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ROLAND GARROS

June 6, 2017

Kristina Mladenovic

Paris, France

T. BACSINSZKY/K. Mladenovic

6-4, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.

Q. Obviously a long day with all the rain and stuff. Just how tough was it to keep your focus through all the long breaks, having to stop and start and stop and start?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Yeah, it's tough, of course. It's part of our sport. It's not the first time it's happening to me, to us. Of course it's difficult, but, yeah, we are used to it.

Q. What do you think would have made the difference today? What do you think kind of skewed things her way and what do you feel you could have done if you could have executed to turn it around?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: I think today I just didn't manage to play my game, my game plan obviously due to the conditions today out there.

I think she managed to play way better than me. Maybe her game suits these kind of conditions better, so, you know, at times when I wanted to be more aggressive, I did too many errors. I still had some opportunities here and there but didn't make it.

You know, at the end, it's a quite close scoreboard, 4 and 4, but I feel I'm very far from the game I could have shown.

Q. Were you surprised by the way she played? Before her match during the warmup, your hitting partner was hitting lots of forehand slices but she didn't do that during the match. Did that surprise you?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: She did a lot. She did all the key points. She sliced it in defense and I missed some and probably the most important shots today.

Q. A lot has happened, a lot of dramatic matches. How do you look back on this one after losing today?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Yeah, I mean, you know, it's a quarterfinal of a slam, and, you know, I'm just improving. I keep improving. You know, I have quite -- I mean, very positive record here in Roland Garros. I have been very consistent reaching -- you know, I think it was the fourth consecutive year I was reaching third round.

This year I even improve that stat, reaching quarters. Yeah, it's pretty positive. It's only on the way of improvement.

Q. It seems to me that the atmosphere, the crowd, was a little bit lighter in respect of other days. Did you feel it? And if you felt it, do you think that maybe it's the stadium or the conditions that people are afraid to get out because of the rain or maybe she's well beloved and respected, if you felt it?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Oh, I think the atmosphere was great. Maybe it feels different because Chatrier is bigger and maybe people are, like, not that close from the court and the players, and Lenglen is.

Also, the fact that conditions were tough. People were probably cold, like, you know, and long day for them, interruptions. Yeah, you know, compared to the previous one, it was probably more fun for the people. You know, it was sunny, nice weather and everything. Today they were, like, waiting. It was probably also long for them.

No, I didn't think atmosphere was bad at all.

Q. In terms of the conditions, what was kind of, I guess, the most difficult to deal with? The interruptions, the wind, the rain? I mean, there was a lot going on. For you, what was kind of the most difficult thing?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Yeah, just what I said. Like, tennis-wise, you know, the match can be so different if it's, like, 35 degrees, sunny, and the surface is faster. Or like today is humid, slower. It's like two different matches, two different tournaments.

That's just what I said. I think Timea is way better than me on that kind of today's conditions. You know, so the wind, of course, I couldn't, like, serve my powerful serve. I'm, I think, a little bit more aggressive than her and couldn't really put this game plan on today.

And, yeah, I mean, interruption, that's not an excuse. We're used to it. Like I said, it's not the first match in the career that it's happening, and also something that I had to deal with it. I think she handled -- like, her game style and stuff dealt way better than me today with these conditions, and that's it.

Q. Of course, besides this quarterfinals, you had an amazing week. What's the best memory you're going to bring with you from this week?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Well, a lot, there's a lot to take with me, a lot of positives, of course.

When I look back and the day before the tournament starts and when I blocked my back and I saw the doctors and they were like pessimistic about my first round and how it went. I can only look back and be positive because I was very close of kind of being injured and even competing.

So, yeah, when I look back and see I made it to the quarters and had so many, you know, great moments on the court, big wins, great game, you know. Even today, I think I was very, very far from my best tennis and it was still a close two-sets match. So, in quarterfinal of a slam, so it would be silly if I'm not positive about that.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. Before this match you played for nine hours. It means that you dug deep physically, emotionally. You dealt with difficult conditions. Did you think that this had an impact or not?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Not at all. Physically I felt well. I could have played for hours and hours. That was not the problem, the issue.

I felt fresh. I was under the impression I was starting a tournament. I was fresh. No back pain. So I was ready.

Today, I didn't manage to set my game up. Lots of different factors can explain that situation. At the end of the day, she played better than me, especially on crucial points.

Q. Apart from your level that was not as good as the previous matches, emotionally you were less there. Was it because of your feelings? Was it because of the conditions? What were the reasons, in fact?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Can you repeat the question, please?

Q. Did you feel less involved or was it a bad impression?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: I think that I clenched my fist quite often during the match. No, I don't know what to tell you.

At the start you noticed that the wind was blowing, swirling. It was difficult to play good tennis, as I said in English.

Her technique, her style were in sync with the weather conditions so she was better able to handle the conditions. It was slow, it was humid, it was damp. Last time we played each other, the surface was different. The surface was faster. So conditions, the opponent were different relative to the previous match that we played together.

I didn't play my best tennis, but I lost 6-4, 6-4. If I had seized the opportunities, it could have been different.

Q. In the second set, you were broken 4-3. You seemed to be very emotional. You were almost in tears. Was it a matter of frustration? Is it because you reached a quarterfinal? Do you think that the conditions spoiled the show?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: I came back. I had an opportunity to level the match at 5-5. I could have lost 6-3. So I fought hard, but I knew that I couldn't play my tennis. I couldn't play at my best level.

But this is part of tennis. This is sport. Timea, she has the right game for these types of conditions.

Q. What about this adventure, first time in the quarterfinal at the French Open? Do you look forward to next year?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: There are some positives, a quarterfinal at the French Open. As I told you, at the start of the tournament was tough. My back was sore.

And I think that I passed a new milestone. The past three or four years at the French Open have been very consistent, even though there are lots of expectations, there is a lot of pressure.

Having said that, I managed to win matches. Today against a good Timea, it was a tight match, even though I haven't delivered my best tennis. So even though I was defeated today, there are lots of positives. This year there were big wins. So I need to look ahead. During all those matches, I was able to produce good tennis.

The level of my game since the start of the season has been quite good, so I need to be positive and optimistic.

Q. During the first rain delay, how did you manage the situation? Did you say to yourself, It's raining, so I will be able to be in the match? What crossed your mind?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: It's not the first time it's happened to me. In Wimbledon for the quallies, there were seven interruptions. I started the match at 10:00 a.m., and it finished at 8:00 p.m. Conditions were tough. A lot of wind.

So it was good to get out of the court, because I didn't want to produce bad tennis. So it rained, and we hoped that the conditions would be better. That's all. And then had to manage for the waiting period in the locker room.

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