	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

ROLAND GARROS

May 25, 2015

Lucas Pouille

PARIS, FRANCE

G. SIMON/L. Pouille
3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French, please.

Q. What happened at the beginning of the second set? I was in the public getting the impression that things were going well and then something happened at the beginning of the second set.
LUCAS POUILLE: Well, we had -- I was at 0-40, and he gave me a winning backhand, and then at four aces I then attempted a backhand. It just went out. Then 3-0. After that, I became a little tense. I think I made some inappropriate decisions. He got more confident, and for me it got more complicated.

Q. How would you compare Lucas last year here at Roland Garros first round and Lucas this year? You're now in the top 100. You have obviously more options in your game play.
LUCAS POUILLE: I think I made progress across the board in all areas. The fact I did the first tour last year and again this year doesn't mean I didn't make any progress. Gilles is a very good player. He's No. 12 or 13. He's there not for nothing. He plays very well. Things could have been a little better at the beginning of the second set, and then I could have recovered. I could have, you know, increased my self-confidence. Problems, the first two games in the second set were not very good for me. He got confidence. I did not. And then things got more complicated. But compared to last year I feel better physically. I feel better in my play. That's it.

Q. Were you deconcentrated about the fact that people talked about you working with Yannick Noah?
LUCAS POUILLE: Absolutely not. It did not affect me.

Q. One of the subjects people have been talking about since the beginning of the tournament this year is that a lot of players are 30 or more. You are one of the younger players. How does it feel to be 20 years old and, you know, walking the steps of people who are ahead of you who are 30-plus, 33, 34, who are very competitive. When you think back about a match, there is a 10-year gap. How does it feel?
LUCAS POUILLE: They have experience compared to younger players. Physically speaking, they are more endurant. When you get a better player, you play more. I think the average age in the top 100 is 27. When you're 19, 20, 21, you're, you know, part of the new kids on the block. In a game like today, age doesn't make the difference really. You know, I failed. It is my own fault. I got a little tense. First set went very well. I don't think it is age-related. I don't think age played a role today in my losing the match.

Q. I got the impression that he got into -- he felt how you were playing, and you didn't really adjust your play. Do you have any regrets? Do you think you should have maybe attempted something else?
LUCAS POUILLE: Well, I think things worked well in the first set for me, which was good. They didn't work in the second set because it just didn't -- I wasn't as good. He has floating balls. They are very difficult. It was a little windy. The wind was swirling. It makes it difficult to, you know, become and stay aggressive. Again, as I said, I got a little tense and I think I got more approximate in my game. It became more difficult for me to make the right decisions. I wasn't lucid as I should have been.

Q. Coming back to your work with Yannick, could you tell us a little bit how this happened and what you've done?
LUCAS POUILLE: Well, I think we answered about how it happened. Clearly we work together in a way where he helps me, and he has a lot that he can help me with mentally and how to win, how to approach a match, how to manage fear as well, fear that sometimes hits you when you're on the court. It happens to me sometimes, and I think it is good to have him on my side. Of course it doesn't mean that overnight, you know, everything is going to go well for me, but I think that in the long run he can really help me. It will do me a lot of good.

Q. Have you seen Yannick after the match? If yes, what did he tell you?
LUCAS POUILLE: No. I did not see him after the match. I was with him right before the match. But I have not seen him yet after the match. I'm sure we will see each other tomorrow or the next day.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297