	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

ROLAND GARROS

May 31, 2017

David Goffin

Paris, France

D. GOFFIN/S. Stakhovsky.

6-2, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. You've been playing here at least since 2012. I think that picture is from that day. And you must have some special memories of Roland Garros and wonder is there any special match in your mind that goes back to 2012?
DAVID GOFFIN: I played a lot of matches here in the French Open. I played well most of the time, great level. Of course, in 2012 was the first time, the first Grand Slam I played. And, yeah, the first main draw, and I won three matches because I was lucky loser and, of course, it was great memories.

Q. Do you remember the Federer match?
DAVID GOFFIN: Yes, of course.

Q. What do you remember?
DAVID GOFFIN: Of course, I remember everything. I remember every match before. I remember the match of Federer and it was, yeah, a great memory.

Q. Do you remember embracing after the match?
DAVID GOFFIN: Yes, of course. I remember.

Q. I'm so happy to hear that. Did it give you an idea that you could do well? I believe you took a set from him, did you not?
DAVID GOFFIN: Yeah, I took the first set and was close to lead two sets to Love. And, yeah, it was not easy after, but, of course, it gave me a lot of confidence.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. What changed from the start of the match and then in the fourth set? I mean, you had some break points to save. How did you recover from that? There was a difference between the start of the match and the end of the match?
DAVID GOFFIN: I was in control because I was two sets to Love. And a 6-1 in the second set, and there was Love-15, and there was a break point at 5-3. And I made my life difficult, but I managed to be ahead two sets to Love.

So he stayed in the match. He felt confident. And at the end of the day, he surprised me in the third set. I was up by two sets to Love, but I didn't know how he would react. He went to the net. He hit lots of drop shots.

It's very difficult to win in straight sets at the French Open, and I was surprised at the level of his game in the third set. He served well. He came to the net. And he pulled out all the stops to be back in the match.

So he produced a very good third set to refocus again, and I had to speed up the game in order to be ahead. So I returned better and I got the lead and then he started to, give up a little bit.

Q. You don't want to compare things, but in terms of feelings, if you compare with Madrid, Monte Carlo, Rome, you have reached your objective in terms of form?
DAVID GOFFIN: Yes. I mean, it's a good start. I feel good. I've lost a set only. I reacted well. And the three sets that I played were good. I feel good mentally, physically. I was calm, lucid, serene. So, so far so good.

Q. So lots of drop shots. Aren't you tired? He hit lots of drop shots. So physically were you tired by these drop shots? Did you feel tired?
DAVID GOFFIN: I feel good. Physically, I'm not too bad. It's not always easy to run in order to chase down the drop shots, but it doesn't disturb me to run forward. He was more offensive in the third set. He was playing great. He was quite efficient. My balls were too short and I didn't dictate play in the third set.

So it was difficult for me to put him in a bad patch in the third set. And in the first two sets, I managed to chase down his drop shots. But in the third set his drop shots were very nice with a little bit of a spin just behind the net, not easy to chase down to retrieve. So he has good net coverage as well.

Q. In the first round your serve was quite good, but today did you face some problems with your serve? What about your feelings?
DAVID GOFFIN: On the whole, it was good. I was broken only once. I missed an easy volley and a smash that was easy as well, but I felt comfortable on my serve. In the last service game, I served two aces. I feel good with my serve. First serve and second serve are okay.

There are some guys who return well. So they put pressure upon your serve. But on the whole, I think I have good command of my serve.

Q. When you lose a set after being dominant in the first two sets, was it a warning and did you think that you had to give it all? 110 percent?
DAVID GOFFIN: So my opponent thought, I'm down two sets. So he said that he would take the ball early, to come to the net more often, to hit drop shots. And that's what he did and it paid off for him. So it was sort of a warning. So I had to boost my game in the fourth set. I wanted to show him that I would be in the lead.

But on the whole, I'm very happy with my reaction and my efforts in the fourth set have been rewarded. I was lucid. And when I sped up, it paid off immediately.

Q. We don't know who you will be playing in the next round, Zeballos or Karlovic. What can you tell me?
DAVID GOFFIN: If I were to play Karlovic, I played against him in Australia. I know how he plays. His best weapon is his serve. I will have to return his serve. I think that from the baseline I'm a better player than Karlovic, but the key to the match will be to return his serve. I will have to make him run around, to make him move around. Clay is not his favorite surface, so I think that I will be able to counter him.

If I were to play against Zeballos, he's a lefty who has performed well on clay. He's won some matches. He's playing with a lot of confidence. He played well in the first round against Mannarino. I think that he can defeat Karlovic as well. It won't be easy. It's not always easy to play a lefty on clay who serves well. He has a good back hand, one-handed backhand, that is very clean and very nice.

So I can't remember if I played against him on clay. But anyway, I will have to make him move around because, when he hits his forehand and backhand, he's very dangerous.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297