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ROLAND GARROS

May 30, 2017

Caroline Garcia

Paris, France

C. GARCIA/N. Hibino

6-2, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. The score looks easy. However, when looking to the nitty-gritty of the match, some of the points were tough. Tell us about your satisfaction, because you obviously were able to find the right solutions at the right time.
CAROLINE GARCIA: You're absolutely right. Some of the points were difficult ones. And, yes, it was not a super difficult match. I was leading. I was dominating. And I have to say that I'm quite happy about how I started the match.

I took a lot of pleasure, but it was by no means an easy match. You know, she didn't give me the points. Some of the points I really had to fight hard for. Some of the rallies were quite long, so I, you know, proceeded step by step, and I'm quite satisfied.

Q. You said you didn't want to know who you were playing in the third round. Is that standard practice for you?
CAROLINE GARCIA: Well, sometimes I do look ahead of time. But at this point, I want to go step by step, and I don't want to have in the back of my mind who I could eventually play. I knew who I was playing the first round. So I have no idea at this point of my opponents in a couple of days. I don't really want to know.

Q. I heard you say that the big courts were never very good to you here at the Paris Open. Were you a little nervous today?
CAROLINE GARCIA: No, I wasn't nervous. I felt good. I guess there is a little bit of tension, but tension can be positive. There was no negative tension. Let's put it that way.

When I arrived on the court and I saw all the people who were there, I was very happy to be there. This was my first day at the French Open. I was happy to be on the court. You're absolutely right. I have not always had very good matches here at the main courts. The Radwanska match last year was not a big success. But now let's move on to the next round.

Q. I was able to see your father at the end of the match, and he said that with experience and difficult matches you become stronger. Would you agree with him, especially after the past weeks?
CAROLINE GARCIA: Absolutely. I went through a lot of things over the past weeks. Physically things have not been easy. At the end of last year and this year, and humanly speaking things haven't been easy, but yes, it's the kind of experiences one has to go through in life.

It's not always easy. Sometimes it hurts, but I think I was able to learn a great deal about myself and about others and more recently I felt much better. I have been, you know, sharing a lot with the people surrounding me, including my father.

Today all I wanted to do was be focused and play well. I think that with my recent experience, my recent experience has helped me put things in perspective. That's really what I'm trying to do. Putting things in perspective means that when you play, you just have to stay focused.

Q. You said that when you're on the court you were able to be yourself. Could you elaborate a little bit.
CAROLINE GARCIA: Hmm. I don't really know. I guess recently things have not been easy for me on the court. When I was playing, I just couldn't be myself. I was unable to, you know, be myself and be a fighter from the beginning to the end.

I just couldn't find my normal game play. I couldn't be aggressive. When I tried to, I was not very successful.

However, more recently, especially Strasbourg, has shown me that things are changing. I seem to be on the right track. Today I managed to be just myself.

It's a day-after-day process that requires a lot of hard work and rigor, but it pays off. It's an interesting journey. It's an every day challenge, and the fact it pays off makes me quite joyful.

Q. The past weeks we have heard a lot about what you went through. You're now at Roland Garros. Would you say that more than ever this year you can maybe not take a revenge but it would be good if you could go much further this year for the very first time?
CAROLINE GARCIA: I don't think I have to prove anything to anyone. It's not the case this year. It has never been the case before. I'm here to play match after match. If I can go far into the tournament, great. I'm not going to think about how people judge me and everything that happened. Again, I'm happy because I can be myself. Again, I want to go as far as possible. If I can go far this year, well, then great. I'm all for it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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