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ROLAND GARROS

May 29, 2016

Stan Wawrinka

Paris, France

S. WAWRINKA/V. Troicki

7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. Can you give us your thoughts on that match?
STAN WAWRINKA: Yeah, it was tough first two sets. Tough condition also. Not easy to play your best tennis in general. Really happy with the win, I think. I think it's a great victory for me. I was trying to just stay calm with myself, find my game all over the match. He start to play really well the third and fourth set.

Q. Have you ever played with a ball kid in the middle of a match before?
STAN WAWRINKA: No, never. First time (smiling).

Q. You just wanted to stay warm? How did the idea...
STAN WAWRINKA: I don't know. I was a little bit bored, was waiting for him, was talking to the ball kid. He told me -- I asked him if he was playing tennis. I said, Okay, let's play.

Q. For the first time in a couple years there is not going to be ranking points at the Olympics. A few players have said they were upset about that. Wondered if it was a concern or a problem for you.
STAN WAWRINKA: I more or less think the same that the other players said, for sure. It's a big tournament. You will have normally all the best player. You should have some points like we had the last few times. That's for sure.

Q. Can you talk about your next opponent?
STAN WAWRINKA: Ramos? Yeah. I saw he beat Raonic today. He's playing really well since the beginning of the tournament.

I play him a few times already. Last week was really easy match, but before that was always some tough matches. He's a really dangerous player. He's a player that maybe from my side, yeah, you don't think he's going to be that tough, but when you play against him he's a tough player to play.

Q. I think I saw statistics today, and it said today is your 50th Grand Slam win with Magnus. Just wondering if you were aware of that at all or not.
STAN WAWRINKA: Not really, but I know that we have been -- we had some quite good result in Grand Slam with Magnus. Always good to have him around. Hopefully I can keep winning here. That's the most important.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. So you lose set 2, but from the outside you give the impression that you can't lose, that you're still very robust. We have a feeling that you can even become even better in the next week.
STAN WAWRINKA: I think you have said it all in a nutshell. For me, it was a great win, a great match, a very robust match.

The conditions were a bit difficult. It was a player I know well. Sometimes he plays really well; sometimes he yields more. Initially it was good game play, but it was slightly confused.

So I tried to tweak the little mistakes to kind of fine-tune and clean up my game. But I would say that the main thing is mentally. I managed to stay very calm, I didn't get excited, or irritated, even though I lost the second set.

I go on to the court to win, not for the style. I do the job. I'm there to win the match, and it's really positive to see that of course I can play better still. That's no surprise.

The important thing is not to give your best tennis style; it's to win the match. That's where I'm happy with the manner in which I played this game. I managed to play better, I managed to find solutions.

Although the match was rather long, I know that I didn't expend any intellectual energy that much, because I was very serene. I was at peace with myself. Being in quarterfinals again is great. Of course I don't want to stop there, but I also want to enjoy what's happening.

Q. So you felt more and more confident match after match?
STAN WAWRINKA: Yes, of course. I'm still around. I'm a good tennis player. Physically and in terms of game play I can deliver. Intellectually there were ups and downs at some points, but if I look at what's been happening since the start of the tournament, when I need to be there, I am.

I know that I may be able to tighten a few nuts and bolts here and there when the going gets tough, to improve even more.

But I'm playing well. I'm enjoying. I'm winning matches. I'm in a quarterfinal now. Of course on paper I'm the favorite against Ramos. I know what to do to win, and then I'll just see how it goes, and at the end of the two weeks I'll take stock and see whether I was really good or just okay.

Q. Have you ever played on such a heavy terrain for such a long period?
STAN WAWRINKA: I'd need to think about that, but it's true that when it rains with these very heavy balls -- today, of course, was very heavy. But you need to adapt to that. Whether it's quick or slow, whether it's hot or cold, I always try to impose my game play. For the time being, I'm happy with the way things have gone.

Q. If you could choose the weather, what would it be? What would the perfect conditions be?
STAN WAWRINKA: For me, the weather is like the draw. You can't do anything about it. It also depends against who you're playing. I don't really have all of these questions, because in fact you can't change it, and nothing will change.

I'm very happy that I managed to win this match today. It's raining now. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to finish it. So it's all positive.

Of course the conditions were difficult, but they're difficult for everyone.

Q. How do you think the future of French tennis is looking with the little ball boy?
STAN WAWRINKA: Well, he wasn't afraid to be on the central court. He was a nice kid. We had a little chat. I asked him if he played tennis, and I thought, why don't we go and hit a few balls. I thought it was nice. It was nice for him. It was fun for the audience, and it kept me busy.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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