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MONTE-CARLO ROLEX MASTERS

April 15, 2016

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Monte Carlo, Monaco

J. TSONGA/R. Federer

3-6, 6-2, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. A few minutes ago, Roger Federer said he thinks that Rafael Nadal is a strong favorite of this tournament. Do you agree or not?
JO-WILFRIED TSONGA: Yes.

Q. Obviously not the first time you've beaten Roger. Do you think this will end up being a memorable match?
JO-WILFRIED TSONGA: It's good. It's always special to play against him, especially on court, because you have all the crowd against you. Wherever you play, if it's in France or not, it's tough to play against him because you have him, the crowd and all the monument around him.

Yeah, it's always special to win against Federer.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. What do you have to say about your performance today?
JO-WILFRIED TSONGA: I'm happy that I won. All victories are good to take. The one yesterday was very important, and today too. Again, I'm in the semis. I'm happy that I'm still in the tournament and I have a chance to go to the final for the first time.

Q. What did you think of his game? He just came back from an injury.
JO-WILFRIED TSONGA: Well, there was no uncertainty because I knew if he was there, it's because he was able to play. When he doesn't feel that good, he doesn't play.

Yesterday he beat Bautista. It means he's in good shape. I was expecting a difficult match, and that is exactly what happened. He was very reactive, he was running well. From the start, I thought he was very fast.

But I was able to turn it around. He dropped his level a little bit and I was able to come back into the match and end up winning. It's good for me.

Q. At 15-30, 5-4, you managed the situation well. You were calm.
JO-WILFRIED TSONGA: Well, you always feel a bit nervous in those moments. But I managed the situation well. I stayed calm. I didn't panic. I played well at 5-All. I made him play the way I needed to. I played a very good game there. I was able to finish it off after that.

For me the important thing now is to concentrate on what is coming. It was very important to win today. Now I need to prepare for tomorrow.

Q. There were very good rallies, but there were ups and downs sometimes. Is it because it's one of your first matches on clay or his first matches on clay?
JO-WILFRIED TSONGA: This is not the way I saw it. We are both aggressive players and our games do not match well. We don't want to defend; we want to take more risks, be more aggressive when we are in a defensive position. This is why we make many mistakes.

It was not different today.

Q. You didn't show a lot of happiness after winning.
JO-WILFRIED TSONGA: No, I'm extremely happy. Sometimes I don't always show it. I just decided that's how I was going to do it today. That's it.

Q. But why?
JO-WILFRIED TSONGA: I'm not calculating what I'm going to do. That's the feeling I had today. This is how I felt today.

There was no specific reason. I just don't know why.

Q. Were you surprised he didn't make aces for three sets?
JO-WILFRIED TSONGA: Well, that's because of my return, my fabulous return (smiling).

I believe I'm returning better since Indian Wells, I'd say. I've been returning better since then. I am covering the court better in my return games and I'm forcing the opponent to look for the lines a bit more than before.

Q. Are you surprised by this result?
JO-WILFRIED TSONGA: Well, I'm not surprised, but there's not always logic in what you're doing. When you play very well, of course, you can build up the momentum. But I always had ups and downs.

Looking back in my whole career, I see I'm always playing well at the same moments of the year. I don't know if it's because of the conditions. I often play well in France. It's my time because I'm more rested before.

I think since the beginning of my career, it was always the same. I'm not surprised I'm playing well because I played well in the previous weeks. I'm not surprised to have a good result.

Q. You often had good results on clay here and the French Open, but not so much, for example, in Rome or Hamburg.
JO-WILFRIED TSONGA: That's right. I always had better results here in Monte-Carlo and at the French Open.

Q. This is the real clay.
JO-WILFRIED TSONGA: This is not what you say when you're speaking to the press. You say it's a 'different clay'.

Q. What about tomorrow?
JO-WILFRIED TSONGA: I would prefer to play Granollers, of course, because Gael is in very good shape. He won more matches than Marcel since the beginning of this year. He's also a friend, so we don't really want to hurt each other. I'm talking about the court, of course. We don't hit each other in the locker room, of course.

Whatever happens tomorrow, it's going to be very important for me to go through, be it Gael or not. I need to play my best.

Q. It's going to be the first big match of the season.
JO-WILFRIED TSONGA: Without talking about the final, it's going to be an important match one against the other, and maybe the first time on clay. We know each other well. We haven't played each other for a while. Last time was in Miami when I came back from an injury. Since then we didn't play each other. It's going to be new for us.

Q. Are you more afraid of Gael this year because he seems very focused on what he's doing? He's a new Gael. Is he impressive?
JO-WILFRIED TSONGA: True, he played well lately. You feel a bit more worried against him. Before, he had his own way. Now, he changed. But it's still him.

He's certainly improved in a number of things, but it's still him. I don't really know what to expect. I'll go on the court doing what I'm used to doing: trying to be aggressive, serving well. Gael is just the way he is. He is him. It's good.

Q. Apparently you lost a lot of weight?
JO-WILFRIED TSONGA: I lost 10 kilos (smiling). No, I'm as heavy as usual.

Q. Do you consider you are the favorite on clay against Gael?
JO-WILFRIED TSONGA: Not really. He had excellent results on clay, and has played well here already. I also had good results. There's not a real favorite. It's going to be an interesting match. It's difficult to say who will be the favorite.

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