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WUHAN OPEN

September 28, 2017

Caroline Garcia

Wuhan, Hubei, China

C. GARCIA/E. Makarova

7-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Given how you started the season with injuries, how satisfying is it in the second half of the season that you've had so much consistency?
CAROLINE GARCIA: It's definitely very important. I know in tennis it can be very fast in one way and the other. It's always difficult especially when physically your body is not ready and you can't trust him. So it's very frustrating.

But I think I learn and my team learn a lot from this period. We try to take the most of the positive of this. So now my body is getting better, and I'm able to perform on court at 100% almost. So I just try to embrace the moment and just be focused on the present and enjoy every moment because I know it may not last forever. So I'm very happy with the second period of the season, but it's not finished yet.

Q. Another tough match. Another one that maybe didn't seem like it was two sets.
CAROLINE GARCIA: Yeah, exactly.

Q. Talk about how important it was to just stay focused today. She kept coming back.
CAROLINE GARCIA: For sure. Like Dominika yesterday, she was always like right behind me always.

I want to play this kind of match that I work outside the court for. There is a lot of intensity. That's a match you enjoy the most actually. There is fighting, there is stress, there is everything. In this kind of match you learn the most. You take experience. I'm just very happy. I stayed very calm through the match, and it was very important.

Q. To come from the quarterfinal run last week in Tokyo, then now to make the semifinals, I think you're biggest semifinal of a Premier 5, how full of confidence are you these days?
CAROLINE GARCIA: It's okay. It's okay (smiling). But I know confidence, it's a complicated thing. It's difficult to buy, but you can destroy it in a minute. So you just have to keep the hard work of every day, don't get overexcited because you won couple of matches in a row or because you are making a semifinal in a big tournament.

In Tokyo, it was good tournament. I learn a lot from my defeat against Muguruza. I took this experience and I try to improve these little points this week. But I know so far it's not over yet and I have a lot of work to keep doing.

Q. What did you have to do to get your back back to I don't know if it's 100% percent?
CAROLINE GARCIA: Not yet.

Q. So for most of the season, have you been having to manage it? Is it pain-free?
CAROLINE GARCIA: It's complicated. It's sometimes pain-free, sometimes not pain-free. But the most important for now I arrive to manage it.

Like on court, I'm able to perform at almost 100%, and that's the most important for me so far. But we had to think outside of the box to try to improve this back. We are happy with the work we did so far. But I know it's not over yet, and it's going to be something I will have to work on it for all my career.

I know the off-season is going to be very hard on that. I can't say I'm really looking forward to it (smiling). But I know you have to get your body some rest, just try to build your body as strong as you can. When it's not, you cannot do anything in tennis.

I'm happy so far how it's going, but I know I have to keep working to keep improving it.

Q. When you said you had to think outside of the box to treat the back, what do you mean?
CAROLINE GARCIA: We had some advice from couple of people. There is the normal idea like I can say, and there is some other things. We did the other things. That's what worked for us.

So, yeah, when I had to pull out of Fed Cup, Stuttgart and everything, I was spending five hours in the gym. At the end of the first week of five hours training a day, it was my first time I almost cried after a practice. I was, like, so tired. I was, like, c'mon, get me back on court, this is all I want.

All this, like, hard work, it's why I work for. Today when I was, like, 5-4 serving for the match, I remembered myself, That's why you train hard outside of the court. This is the moment you have to, like, embrace and just play. Of course, there's tension, but it's the same for everyone. Just go for it. I can enjoy the win now.

Q. When you were talking about confidence, you seemed very wise. How experienced do you feel now? You've been around for quite a while but you're still young.
CAROLINE GARCIA: I'm old (laughter).

Q. You're still young.
CAROLINE GARCIA: But almost 24 now, so...

I mean, in the past sometimes I was playing some good tournaments, some good week in a row, and then I was not consistent through the year. It's not because you get overexcited, but it's difficult, tennis, because from one week to another, it's rare that you win a tournament. It's often that you lost. Sometimes you can lost against, I mean, everybody, top player. Now that the tour is very strong, you can lost also against lower player ranked.

You cannot judge your performance because you lost against someone who have a lower ranking. Now I just want to improve and be on court. If I start bad, my one goal is to be better at the end. Even if I don't reach my maximum, it's just try till the end and just improve. That's what give me my confidence now.

Q. Obviously you play either Alize or Sakkari in the semifinal. Break down what you expect in each one of those matches.
CAROLINE GARCIA: I don't know very well Sakkari, but I guess they have kind of the same games. They are very strong physically. They can run forever. I'm not sure. I don't know her really well, Sakkari.

I know Alize is using a lot of forehand to make the other one run. So it's going to be a fight, for sure. Everyone want to reach the last steps. So I will have to just be focused on myself. Doesn't matter who is on the other side of the net. Try to improve like I did in the previous matches, just try to believe in myself. Just, like, it's a semifinal, you have to play and enjoy.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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