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ROLAND GARROS

May 29, 2017

David Goffin

Paris, France

D. GOFFIN/Ph. Mathieu

6-2, 6-2, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. David, did you expect such a match? You wanted to get off to a good start for this tournament.
DAVID GOFFIN: Yes, this was my goal, to get off to a good start. I wanted to be aggressive. I wanted to be involved in the match from the start. So there was an early break in the first and second sets, so I put a lot of pressure and I made him move quite a lot.

So for the three sets, I mean, I managed to get an early break. I served well when it mattered. I was quite accurate and precise. So, on the whole, three straight sets that were quite solid.

Q. The emotional situation was quite specific and you managed to get things under control, including the crowd under control.
DAVID GOFFIN: I didn't think about it. I wanted to be involved from the start. I wanted to show him that if he wanted to defeat me, he had to be good on the long haul, that he would have to put a fight. So he said to himself that the match would be tough, and I wanted to drive the point home. I wanted to make him run, to move him around.

I wanted to put him in a bad patch to create great openings, so I played fast and he didn't like it. At the end of the match, he started to give up to a certain extent. And he felt some pain in his hip and it was quite tough for him.

Q. So how did you feel about this match? I mean, you were playing against a qualifier. Did you expect a tough match?
DAVID GOFFIN: Yes, I expected a tough match. I was afraid of his strokes because he has some strokes that are very powerful. He's very motivated. That's why I said that the start of the match was very important.

So I wanted to get off to a good start. I didn't want him to think that I would be weak today. The match could have been different. So it is very important to get off to a good start.

When you play against a player who comes from the qualifying tournament, he can be dangerous because he has played three matches. But it was a match too much for him, because I think that he has used up a lot of energy during the qualifying tournament.

Q. Tennis-wise, what is the source of satisfaction?
DAVID GOFFIN: On the whole, I delivered a good performance. I served well from the start with lots of aces and lots of winners on my serve. I got lots of points with my serve, very solid. In the rallies, I had to resist his attacks. He was very aggressive, and I had to make him move around from one side of the court to the other.

A very solid performance, a very consistent one, no ups and downs. An ideal match to get off to a good start here at the French Open.

Q. What about the conditions, the playing conditions, that are quite fast and might change over the week?
DAVID GOFFIN: Yes, the conditions are quite erratic. Last year, it was raining. And against Dominic Thiem last year, I ended playing my match in mud, so to speak.

So it's quite hot, so the balls are quite fast. When it rains, clay is slower. But the clay is faster and, nonetheless, it's quite good, good quality clay, and the balls are quite fast.

When you serve well, it's very difficult to return for your opponent, so you can hit lots of winners on your serve. So it helps quite a lot for my -- on my return, I wanted to play fast and I controlled the ball very well. So when I control the ball very well, the conditions suit my game.

And in a few days, if conditions might change, if it rains, if the temperature goes down, if the balls are more humid, the conditions will be far slower.

Q. You talked about the start of sets. The third set, the start of the third set, I mean, it was quite tight. Any doubts in your mind? I mean, he was taking lots of risks. He might have broken you and things could have changed.
DAVID GOFFIN: There were key moments during the match. At the start of each set, there were key moments. In the middle of one set, there was an important game. So I was 40-15, and I was about to lead 3-1. I missed an easy point, so I decided to fight, and I managed to hold my serve, and then afterwards I broke him.

So there were some key moments. In the third set, I was ahead. In the third set, I was ahead 2-0, but I was ready to pull out all the stops on each point. So even though I didn't win the first game in the third set, by applying pressure I knew that it would pay off.

And I was two sets up, so I knew that if he managed to get back in the match, it would have been very difficult for him to win three other sets.

Q. With your experience, with your tournaments, with your good results, do you think that you are the boss on the court to show that you will dictate play?
DAVID GOFFIN: This is what I try to do. It's not always easy to do so. But my objective is to get the upper hand, to be the boss on the court, to be calm, and the idea is to do that every match.

It's not always easy when you're not confident, but I'm full of confidence now from the very beginning. From the very beginning, I wanted to show that I was ready to make an impact.

So this is the mental side of the game, and I managed to achieve that goal. It's not always easy. From time to time you're uptight, you're tense, you don't feel the ball very well. You're less serene. But with experience and with the matches under my belt, I think that I can manage pressure and the mental side of matches

Q. I'm from Switzerland. So what is the difference between clay and grass especially in Gstaad?
DAVID GOFFIN: So I will play at Gstaad this year. Grass is quite a specialty in terms of movement. I like playing on the clay in order to get my feelings back. So when you were on clay, you can be relaxed. On grass, it's totally different. I mean, you have to retrieve the ball very fast. You have to counterpunch the ball.

So, after grass, I prefer playing on clay before going to hard courts in order to get back with my style of tennis. So that's why I like playing Gstaad, the Gstaad tournament. And, after Wimbledon, I can rest and then I can play Gstaad and afterwards I can get my preparation ready for the hard courts.

Q. You will be playing against Stakhovsky. He's a qualifier. What is your approach to this match?
DAVID GOFFIN: I know Stakhovsky very well. I have played against him many times. He's an offensive player.

Clay is not his best surface but, if conditions are fast, he has a very good touch. He can hit the ball early. He can move into the court. If he's aggressive, he can be very dangerous. He will try to prevent me from imposing my game, but I will make life difficult for him, and I will make him run.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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