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ROLAND GARROS

June 5, 2017

Caroline Garcia

Paris, France

C. GARCIA/A. Cornet

6-2, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. French Open quarterfinalist, how does that sound to you one and a half hours after you converted match point?
CAROLINE GARCIA: It sounds pretty good when you say it, actually. No, for sure, I don't know if I realize yet it's quarterfinal. Maybe it's good I didn't realize. I just want to stay focused on the game. Is more important.

For sure when I arrived here in French Open I was not thinking about this at all. I was just wanting to play my game, try to improve and enjoy the most I can the French Open.

Yeah, it's now couple of matches. It's getting better. Today was definitely a good match. I'm very happy first win on the Philippe Chatrier court.

Q. Of all the different factors going into this match, fourth round of French Open, Chatrier, Cornet, playing another Frenchwoman, what was the most dominant of those in your mind in terms of pressure, the distractions, all those different elements? There was a lot going on for you today.
CAROLINE GARCIA: Yeah, was a lot, but I was not feeling any negative pressure. It was only positive one. I was super motivated since yesterday. I wanted to practice, and I was very focused on what I had to do to be ready for the match. Even playing on Philippe Chatrier, I was just going for it. I was pretty happy I was going to play on this court against Alize Cornet.

Yeah, I really enjoy it. It was not super nice atmosphere because fans were a little bit 50/50, but it was good.

Yeah, I went over it and I'm pretty happy with it.

Q. In the past, you have said that you had problems with playing on Chatrier. How were the feelings when you arrived on the court? How did you deal with, if there were any issues?
CAROLINE GARCIA: There was nothing to compare to the past year. I think the final of doubles last year helped me. Like I say, I arrive to this tournament with a different mindset. I wanted really to be positive focus on my games and not everything around it. Not thinking because it's French Open I have to do great.

So I just trying to focus on what I can do on court and what my team think about me, what I can improve. Not too much care about the other people, the judgment and everything.

That's what I learn from a couple of weeks. I just want to keep this way and to stay this way. That's the way I play the best.

Q. If you go back to April and you have the back injury and things like that, how far away did something like this, this result, seem like at that time?
CAROLINE GARCIA: I feel so many things happen in couple of weeks, things like I would never imagine can happen actually in every possible way.

Of course beginning of the year was quite complicated for me, but when I come back from Monterrey was not the way we wanted at all, but we keep positive. We know it was going to be a long way for the back. We work very hard. I was four hours, five hours at the gym. I was finishing the week without playing tennis. Just spending time at the gym. But I was exhausted.

One day I will remember I think I was almost crying because I was so dead of doing all this gym. But I know one day maybe will paid off, and I think this week in French Open a lot of things happen. You know, when you stay positive you work hard, you believe in yourself, and you keep it going even when people around you go negative or critical of what you are doing or cannot understand you. You have to stay in your way and do what you think is the best.

After, you have the results you work for.

Q. A very nice cheer from the crowd, handshake. When you two kissed each other, it was a big cheer. Did you notice that?
CAROLINE GARCIA: Yeah.

Q. Were you surprised yourself at how sort of warm the greeting was there? You both left with big smiles on your face after that.
CAROLINE GARCIA: I didn't know how she left the court. I don't know.

Q. But after the handshake.
CAROLINE GARCIA: Oh, yeah. I mean, I don't know. I was just so happy. I just went for it. I mean, everyone was waiting for a very cold match, and everyone was -- I'm sure that everyone looked at this match to see how was it going to happen. Everyone was surprised, maybe it's going to be a battle or whatever.

But, I mean, I just tried to stay like a professional player. I play tennis because I enjoy it, and I don't want to get any fight with anyone. What happen, happened. We never forget about it.

Tennis is a game. I play to enjoy and that's it.

Q. Karolina won her match today. She said she would have two opponents in the quarterfinals; you and the French crowd cheering you on. How important do you think the crowd will be to help you play your best tennis in the quarterfinal?
CAROLINE GARCIA: For sure it will be important. Karolina is a great player. Maybe the clay not her best surface yet, but we know she can do a lot of damage with her serve and forehand. For sure it will be very important. It will be my first quarterfinal. She has a little of experience, she's in the top 10 couple of months and years now. It will be a very important match.

I'm sure the crowd will help me like it did in Fed Cup. It's different atmosphere, but I really looking forward for this match and to see a real atmosphere, because today was a bit 50/50. Was a little bit weird. I just want to enjoy it and play the best I can.

Q. Over the course of the week, you have said a lot that you were learning to play for yourself, to play for the people that you care about and things like that. Do you feel like in the past you didn't do that, that you weren't playing for yourself, that you were playing for other reasons or other people?
CAROLINE GARCIA: I don't know if, like, I was not playing for myself, but I was taking too much attention about what the people were saying about me and the judgment and everything.

So I was, like, too much. I mean, when I play tennis I play because I like it, and I do things because I think they are good. We speak about it with the team. It's not only my personal decision. We do everything together since very long time.

When we take a decision, it's because we want it. Sometimes after the result I was doing after the loss, after a good win, I was taking too much attention about what the people were saying about me. So that's something you should really not do.

Of course it's nice to see the fans cheering you on and with some nice messages when it's difficult time. I read a lot of them this last week. But sometimes you have also to arrive to stay focused on yourself, and there is a lot of bad people around and you have to be careful.

Q. I think you're now 7-0 against other French players in tour-level matches. How do you explain that dominance of your country women?
CAROLINE GARCIA: I don't know. They have to say like this, for sure. Yeah, someone told me two days ago that I never lost against another French girl. I can't explain it. I just try to, in this match where sometimes difficult atmosphere, I just try to be focused on myself, my game. Yeah, I try to forget about the other ones that I know or that she's another French player and everything.

But for now I do it good.

Q. You said you have stopped paying attention to the criticism and stuff. How would you see that kind of criticism? Did you read about it in newspapers? In what form did you see it in?
CAROLINE GARCIA: Oh, you can see them in plenty of form. But, yeah, when all the things happen, because I was not playing good, because I couldn't play Fed Cup, because people say some stuff about me and everything, after that, for this tournament since last week I decide to, yeah, take some distance about a lot of things and just go tennis, to play it and enjoy, enjoy to improve every day.

Yeah, stay with my team and try to keeping the line what we want to do and just focus on our way and that's it.

For sure, it's always nice to see support from people around you and people you don't even know. But sometimes people can say bad things, and when you're a little bit down it can bring you even more down, so you have to be careful.

Q. What is the biggest satisfaction as you sit there right now? What are you the most proud about?
CAROLINE GARCIA: Is difficult to say only one thing, but I think the things I'm proud, even if it's a bad time, we stay very strong together with my team and with my parents. We communicate a lot. And this week is for sure because they help me a lot in this difficult time. Some days I was panicking. I was feeling alone and everything.

But they really help me. They listen to me and try to give me confidence. And I met also some nice people who give me positive energies. And that's what I'm looking for, for sure.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. How did you prepare for this match? What was your attitude as it was approaching?
CAROLINE GARCIA: I started to prepare really seriously since yesterday morning. A quarterfinal like this in a Grand Slam tournament is extremely important, and in France, in addition. I was very motivated, very excited to get started and play this match. I was prepared to do my very best, give my maximum. You know, at this level, it gets very, very tense, you know.

Q. So we are now really seriously thinking about the quarterfinal. Pliskova. She's been really struggling some say on clay. You might be a favorite. What do you think about that?
CAROLINE GARCIA: I don't think so. She's a top 5 player. She has a great serve. She has a great forehand. I haven't seen her recent matches. I don't know how she plays. This is probably something I will be doing tomorrow. I did some things, some good stuff today, but I think there is room for improvement. If I want to play a great match, I will have to be at my very, very best level the day after tomorrow. That means I really need to leverage my strengths.

Q. You said you didn't really like the Chatrier courts. Today it was windy and yet mentally you were able to, you know, fight your way through it. Does this show that mentally you have come a long way? You have really improved?
CAROLINE GARCIA: I think I have really learned to focus. Before, I would have a lot of negative thoughts. Today I have been able to push out these negative thoughts. I was very happy to play on Chatrier today. It's a beautiful court.

But, you know, there are a lot of reasons why sometimes it can be difficult to play. When the wind blows, you know, it swirls around you and it makes the playing conditions more difficult.

This being said, I was super motivated, super determined, and I was able to keep this from the beginning to the end. Even if there was a bit of a dip in the second set, I was really able to stay focused and, you know, it was, in my mind, from the beginning to the end.

Q. To echo the previous question, you have said this in English, so we are not going to go back to everything, but your play is very aggressive. It's very relaxed at the same time. It seems that when you play, there is no fear. There could have been fear because of the conditions. There was no fear. Tell us about that.
CAROLINE GARCIA: Yes. No negative stress, which did happen before. No shaking to the point where I could barely serve. Even at 5-3 I did a bad game, and, you know, no big deal.

I was focused. When you know where you want to go and what you want to do and all you want to do is play tennis without paying any attention to details, even the tournament itself, well, it works. At least for me it works.

It's not been a perfect match. From time to time in the second set I was a little passive, so that shows there is still a bit of room for progress.

Q. The bookmakers said there will be a kiss at the end of the match, 1 versus 300 that was very unlikely to happen. And yet you both kissed. Why did it happen?
CAROLINE GARCIA: I don't know. Don't ask me. It just happened (smiling).

Honestly, this was not prepared. I was very happy. I shook her hand, and then I think I kissed her. But it just came naturally.

Once again, this is a tennis match, and I wanted to be professional, play my match, and not pay attention to all these other things.

But I knew people were eager. People were very impatient. There were a lot of expectations. It's a match.

Q. You met Karolina's sister a couple weeks ago, her clone. Do you think that could help you beat Karolina a couple days from now?
CAROLINE GARCIA: Well, they don't play quite the same. Their ranking is obviously not the same. You know, Pliskova is now well known. I played a few times against her. We trained together. I know her game. She has her strengths. Doesn't put much variety but she has a very strong forehand and a great serve.

Clay may not be her preferred surface, but she has a lot of experience, she stays very calm, she's been in quarterfinals in Grand Slam tournaments before, so I know I have to be extremely serious and I have to be prepared to fight.

Q. Alize told you something as you walked off the court. Could you tell us what she said?
CAROLINE GARCIA: I can't remember what she told me. I don't know. And I don't know if you should know. It's not very important. It's not very important.

Q. When we look at the draw and the remaining players, none of these have ever won a Grand Slam before. Do you feel any tension because of that?
CAROLINE GARCIA: No, I don't really pay any attention to the fact that they haven't really, you know, won a Grand Slam before, but I think that some of them have a lot of experience. You know, women's tennis is very open right now. Serena is not here. Azarenka is not here. Sharapova is coming back.

But there is not one player who dominates everything like Serena in the past. So I think everybody knows there is an opportunity. But this is a long journey, and I think the matches are even tougher than before, and we really have to play very high-level tennis to win.

Q. If two months ago someone had told you she's going to make it to the quarterfinals, would you have believed that?
CAROLINE GARCIA: I know things can go very quickly one way or the other. I didn't really think this was going to go this way and so quickly.

I have had very complicated weeks in many ways, physically and mentally. And mentally when things don't work, when you're on the court, it doesn't work.

Sometimes I did panic a little bit. I didn't really know what I was doing, but I worked hard, I kept believing in what I was doing. I really came much closer to my family and my team, and it felt great to have their support.

We worked hard, and, you know, as you all know, when you work hard, it pays off. The thing is you don't always know when it's going to pay off. The earlier the better, of course, but you never know when it's going to really pay off. Today we have a great opportunity.

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