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ROLAND GARROS

May 28, 2017

Julien Benneteau

Paris, France

L. POUILLE/J. Benneteau

7-6, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. After a match like this, how do you feel? What are the biggest emotions?
JULIEN BENNETEAU: Hmm. I don't know. I don't really know. I guess I'm tired. That's one thing. And probably later this evening I will have, you know, other things -- I'll probably, you know, go through the match once again in my mind.

At this point it's too close to the end, and I still don't really know. I'm disappointed, obviously, but at the same time I'm quite proud, because I did as much as I can. Again, I am disappointed, because I was not able to win, I was not able to change the outcome.

In a match like that, so many things can happen. It's five sets. Especially on clay. So much can happen.

Sometimes you can really change the course of things. Some situations in matches like this are really difficult to manage. Again, probably later this evening I will probably be even more disappointed. There will be other emotions, too.

Q. You asked for a therapist to come help you. What happened? Were you cramping?
JULIEN BENNETEAU: Yes. And I had a headache, as well. I was cramping. Nothing major. He didn't really give me anything for the cramps, but he gave me something for my headache.

Q. Do you think that he won because physically he was above you?
JULIEN BENNETEAU: Physically I was struggling. It was difficult. You know, when I didn't feel quite right, at one point I felt additional tension because of that, and that just makes everything worse.

It was difficult for me. I had experience. You know, I have played five-set matches before. In the fourth set, first of all, he came back and he was hitting differently. He was more liberated in the way he was hitting the ball. I mean, he's a serious opponent. I think that at that point he was playing better. The difference, you know, was quite clear.

Then, in the fifth set, it's 50/50. I could win; he could win. I did my best. I tried. I was able to, you know, play well when I served, but then on his returns he was not making any mistakes.

That means I had less options. Then, yeah, he was really returning well at that point in the match. So I had to deal with that. And in the meantime, he was serving very well. He was able to serve very well first serve, but also, especially the second serve.

So that's the general picture. All in all, it was difficult for me. It was a rough fight. I tried to make him doubt a little bit about his own game, but he was very solid. He was very strong.

I guess my big regret is maybe the first set. I was able to break, and I had an easy ball. Then I had a set ball. And the tiebreak was not a very successful one for me. Even in the first set I was not very good on many points.

I wish I could have won that set. I think the outcome could have been very different. Or maybe not. I don't know.

And I guess that's all I can say at this point, you know. It's little details, really.

Q. Did you feel he was tense?
JULIEN BENNETEAU: He was playing his game. He really doesn't show any emotions. There was probably some tension. He made some, you know, mistakes, clear mistakes. Some balls were less powerful than others, which I think shows that there probably was some tension. He probably was a little nervous.

But at the end of the day, he won the match. He's a young player. He will have, you know, a two-day break, and I don't think it will impact the rest of this tournament. As a matter of fact, it could even be quite positive for him.

Q. You had not played such a match. When you arrived were you afraid you would not be able to play your maximum and then be really disappointed at the end? Is it reassuring that you were able to really fight a great match?
JULIEN BENNETEAU: Physically, I was a little -- I was not very confident. I had to abandon in quarterfinals last week in Bordeaux because I was experiencing some serious pain. We did some imagery, and it wasn't looking quite right.

But then on Saturday, when I came back, I saw my physicians who know me very well, and they looked at the imagery. Again, they were much more reassuring.

It's not like I was in unknown territory today. But I think maybe I played less than I wanted this week.

Of course I have other things that I do on the side to compensate. I knew I could play well. I didn't amortize balls very well. That's maybe the one thing I'm not doing very well. Except for that, when I was training over the past days and even this morning during the warmup I felt good. You know, typically when you're my age, the more you play the better you play. That was very much what I experienced.

I knew -- I felt I was, you know, hitting that ball really well. In addition, I don't have any particular pressure. This is my 15th French Open, first round against a Frenchman who is obviously ranked much better than I. I tried to play as well as I could. I tried to play tactically, build some tension on his side and really try to take him to the very, very, very end.

I did. Unfortunately, the end was not the one I wanted.

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