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COUPE ROGERS

August 10, 2015

Filip Peliwo

MONTREAL, QUEBEC

S. STAKHOVSKY/F. Peliwo
6‑1, 5‑7, 6‑2

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Can you give us your impressions of the match today?
FILIP PELIWO: Yeah, absolutely. Obviously the start wasn't very good. I didn't feel super nervous, but I didn't feel like I was playing the right way. Was a bit quick too changing direction and trying to do too much with the ball.
Took a few steps back, which I did in the last few days of practice, and it took me too long to realize it ‑ almost too long. Got back in with a few big shots.
You saw when I was rallying with him, hitting high, hitting heavy, moving him around, hitting high percentage, a lot of cross‑courts without trying to change direction on one of the first balls, my game was more than enough to beat this guy.
He did well to stay in there in the third set and take his opportunities when he had them. So credit to him for that. But I feel like the match was really decided on some of my unforced errors. At 2‑All, I gave him four mistakes. All he had to do there was to hit it in. That's where I'm disappointed.
But definitely proud of myself to be able to come back and force that third set. The match was almost over and I managed to get it, so that is something I can build on.
Definitely need to keep my composure and stay more patient with my game and realize it's good enough to stay out there with those guys. It's when I have little doubts and second‑guessing myself, that's when I start to overdo it and overthink it, that's where I start to give it away a little bit.
As soon as I'm a bit more patient and calm and composed... I think I'm on the right track. Just have to keep it going. For the summer, if I do that, I think I'll be pretty quick to get back to where I need to be.

Q. You had a breakpoint in the next game.
FILIP PELIWO: Yeah, I mean, tough. He hit a good serve on the line, skidded out with some slice. I could always tell myself, I should slice that. Going to the slice after I was hitting my return over the ball the whole match is a bit difficult to say.
Look, came up with a big shot there. Not much you can really be down on yourself for.

Q. Down 5‑2 in the second set, did you change anything in your way of thinking or playing?
FILIP PELIWO: Tough to say. I mean, I thought the match was over. Oftentimes when I do that, I kind of release my strokes a little bit and I start playing better. I don't give up, but I'm just like it's going to be tough to get out of here, out of this situation.
But go out, play one point at a time, see what you can do. Don't give it away to him like I pretty much did the whole match. Try to make it tough.
A little nervous, yeah. I came up with a couple big shots, especially down match points. The game can change really quick like that. Next time I can hopefully start even better or keep it going in the third set. That's it.
I think I just have to be able to be more stable and not have those games where I just give it away a few errors in a row. As soon as I get that, I'm pretty sure that my ranking will go up and I'll be a lot closer to where I want to be.

Q. How did you feel after you won the second set?
FILIP PELIWO: Great. But I knew that was just one set, so I had to keep it going for the third. Didn't want to get too high on energy so I could stay calm and composed for the third.
Again, like I said, it was just that one game that really threw me off. Just have to stay there, a bit more solid, I'd say.

Q. If somebody who hasn't seen you play since you won Wimbledon juniors, compared to today, how would you assess your progression since then?
FILIP PELIWO: Well, physically I feel like I'm stronger. The game, when I was doing it properly, I'd say definitely some big improvements. So I definitely think that there are big things that I've improved, a lot of positives to take from this match.
But the thing about playing these guys, as well, that I really like is that it makes it very clear to you what you did wrong and what you did well, what to stick with, what to fix for the next match.
I think definitely starting to get back on the right track. At least against this guy I managed to get a set, compared to in Davis Cup not getting any sets. Some improvement.
I try to be as positive as I can about all these things and not get too down, at the same time really being critical to fix what I was doing wrong.

Q. You're going to be celebrating your third anniversary as a pro fairly soon here. What has been the hardest part for you to establish yourself as a professional player? What's the challenge ahead to become a regular fixture in the top 150 or top 100?
FILIP PELIWO: Obviously the consistency in my game. I've had flashes of really good tennis. But to keep it going has been difficult, especially after that year with the string of injuries, last year.
2013, I mean, I shot up the rankings, seemed to be going in the right direction. But those injuries obviously threw me off. That was really a very difficult time to bounce back from the summer of 2014. Really, I was completely rock bottom with confidence, couldn't get any matches going.
I would say that was really the big, big struggle, to face that diversity, face those difficulties, and really get out of it.
I think I'm finally starting to get on the right track. It took a long time, but I'm a lot more positive and a lot more confident in my game right now.
I'm starting to see, again, the game is there. I can compete with these guys. It's good enough to beat these guys if I manage to stabilize it and keep it consistent.
I think obviously it's been a tough road the last year and a half, but everyone goes through their struggles. Better now than at the peak of my career, having to defend points. You never know, that might happen, too (smiling).
I've got no regrets really. I'm just going out, trying to be focused on the present, really pushing as hard as I can to keep progressing because I know my game is there. I know my potential is there. I can definitely make it to where I want to be. I have to stay on the right track.

Q. You played most of this year on clay. Can you explain why, what it did for you, what positives you could take out of that.
FILIP PELIWO: Absolutely. I've been training in Europe a lot obviously. Clay, I can play well on it. It just takes time sometimes to get used to it, adjust my game a little bit.
But I think generally clay is really good for me in the sense that it teaches me a bit of patience and really forces me to move my feet properly, which my whole game relies on. My whole game is based on my footwork, my leg speed, power coming from my legs into my shots. Playing on clay really brings that out.
I obviously think I could have maximized my experience on clay this year a bit more. But obviously that accident I had in Italy on court, pulling my psoas, tearing it a little bit, sent me back a little bit.
I definitely think it's good for me. I used to train on clay a lot here, back at the NTC, on green clay. The coaches pushed hard to do a lot of work on that. It always helped me. So it's good.

Q. You talked about the power in your legs. Did you feel in the final couple of games, a lot of shots that came up short, was that a question of being tired?
FILIP PELIWO: A little bit. More just I think being a little nervous. When I did go out and use my legs, the shots were fine. Sometimes I need to realize when I'm starting to wrist the ball, kind of whip the arm across instead of going through it.
I think it's just a matter of being focused and really being on point with my mental awareness of when I'm getting away from what I have to do.
As long as I keep working on that and getting better, it will be all good.

Q. Tough at this level when you get a chance to play a Masters 1000 compared to the other tournaments you're playing, the feeling that there's a good chance, money and points. Hard to forget that kind of stuff?
FILIP PELIWO: Yes and no. I'm getting a lot better at that now. I'm not putting a lot of pressure on myself with ranking and points to be made.
I know had I won, obviously my ranking would have taken a big jump. To play well, you can't be thinking about that. It's been something that obviously I hadn't done so well in the last year and a half.
Really I have to defend these points, I have to make points here. I was really focused on all of that instead of my game. I started to move away from all the good things I was doing.
I think it's something to think about after the match. At least you try to (smiling).

Q. Can you explain what happened in the third set when you challenged the serve?
FILIP PELIWO: Basically he said I took too long with it after the point is done, compared to in between first and second serve. Obviously I haven't had as much experience with challenges as maybe some other guys. I don't know. I mean, he did kind of the same thing after one of his serves. Walked up to the net, took about 30 seconds. Oh, yeah, I said I challenged, but I was just really going to check the mark.
But that's how it is. That didn't decide the match. I mean, it's just one little thing. I didn't really let it bother me. I just kept going.

Q. You're looking at this match in a positive manner, even though you lost it?
FILIP PELIWO: Yeah, absolutely. There's obviously things I can be disappointed about, but I think I did a lot of good things out there. When I did do them well, as I said, I saw that I was winning pretty comfortably.
Definitely a lot of positives to take from, to build on, and really think it's important for me, essential for me to keep doing what I did well in this match, leading up to this week, Davis Cup, with the work I did there, to keep that level and standard of performance, to try to build my consistency, build my threshold for my level of play.
As soon as I keep doing that, I think the summer's going to be going well. It's really all I can do.

Q. You've talked about sort of growing comfortable as you've continued on the tour here on the court. What about off the court, the daily travel, commitments, life as a pro tennis player. Comes with a challenge. How do you overcome those sort of obstacles, maybe some loneliness, that sort of thing?
FILIP PELIWO: This is a part of tennis that I've been doing for a long time. It doesn't begin at the pro level. In juniors, I moved away when I was 15 from my family to a new city, new program. Obviously I was traveling with some other players, but I had moments where it was just me and my coach.
It's part of the job. Obviously sometimes it would be nicer to have friends around. Other times I don't mind being on my own, doing my own thing, relaxing like that.
So it's definitely not the worst part of the job. It's a good tradeoff for what you get to do. I love to be able to play tennis, travel, compete at this level ‑ hopefully more often. Definitely a lot more pros than cons on that side.

Q. What is coming next for you?
FILIP PELIWO: Tournament‑wise?

Q. Yes.
FILIP PELIWO: I'm playing Vancouver, the challenger there. I'm going to leave within a few days. Probably figure that out with my coaches. Haven't spoken with him about what the best idea is. Maybe stay here and play some points, have some training sessions with the guys here. Obviously it's top level.
Then afterwards I've got five 15,000s in Canada planned. See how it goes. If I do well, maybe I'll take one of them off and try to extend my level a little bit longer, maybe take a week to train, keep the level of physical performance up there.
Then we'll see. It really depends how I do. So just have to take it as I go afterwards.

Q. You said you were training with some players here in the next few days. I've seen you practice with guys like Seppi, for example. How much does it help you?
FILIP PELIWO: I think it definitely helps a lot to get used to the pace, bring out your best game, see how they train, see what you have to do to raise your game to that level, for me to bring out the game I know I can play.
As I said about the match, playing with these guys really makes it very clear what you're doing wrong because they expose your weaknesses a lot better than a guy ranked 500, for example. It also shows you what you're doing very well, what your strengths are, how to use them.
I think that definitely there's no negatives about playing with these guys. It's very, very good experience. I think the more practice I can get with players like this, matches in a real tournament at this level, definitely gives me a lot of positives and really helps me improve my game. So that's what I'm working for.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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