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U.S. OPEN

August 30, 2017

Jared Donaldson

New York, NY, USA

L. POUILLE/J. Donaldson

7-5, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. That was a rollercoaster. Two sets down, Love-3. Turned into a different human being or...
JARED DONALDSON: I felt like the first two sets were really close, even though I lost them. Even I think the third set was close. Obviously he was up a break early. I felt like I had a lot of opportunities in the first two sets and I didn't really convert. I played poor service games.

I felt like I wasn't as aggressive as I needed to be. He was dictating. That was kind of the big difference in the match, was the fact that over the first two sets that he was dictating more than I was. Third and fourth, I felt I started to dictate more and play a little bit more aggressive, especially out of the corners. When I got mid-court balls, I was more aggressive.

Then fifth set, obviously it's still close. I didn't really have -- I don't think I had any breakpoints on his serve in the fifth. Then I was up 40-15 on my serve, and I lost it. A few things that I'm frustrated with, first serve continues to be a problem. Also, I mean, I felt like I definitely needed to be more aggressive off the ground. I felt that was the big difference in the first two sets. I was not fighting for offense as hard as I needed to.

So there's room for improvement, which is good. Such a close match. But the fact that I come off the court and say I know there's things I need to work on is a good thing because if I had nothing left to work on, then I'd be in trouble losing that match.

There's things to work on. It's obviously disappointing, but there's always tomorrow.

Q. In the fifth set the crowd was going. Did it feel like last year against Goffin? Did it feel similar? Did you feel you were on a roll going into the fifth?
JARED DONALDSON: I felt like I was going to win the match in the fifth set. But I also knew that he wasn't just going to fold because I noticed last year, he had a lot of -- he had multiple five-set matches getting to the quarterfinals. Obviously he went five with Nadal. I'm pretty sure he had two other five-set matches also on the way there. Obviously he's experienced, five-set player, a great player in general.

He played better than me today and he deserved to beat me.

Q. Physically were you getting tired at all?
JARED DONALDSON: No, I felt good. Fitness wasn't an issue. Obviously I can always get stronger. I'm not where I need to be in my fitness yet. But that wasn't an issue.

Q. To take a highly seeded player to five sets, good omen for you and Taylor, this ^ next generation group?
JARED DONALDSON: Yeah, you know, obviously it's always special to have your first Grand Slam win, so good for him. Definitely a milestone. But there's a lot of firsts in tennis. It's important to kind of stay in the moment. He's got another match. I don't know who he plays. He can beat anybody.

For me, I think, like I said, I definitely felt like I had opportunities in the first set. I felt that was honestly when it was really time to strike because I didn't feel like he was playing all that great in the first set. I mean, fifth set, he played great. Fifth set he played great, you know what I mean?

But I definitely felt like even in the second set, I had chances to strike. I just didn't. That's definitely disappointing.

When both players are playing really well, it just comes down to a few points. That's what it was today. I think only one point separated us in the match, so...

Q. What happened at 4-All, 40-15? Did your mind drift?
JARED DONALDSON: He played some really good points. I don't remember exactly what happened. I mean, I don't think I made a first serve in those four points, whatever it was. I don't think I made a first serve. That hurts.

Then breakpoint, I played a really good point. He played good defense. I mean, what are you going to do? He's a good player.

It is what it is. He's a great player. The margins are so small. You talk about it all the time in tennis, they're so, so small. Even if I make first serves, that doesn't guarantee I hold that game, but at least it gives me an edge. I know I won 74% of my first-serve points.

Basically three out of four times, I'm going to win a first-serve point. I'm going to get at least one in those four points we played. Second serve, I don't know what it was, but it always seems to be a coin flip of 45%, 50%. Really close.

Q. Do you feel better now knowing you had your chances, great season that you've had? Emotionally has it hit you yet?
JARED DONALDSON: You know what, there's always close ones and matches you want to win. Even if I went out there and got blown out 1-1-0, or if I lost the third set, I would have said -- I probably would have felt the same.

It's disappointing. But you know what, I just got to remember it's a long road, I have a lot of room for improvement, which is a good thing. I got to go back now to California and work on those things and get better, come back to the next tournament, come back next year and be a better player.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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