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ROLEX PARIS MASTERS

November 1, 2017

Lucas Pouille

Paris, France

L. POUILLE/F. Lopez

6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French, please.

Q. Obviously, you didn't have a letdown after Vienna. Immediately from the start of the match, you were really well.
LUCAS POUILLE: Yes, it was important to play with a lot of intensity, to move a lot. And I encouraged myself a lot. This helped me today on my serves and returning serves.

I'm very happy with this performance.

Q. Do you believe during the past weeks something happened and do you have a new approach? Is your game well in place now?
LUCAS POUILLE: Well, of course. We worked a lot since I was back from the U.S. My knee is all right. So I was able to work a lot. We had good sessions. And of course, it's paying off now.

Now, just if it's a new approach or something new, I don't know. But I'm fit and I'm happy right now and I'm very focused on this tournament.

I will have another difficult match tomorrow. I can't think too far ahead. I have to enjoy the present moment.

Q. And mentally do you feel different?
LUCAS POUILLE: Well, before I was not winning many matches and I was not as confident. Of course, I was tense too, more negative. And I was not playing as well in important moments or in the beginning of the matches.

But after coming back from the U.S. I started playing well. In Metz I played well. I had opportunities. I didn't convert them all. In Asia I didn't win those match points but I played well. I had difficult matches and I didn't always take advantage of the opportunities. So I kept working hard and I tried to be more positive.

And, of course, the moment comes when things turn around, and it has been the case since last week.

Q. During your match, Yannick Noah was in the stands. Did you talk to him today? Maybe not yet? It's important. Davis Cup is not far.
LUCAS POUILLE: I didn't even see him in the stadium. I was just looking at my box. So if you say that, it means he was there. It's good. At least he sees us play. He sees what we are able to do, and it can give him important information for the final. And for the selection of the team.

So it's a good thing he's here.

Q. You talked to us on Monday and qualifying for the Masters was very far away.
LUCAS POUILLE: It still is.

Q. Well, now it's getting closer. Would you prefer to be able to play the Masters or to be available for a week's practice for the Davis Cup?
LUCAS POUILLE: Of course I would prefer the Masters. There's no problem with that. It's obvious. But it is far from being done. Ten days ago it was out of the question. Now it's still not.

As we said, I shouldn't lose any match. I still have four matches to win. It's a long way to go and I'm not thinking about that. I'm just thinking about tomorrow's match. It's going to be very tough and I'll do that day after day.

Q. Can you explain how you can win in Vienna, come here, play again, and mentally be as strong and play as well.
LUCAS POUILLE: Well, in this sport, it is something very typical. You might win a tournament on the Sunday and lose first round two days later.

But as I said, coming in here, this tournament is very important to me. I want to play well here. So once my week was over, I was very happy.

I had a nice dinner on Sunday evening. But on the Monday, I knew it was going to start. It was a new tournament. I had to forget about Vienna, leave it behind me, and look at the Paris Rolex Masters and be very focused on the present moment.

Q. Next week there will be a Masters in Milan, ATP is going to try new rules; the no-let and sets in four games. What do you think about that? Would you be favorable for these rules to be applied all year-round?
LUCAS POUILLE: It's a good question. At first sight I would say no, but I didn't test those rules myself. So it's quite difficult for me to think about playing a set in four games without an umpire, without nothing. So apparently I wouldn't really be in favor of that but I haven't tried it. If I try it, I might love it. Maybe it's the future. I don't know.

I have no other comments about this, because I just never played in those conditions yet.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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