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ROLAND GARROS

June 2, 2017

Steve Johnson

Paris, France

D. THIEM/S. Johnson

6-1, 7-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How tough is he?
STEVE JOHNSON: Thiem?

Q. Yeah.
STEVE JOHNSON: He's very good. I mean, he's a great tennis player. I mean, I would assume clay is his best surface. I think he would probably say the same. You know, he causes a lot of problems. I mean, which is great for him; tough to play against for me.

But, you know, it was a win for me through and through for me this week, 100 percent.

Q. You had a really great week under the circumstances. I think this is the second time that you have played on the bullring?
STEVE JOHNSON: Yeah.

Q. Can you just describe a little bit how that atmosphere is different from most others?
STEVE JOHNSON: It's a fun court. I mean, it really is. I lost twice out there, but, you know, the crowds here are so great. Even, you know, late afternoon, late-night doubles, it doesn't matter. Any of the side courts are all packed. They're all full. There's a lot of excitement here at the grounds.

So it's a fun place to play and it's a great court. You get a lot of -- you don't get maybe the feel of the people right behind you because they're all up, up a little bit, but it's fun to kind of be down in there and going to battle.

Q. Will you take a break now?
STEVE JOHNSON: Yeah. Yeah, I'm going to take some time off from tennis and regroup for the grass. And, you know, get ready to fire it up for another fun part of the year going on the grass.

Q. I think Thiem had some words of condolence for you after the match. He said that you were a great guy and that he felt for you. How touching is that in this difficult moment for you?
STEVE JOHNSON: That means a lot. You know, I've said it before. I mean, it's like a family, basically, down in the locker room. You get a lot of great people, a lot of just, you know, really great people. You know. We're competitors. You know, trust me. I wanted to win just as bad as he did today. It didn't matter the circumstances.

But, you know, there's life outside of sport and he gets that. And, you know, he's a standup guy. I've always enjoyed practicing with him, playing with him.

So, you know, he's a great -- I mean, kid. He's younger than me. But he's got a very bright future, I mean, even though he's a top 10 guy already and very successful. And, you know, to think for him, in my eyes, for him to win this tournament one day is not long off, I don't think. He's a great tennis player.

Q. I wondered if you had any hesitation to keep playing after that massive thunderclap and lightning flash?
STEVE JOHNSON: Yeah, it was a bit loud, a bit scary. But luckily there was a giant beam about 50 yards away that I wasn't on the top of, so I felt pretty safe at that point.

You know, but we're not golfing. We don't have our steel clubs in the air attracting lightning, so luckily it stayed away. But yeah, it was kind of catches you off guard. I'm a Southern California guy so, when we see rain, we kind of panic already.

Q. I don't mean to diminish him or whatever, but what kind of match and how would it be different if you were playing him on grass?
STEVE JOHNSON: It just changes the whole aspect of the game, what he does best and what I do best. You know, it heightens what I'm able to do if I do it right.

And, hopefully, you know, it takes his time away. Because he's a guy that likes a little bit of time, and he's a powerful, powerful hitter. So he doesn't necessarily need to be a quick tennis player in terms of, like, taking it early. And as you can see, he can be 10, 15 feet behind the baseline and still hit his fair shares of winners.

But that's the fun part about it. You've got four seasons-ish, you know. Clay, grass, hard, quicker hard, indoor hard, whatever. So it's fun to see, you know, the transition.

If I get him in Wimbledon, I think we'll make some adjustments and go from there. And, you know, it's another day. Anybody can beat anybody, and I like my chances there.

Q. What's the feeling every year that you get when you go on grass for the first time?
STEVE JOHNSON: It's just different. I definitely feel more comfortable on it at the beginning than I do on clay. But this year I was able to adjust to clay extremely quickly, which was nice to see. You know, the years past I've had some troubles just adjusting to the clay.

So hopefully now I'll get to the grass. Last year, you know, I think I had one of my worst matches, I think, of the year first week on grass. But, you know, which is -- you know, can't really hit the panic button at that moment, which was -- it ended up being a great thing because I just seemed to realize what wasn't going to work, what didn't translate, and what -- you know, what I need to do to be successful. And then I had a great grass court swing after that.

So it doesn't always come as quickly as you would like. But you just got to keep your head down and stay focused and kind of go about the X's and O's and let the results happen where they may.

Q. Is there any tennis specific way that you and your family going forward are thinking about honoring your dad?
STEVE JOHNSON: You know, really I haven't thought about it yet. You know, we have a celebration for his life after Wimbledon when I get back. You know, it's going to be held at the high school where, you know, we grew up playing tennis and he played tennis, and my mom and my sister went to school and played all kind of sports. I went there and played tennis.

So it's going to be a place where it has a lot of meaning, but, you know, hopefully we can figure it out. But right now, I'm just trying to honor his name as best I can and just be a competitor and just give it my all every day. And, you know, I know he'll look down proudly.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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