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ROLAND GARROS

May 30, 2017

Stan Wawrinka

Paris, France

S. WAWRINKA/J. Kovalik

6-2, 7-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. You must feel good after last week, today. What's the biggest difference, you think, you know, last couple of months and the last ten days?
STAN WAWRINKA: Yeah, for sure I'm feeling good. Happy with the match today, in general. I think was never easy transition after winning on Saturday, but I'm happy. I think I'm playing well.

The difference is I got some matches, some win, and then you find your confidence, you start to play better. Yeah, I have been keep working out since all the clay season. I have been practicing well. I'm happy to have won some big matches.

Q. What does it mean to you when you step on here to Roland Garros? Is it the court, the atmosphere, the trophy you have held? Does it bring a special feeling?
STAN WAWRINKA: Yeah, of course, brings special feeling, special memories, winning here two years ago, always gonna be special when I come back here, anyway.

But, you know, when you come back, it's always special, but when you start the tournament, in a new tournament, you want to go far in this tournament this year, so you try to focus on what's happening day by day.

Q. Who is your favorite player for the final victory, according to you?
STAN WAWRINKA: Rafa, I know, is big favorite. But I think those kind of talk when the tournament start doesn't matter, anyway. As a player, you don't really care who is the favorite or not. You're just trying to look your own way and trying to go as far as you can, especially when the tournament starts. Before the tournament, everybody is talking about who is the favorite, who is not. But that's just some talk. As a player, we don't really look about that.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. What did you think during the second set when he had three set balls?
STAN WAWRINKA: I tried to play more aggressively, put more pressure on him. You know, as long as the set is not over, there is still room to win it. You know, especially when your opponent is down one set.

All in all, I think this was a solid match. I'm very happy about how I managed it. I had good feelings playing.

Of course, after, you know, winning on Saturday, I had a day off. I did a little bit of practice yesterday, so now I have to be back to the grind. So here we are.

Q. The public here at the French Open has not always been very friendly for you. How would you compare the public here compared to other Grand Slam tournaments? Do you think it's tougher?
STAN WAWRINKA: I think today was great. As I said, I'm very happy to be back here at Roland Garros. Since I won Roland Garros, I think things have really changed. The public has really warmed up.

I think it depends on the court, but generally, the atmosphere here in Paris is great.

Q. You're starting a two-week tournament. Is it important for you to have a real test like you had in the second set? Is that important to get you ready for the next round? Isn't that better than having no problems whatsoever?
STAN WAWRINKA: Not really. I wouldn't say there are such rules. What counts at the end of the day is to win. You know, I have played first rounds here in five sets. I have played other first rounds where I won very easily. You know, you just have to go along with the flow. And generally if you win, the more you win, the better it gets.

Generally, the first match you sort of need to know where you stand. When I arrive on a court in a match like today, all I have in mind is that I need to win, period.

Q. How much do you sleep on average per night? When you're really tired, especially, how many hours maximum do you sleep?
STAN WAWRINKA: Hmm. How much time do I sleep? That's very personal. I guess it depends (smiling).

Let's say on average I sleep eight hours. Seven, eight hours, maximum. Nine when I'm very tired.

I'm not a big sleeper.

Q. When you win a tournament, does it really change the way you feel when you move on to the next tournament, or does it make no difference?
STAN WAWRINKA: I think what makes a difference is to come back to a tournament like the French Open. Again, as I said before, once the tournament has started, I focus only on what is happening here and now. Of course, I have all the memories. There is the past, but I try to leave that aside.

When I enter the court, of course there is a lot of positive energy I can feel. That energy is here. When I get here the first day and I practice and everything, I can feel the positive energy. But once I start the tournament, I'm focused only on what I have to do. And again, my objective is to go as far as possible.

Q. When you play a guy who has a Deadhead on his forehead, how does that feel?
STAN WAWRINKA: Nothing at all. I'm used to it.

Q. You are going to be playing Dolgopolov. You have played him three times. How do you feel about that?
STAN WAWRINKA: I think I lost twice when I played him, right? Three times or twice? Twice.

He's always difficult to play. Recently he's had some physical difficulties, so we haven't seen him much. But he's always played very well against good players, because he plays differently. He has a very strong serve. He moves a lot. He has a very fast arm, and he moves very quickly.

He has a lot of variety in his game play. He slices a lot. So he doesn't really -- he doesn't have a steady pace. I guess what's challenging with him is you never know what to expect. So when you play him, you really have to be focused.

I'm going to do my best to play solid and aggressive. Not just aggressive to make the points shorter, but aggressive because it's really important to give him a strong ball every single time, to make it mentally more challenging for him. Otherwise he will take the lead.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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