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ROLAND GARROSMay 29, 2017Pierre-Hugues HerbertParis, France P. HERBERT/J. Donaldson 6-4, 7-6, 6-4 THE MODERATOR: Questions in French. Q. How do you feel, good? PIERRE-HUGUES HERBERT: Very, very good. Q. You have reached the second round. I suppose this is a major event to start with. PIERRE-HUGUES HERBERT: Correct. Before today I have never gone -- well, I never won a singles match here in the main draw at Roland Garros. It's a first time for me. Q. Throughout the match you were solid, you broke when you had to break. Would you say that mentally you were also very solid from A to Z? You never had any doubts about your ability to fight back? PIERRE-HUGUES HERBERT: Well, when I started this match, I thought it's going to be the first round, there's going to be pressure or tension, it's not going to be easy against a player who is quite aggressive who could be a bit problematic for me. Yeah, I was there, mentally there, always present during the most important moments when I didn't really feel sometimes I was playing my best tennis. But I managed to hold on and be there and be up, even when I was down during the second set I won the break point when it was 5-3, and we reached 5-4, and then it went my way. I'm very, very happy today to have won in three sets. Q. What would you say is the best thing you like in your game, where your performance is at its best? PIERRE-HUGUES HERBERT: Well, the reason why I was so constant is always my steadiness with the right hand when the balls were too soft and they seem or look like they are simple. For those who are watching the match, they think it's simple, but you have to play well these points and I was very, very careful about these points, on my forehand, and I did him a lot of harm with these shots. Q. It wasn't a very good day for French tennis. I think 4 wins only out of 13. So now you're here. You're holding the flag. It's good at home. Do you have a special link with the crowd, Roland Garros, because you're quite a newcomer here for singles? PIERRE-HUGUES HERBERT: Well, have I got a history with the crowd? I don't know what to answer to that. What I know is today I probably lived a moment which is one of these moments why you live tennis for. It was a match played quite late. People stayed there. Court No. 3 was quite crowded and they were here. They supported me always throughout the match. They were always with me. So that means very intense emotions. When you're here, you want to do well. That's why there is tension. But then the crowd supported me. They were always here. Maybe the day was difficult for them with the French, but they still watched my match. They supported me. I was so happy to share this with them, and these are the moments that we are looking for and the reason why we play tennis. Q. Well, this court is probably not the easiest one at Roland Garros. It's a bit sunken. It was almost with thunderstorm out there, and the birds were flying really low. It's not easy. PIERRE-HUGUES HERBERT: I don't really know this court very well, and with Nicolas, we were supposed to play on this court last year but it rained and we changed courts. So I have discovered this court. It's not sheltered, it's not protected. That's true, the pigeons were flying quite low. But they didn't bother me. The wind was whirling and swirling. I didn't feel that comfortable today probably due to the wind. As we were going into the match, I was feeling better and better, and my level of game, of play, was going up. At the end of the way I bought into it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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