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ROLAND GARROS

May 28, 2017

Oceane Dodin

Paris, France

O. DODIN/C. Giorgi

6-2, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French, please.

Q. How does it feel, winning your first match here at the French Open?
OCEANE DODIN: Oh, I'm delighted. When I looked at the draw, I knew this was going to be a rough one. I knew that mentally I would have to be strong. She's very unpredictable. She can play very well or she plays less well. I tried to stay focused, and I served well. At 6-2, 4-0, until then I was able to play well. Then she came back to 4-3, and at that point I really had to push her. This is how I was able to win 6-3.

I was very happy. Very happy. This is my third French Open. I had played the first round twice, so when she came back, it reminded me of the very first time I was at the French Open. I was leading and then I ended up losing the match. So I'm very happy that this time I'm able to move to the second round.

Q. First round, at an event like the French Open, it must be special no matter who your opponent is, a strong opponent or less strong, right?
OCEANE DODIN: Yes. Generally, the first round is the most complicated, and I have played at the French Open before. There is always a little bit of, you know, I'm always a little bit nervous, you know, how am I going to play, how will my balls be? You know, first round, you never know. Second round, third, fourth, it's much easier.

So I'm quite relieved, especially knowing that this is the first time I'm moving to the second round at the French Open.

Q. What is it you're satisfied with after this match? What are the things that really worked well today?
OCEANE DODIN: I'm satisfied because I played consistently. I knew that even though I was leading, I could still lose. So I tried to stay focused, and I tried to focus on my serve.

I wasn't really very confident. Today I am. After this match, I'm very confident. I had some good aces, and that was important, and mentally I never gave up. I was able to stay in the match and be consistent.

Q. Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round. How does that feel?
OCEANE DODIN: How does that feel? Well, I play tennis to play, you know, top 10 players. That's really my objective, play good players. I have nothing to lose. I haven't played that many top 10 players. I think she's the third one since the beginning of my career. So it's the kind of matches I like. I really can give my maximum.

Again, I have nothing to lose. I will be very aggressive. I know how she plays. I have never played her before, so I don't really know what to expect. I guess I know what to expect, but I have never actually played her. The reality is that I'm very excited, and I'm really looking forward to it.

Q. An hour and five minutes. Were you able to really adjust your game play in such a small period of time? It's really not that easy.
OCEANE DODIN: Well, I don't know. You know what? I don't even know if I actually played. No, more seriously, you know, I knew it could be very short. People say that I'm a fast player, that my matches are not very long. I think she played very well. I knew she would play well. It was not a surprise.

But the good thing is that the fact that it was short means I'm in good condition.

Q. Why did you play Nuremberg and not Strasbourg last week?
OCEANE DODIN: C'est la vie. No, more seriously, I prefer Nuremberg because I had not very good results in Strasbourg. I wanted to try something different, you know, right before the French Open. Nothing else. No specific reasons other than that.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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