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ROLAND GARROS

May 28, 2016

Kristina Mladenovic

Paris, France

S. WILLIAMS/K. Mladenovic

6-4, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. You didn't show any sign of nervousness in the second set. So what was going through your mind? Do you really feel you have a chance?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Yeah, second or first set, actually. Yeah, no, I'm quite satisfied of what I showed out there, you know, and when I stepped on the court I really believed I wanted to go out there and give my best and try to win.

So from the moment where you believe in yourself, then, yeah, you just go for it and it will be a shame that you seem nervous and you're just totally away from your match.

Yeah, I just think, you know, overall it was a huge experience for me, but it was not the first one. Kind of used to playing on big courts, especially here. I beat once No. 2 in the world on Lenglen. Today was totally different, it's Serena Williams in the third round on Chatrier.

Yeah, I prepare myself mentally, and I really wanted to go there to win, so I think that's why the outcome was like this today.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. You said you would do this during a tennis match, and it would be a tough match.
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Yeah, well, you tell me. But I think it was a good match, a beautiful match, as well. On both sides, I think. Sometimes, you know, there are days that she's not really into the match or she has difficulties due to what she does, but today I think it was really difficult for both of us. I think I put out good tennis, solid, from the first to the last ball.

And during the rallies I thought that "she was beatable."

But then, as I said, I told you, she's exceptional, and her biggest strength is her serves. She hit me so much with those serves. But then I'm a bit frustrated. She's such a great champion, and she manages to escape and find a way out with this weapon.

Sometimes her statistical results with her serve are not as good as today, and this is what I felt today. There's not much difference in the match. There's just one break point. First set when we were 5-4, and then I seized this opportunity on the break point when it was 4-All, and then I took a risk and to be aggressive on my forehand where she serves really long balls in the second balls.

But today she was so impressive with her serve. There were many games when it was 30-All, and each time it was a big first serve.

And yet I think I returned quite well. This is incredible. There's no moment when she went down. No, so on both sides it was a good fight, a beautiful fight.

Q. At the end of the match, you looked moved, very moved.
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: I was not moved. I was disappointed. And to be frank, I was disappointed because I felt I was there. I was not overplaying. And I'll repeat what I said before, maybe that's a bit pretentious, but I was not on the court just to be there and lose the match and say, Okay, I'm very happy, I'm losing okay, but that's Serena, you know.

No, I wanted to go for it. I wanted to go as deep as I could. Now, look at the script or scenario of the match. It's just one break point in the whole match. I had the right tactics to bother her. And in the tiebreak, as well, you know, what I tried was very difficult. I was so aggressive. I made some mistakes, that's true.

But then, yeah, so I'd say I'm disappointed rather, because it's a few centimeters. It's a few shots. That's all. I could have won the second set. It doesn't mean I would have won the whole match. But then it would have been a totally different story had we started a third set.

So, yeah, I'm a bit disappointed offhand.

Q. Now, what you regret is perhaps the forehand shot when it was 5-2?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Well, yeah, obviously. If it was in or in another zone, perhaps along the line, it could have been 6-2. But then what she did was to put pressure on me so I could make a mistake. My forehand was not that bad, but it was at the end of her run, it was backhand she played, and the ball was longer than I expected, deeper. I was not -- my position on my legs was not that good and therefore the pressure was on me.

And then after, you know, there are many other moments when I returned, and I was tougher and these are things that people tend to forget more quickly.

But then, you know, this is exactly what it's about. Serena Williams played at such a high level, and she's one of the best in the world. And the slightest mistake that you're going to make you're going to pay for it.

And during the tiebreak I felt I was dominating most of the shots, and it was based mainly on my shots.

Q. You're talking about tactics. What was your game plan?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: I'm not going to tell you. I'll keep this to myself. Keep it secret. No, no, no, it's too complicated say anything about it.

I think you have to play smart. You know, this girl has very few weaknesses, and, well, sometimes, you know, or rather today I had some very nice winning shots. But it's so hard. She's such a strong hitter. You have to open up the court, or you have to hit really strong so that she has to run, and you can't finish each point with a winning shot.

So you have to fight differently, know the zones on the court where she's going to make direct mistakes.

Q. Now, what about you and the crowd? It was very crowded on the central court at the end. There's probably some type of communion?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Yeah, it was incredible. Wonderful. I expected something like this. You know, when we talk about this the day before, which is what we did, this is exactly the match I was thinking about. Well, I would have liked an extra set. Well, yeah, that's true, you can see it in the results, but otherwise the scenario, the script, was not bad. It's like a thriller, a thriller. It's a mental thing.

I was holding on. It was raining. I wear lenses for my eyes. I tried a dropshot, I couldn't see anything yet. I managed to fare rather well. I managed to hold on to my serve game, and then it stopped before the tiebreak.

And then in the locker rooms, I tried to have somebody to take care of me, and then I don't have the impression I stopped really for a long time. It's the most important match that I have ever played. And to stop on the Chatrier against Serena at such a level in the score, it's incredible.

But the crowd was incredible. So much warmth when we were on the court. I think they were very eager. I can understand them, they wanted to watch this match. And all of a sudden with the rain, they probably felt frustrated.

But I'm glad, because this is how it happened and therefore it added this little extra stress and adrenaline and this spice. I really enjoyed playing with such conditions.

When I was in the locker rooms, I must say the only thing I wanted was to be back on the court. I was thinking, this is exceptional, these moments are exceptional. It's the Chatrier. It's crowded. When you're in the narrow corridor, and they are shouting because the tarps have been removed, they are shouting because they want to see us.

Now, with a little more distance, I'd say this is going to be very positive day for me inasmuch as I will draw the lessons from that.

Q. Now, wouldn't you say that this is one of the best matches you've played in terms of the tennis style?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: It's hard to say, because I'll say it's easier to produce extra good tennis when you don't have all of these factors around. I mean, for any player. It's simpler if it's a smaller court, when you don't have that much pressure, when the stakes are lower. It's easier to produce a better type of tennis.

So given the circumstances, given also perhaps the lack of experience I have, I had never played against her, I think that what I did was not bad, because, you know, I could have been totally wrong, I could have been too weak, I could have been impressed, or even play a correct match, but then the score would have been a classic type of midway classic score. You know, everybody would have said, It's quite normal.

But frankly, no, I didn't "overplay." Today I returned really well, I think, because this is one of the shots I like, you know. When I begin a point, the serves, the returns, that's my game. When I play doubles, I play many doubles, but on the tour I never had such a big server in front of me. I was surprised to see I was returning and it was almost a forehand smash as I returned her shots. But then she would hit along the line with her forehand and win the point.

Anyway, apart from my returns, I think I was really good, one of my best matches in terms of my returns, because she served so well. Yet I returned very often, and during the rallies or during the game I would say no, no, it was a solid game, and sometimes I would use creativity, sometimes too much creativity, it was too much.

But, no, solid. Well, of course very good tennis, but nothing outstanding or exceptional like saying all of my shots are in. No, no, well, you can see that. Look at the tiebreak. I missed a few forehand shots, and had I been flying in the air, they would have been in and not out.

So I had game intentions that I had been working on before that were at the back of my head. But generally speaking, frankly, this was really at a high level. You know, she's Serena, after all, so of course it was a good match.

Q. What about her shots? The quality of her shots? You have never played against her. You know her. Is it surprising? I think today she was hitting particularly strongly.
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Well, her shots is something I expected. So the conclusion is that, yeah, she's a big hitter, but this didn't bother me. From the baseline, at least. From the baseline. It's when she would serve that it really bothered me. It's unusual to see such serves, 185 or above that speed with such a high level of percentage and such accuracy.

If it's 190, but, you know, once I think I had a return, a winning return, and she had served at 198, and I returned I think, and mine was in.

Q. We're talking about accuracy.
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Yeah, her accuracy and her powerful serves. I know she's good at that, but yet I was surprised, because she was holding on and on. She never doubted a single second about anything. The fact that I was a big fighter, too, and from the baseline she's a big hitter, that's true.

But I didn't have the impression I couldn't manage the situation in terms of her power, and the power of her baseline shots.

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