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ROLAND GARROS

May 24, 2016

David Ferrer

Paris, France

D. FERRER/E. Donskoy

6-1, 6-2, 6-0

THE MODERATOR: Questions in Spanish.

Q. This was a really good win for you. I thought, are you stressed or not? What happened on the court?
DAVID FERRER: Yeah. You feel some pressure, because it's a Grand Slam. But with experience, you can take a little distance. Everything's relative.

But I'm very happy about this win, that I have just won, for several reasons; first, because I won this match, but also because my game was very solid.

Q. Well, I suppose that for you it's important to see that the courts are ready when you walk on to the courts. It's been raining a lot. The conditions are heavy. The balls are heavy. How can you adapt to this?
DAVID FERRER: Well, what you try and do is perhaps change the strings of your racquet. You know the conditions are going to be a bit heavy. In the past three days it's been raining quite a lot.

And then you look at the balls. They're very heavy. They look like they're bigger, and it's more difficult for you to have winning shots.

Q. We have seen how the winner against Cilic was very happy. He won, thanks to a psychologist. And there are others, as well, who asked for a psychologist to help them get more wins. Have you done that, as well?
DAVID FERRER: No. Never. I have never used a psychologist. I think it's positive, you see. Some players need that. For the time being, I have never needed any. I have never asked for a psychologist. Perhaps for personal reasons. That is, I didn't feel I needed them.

But other players might feel the need for a psychologist.

Q. At this moment in this season and this year, I think you've had a number of ups and downs. You have not been very steady. What do you expect from Roland Garros this year? I know it's a difficult question.
DAVID FERRER: That's true. This year was not as smooth as other years, but these are things that do happen. Sometimes you feel you're not one of the best players. We'll see what happens this year.

But this is not really something that worries me. It doesn't worry me at all. My No. 1 priority is not this one.

I don't want to think about this, because that's more pressure. You know, thinking I want to be the best or have the best ranking. What I want is to improve professionally speaking so that I can accept moments when I'm not the best. Or as long as I enjoy playing tennis, as long as I keep being motivated, things are okay.

And then we'll see what happens till the end of the year.

Q. Well, you know, not long ago Rafa was saying that Robert told you that he'd seen a psychologist, but when you have other options offered, when you can find other types of support like reading books or listening to tapes or, you know, I mean, something like this, you have other options, I suppose.
DAVID FERRER: Well, you know, no, it's not the point. These types of self-help books is really not an option for me. I think that these might help some people, that's true. These books might help you gain more confidence.

But in any case, sometimes there is a match when you feel good. You have the right confidence. And sometimes it's not the case.

But, you know, it's about mental preparation. That's what's very important. Accept things that come to you.

Q. You were talking about the balls, and some players are saying that the balls are very heavy, that they're not like they were before. Someone said that in Geneva it was more or less the same. What do you think about this, please?
DAVID FERRER: Well, in Geneva, things are different. There's more altitude. But the balls are the same in Geneva as they are here.

Here, though, I think they're a bit heavier. It's difficult to have winning shots. And during other tournaments I had the impression that the balls were, can I say, quicker. But this year they're a bit more soft. But that's normal. It's rained.

Q. This year, as Guy Forget said, we have been talking about the retractable roof, which is something important. Would you say that when we have a roof on the central court, this might change the conditions that we usually have here, if the courts were more like indoors conditions?
DAVID FERRER: Yeah. That's a good thing to have a retractable roof, but it would be good to have other covered courts permanently. Because when it's raining as much as it's raining this year, then it's difficult. And some players benefit from these conditions more than others.

Now, if we have more covered courts, plus lighting, as well, lighting is something that might help us play. It's not logical to have no lighting on the courts.

Q. I know that people always ask you the question I'm going to ask, but Djokovic is the favorite. What would you say about this? How favorite is he and what would you say when you play against him?
DAVID FERRER: Well, you know, he's No. 1 in the world, so there's nobody better than him. He's having excellent moments this year, the best moments. He has a high level of confidence. So when you have to play against him, I'd say that he dictates the match. Each of his shots are an attacker's shot.

That's the difference between him and other players. That's how he plays.

Q. Would you think that playing on clay makes a difference? We're talking about the Hawk-Eye on clay. Rafael was saying it's useless.
DAVID FERRER: Yeah, it's useless, useless, because the balls are marked, so when it's on the line, it's a bit difficult to know what's happened. But the referees should be very careful about this. I'd rather use Hawk-Eye on a hard surface, but not on clay. On clay it doesn't make sense.

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