrappy win, but happy I got through in the end. Q. Just your thoughts on the next round as well against Bernie. THANASI KOKKINAKIS: Yeah, I played Bernie a couple times. I've been on the worse end of the stick. The last time I felt like I could have gotten him. It was pretty close in Indian Wells. Feel like I'm playing good enough tennis to knock him off. Should be a good match. Q. Bernie says he's still a little bit under the weather and whatnot. Will you be falling for that little bluff? THANASI KOKKINAKIS: Not really. Q. Nick was telling us earlier that Andy Murray's athleticism inspires him and he wants to be like him. I know you've spent some time with him as well. What kind of things that Murray has that you would like to have or what kind of things can you learn or pick up from him? THANASI KOKKINAKIS: I mean, everything he does is pretty good and pretty high level. Obviously moves great, returns really well, and his backhand is phenomenal. He's is good guy as well. So it's really good to have him that I can talk to and kind of hit with in tournaments. It's good to have one of the big guys. I also get access to bigger courts. (Smiling.) Q. What sort of a difference is the clay going to make when you face Bernie in the next round? THANASI KOKKINAKIS: It's a little bit slower. I think -- I mean, I don't know how the match is going to go, but he likes to hit a flatter ball, and won't do as much on clay, I don't think. Or hope it won't as it did on the two hard courts. I think my shots are a little more spinny than his. Should be a good match. Give me a bit more time to execute what I want to do. Q. Obviously this will get a lot of attention back in Australia. How do you separate playing Bernie next and not get occupied by the possibility of playing the world No. 1 in the third round? THANASI KOKKINAKIS: Yeah, be a pretty incredible task. Had the same thing at Indian Wells. If I beat Bernie I would've played Djokovic in the quarters there. Yeah, love to get a crack at Novak, but Bernie is a tough task. Got to go out and try and play the ball. I know his game and he knows mine. Yeah, I think we know what each other is going to try to do. Q. Is there anything that you can take that you learned from the last time you played him in Indian Wells, something you think might swing it your way? THANASI KOKKINAKIS: Well, in Brisbane we had a tight first set which could have gone either way, and then he killed my in the second set. The last match at Indian Wells, I really felt like I should've won, to be honest. Couple of missed chances here and there. Yeah, I think he knows I'm not far off with him and I know I'm not far off, so I guess I can take that confidence going into the next match. Q. Was there a memo going round that you all had the same shirt and shorts on? THANASI KOKKINAKIS: We were told by Nike to wear it. Actually I sent him a text after the match, because we either get the black gear or the orange gear. We get both actually, but they prefer us to wear the orange or the pink or whatever. So I said to him straightaway, I'm wearing black tomorrow. Q. With your ranking improving this year, do you, A, set yourself a new goal, and do you feel like you belong in the top league now? THANASI KOKKINAKIS: Yeah, for sure. It's always good to kind of establish yourself in the rankings. Not needing wildcards in Grand Slams is a good thing now, and a lot of tour events. Just want to keep building and improving my game. I know if my game improves the results and the ranking will come. Q. How much do you enjoy playing on clay? THANASI KOKKINAKIS: Yeah, it's gone pretty well so far. Last couple weeks I've been playing pretty good. I don't know what my favorite surfaces is yet. Still trying to work it out. I hope I can like every surface. Yeah, I'm enjoying the clay courts. 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
|