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ROLEX PARIS MASTERS

October 31, 2017

Adrian Mannarino

Paris, France

A. MANNARINO/D. Ferrer

6-2, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French, please.

Q. Are we allowed to tell you who will be your next opponent?
ADRIAN MANNARINO: Well, someone told me already.

Q. It will be a special match, right?
ADRIAN MANNARINO: Special for those who are thinking about Davis Cup, but I'm not thinking about that at all.

I know the match will be tough because I played him three weeks ago and it didn't go well for me. It's going to be very complicated. He's playing well right now. I would have preferred to play someone else, but it's going to be him.

I will have to do my best but whatever happens, it's going to be really difficult. But of course, it's going to be a pleasant match. There will be a lot of tennis played.

Q. You're not thinking of Davis Cup because you believe you have no chances of being part of the team?
ADRIAN MANNARINO: No. It's because I'm playing a Masters 1000 tournament and Davis Cup is in three weeks from now or even further. So I'm not thinking about it now.

Of course, I'm far from being selected on the team because there are other players playing better than I do and having more experience of Davis Cup than I have. So I'm not the obvious choice.

We'll see what happens later. But I'm not interested right now.

Q. But if you win tomorrow, it's going to be a good performance, and of course, this could draw attention on you for what is going to happen in three weeks.
ADRIAN MANNARINO: Maybe, but I don't even know. A Davis Cup match is so different. It's another atmosphere. And I didn't have the opportunity of playing those matches until now.

If I had to play him in Davis Cup it would be totally different from the match tomorrow. So I don't believe we can use that as an experience.

Q. Is it frustrating to play so well right now and after this extraordinary season not to be selected in the Davis Cup team? Because in this country there are many good players, in 95 percent of other countries you might even be No. 1 player on the team.
ADRIAN MANNARINO: Maybe, but when you are selected it makes you even more proud. I think it's a good thing that we have so many players and that you really need to fight for your position on the team.

It's gratifying to be selected. For the time being there are many tournaments, I believe, and Davis Cup is something additional. And I was never feeling very disappointed that I was not playing the Davis Cup.

Of course, we'll see what happens for the final or for next year, but for the time being I'm not missing it too much.

Q. The match against David today shows how consistent you are, and you have been all season. It's difficult after playing the Basel tournament to come and play here immediately. Were you surprised of this easy transition?
ADRIAN MANNARINO: Not really. This year I was able to do that quite well, especially during the summer. Sometimes after disappointing losses like in Los Cabos against Berdych in the quarterfinal, I was able to bounce back. I played well in Montreal the week after; I pushed Shapovalov to the third set. And I played well in Cincinnati.

So I am able to forget about a loss and focus on the next match. And again, today, I gave evidence of this. I played well. Of course, David is not in his top form. But he's tough to play and I played well. In the second set he came back and the level of game was a lot higher.

So I'm very happy the way I won it in straight sets.

Q. Can you talk about your relationship with Jean-Christophe Faurel? It started in April. What does he do for you on a daily basis?
ADRIAN MANNARINO: He helped me a lot. He made me confident. It's a very healthy relationship, and has been from the start. We started with one tournament, then the second tournament we didn't really have plans.

And from the start, he told me, Listen, I have a job. I'm happy with what I'm doing. If you don't behave nicely with me or if I'm not enjoying my work with you, I will stop immediately.

And because of that I feel no pressure like hiring a coach and knowing he's dependent on me. Here, I feel he's enjoying it and I'm enjoying it too. We are having good moments and we have good results, that helps, of course.

We are working well together and he helped me to find my own identity as a player. It's not that I have a special game, but I always wanted it to be aggressive and play beautiful tennis, and he helped me to play more consistently but more efficiently and trying to wear out the opponent.

Of course, when you're a player, you don't like to hear about that. You don't want to see that. And you want to hear something else. You don't want to hear you can win points playing winners after two shots. But if you play 20 winners in a match and you lose the match, you don't sleep the night after.

So now, well, even if it's not beautiful tennis, at least it's efficient and I win my matches. It's very satisfying and it's good for my spirits.

Q. You are not someone very self-confident. So when you have a coach saying you're not able to win in two winners.
ADRIAN MANNARINO: Well, sometimes he says negative things but afterwards he immediately helps me to be more confident. So no problem.

He really insists on the fact that physically I'm not extremely strong. I can't sustain very long rallies without making errors. So what he tells me is to try to make the opponent crazy, and show the opponent this is no solution and that he can't overrun me. He's someone who was able to make me improve on this and he is very important as far as my good results are concerned.

Q. Paul-Henri Mathieu played his last tennis match in competition. How do you perceive Polo's match and what do you want to say to him, what message would you like to convey to him?
ADRIAN MANNARINO: I have many memories of Polo, especially in the French Open. He played well there often. We all remember his match against Nadal. He lost it but played at the very high level, at a very high level.

So almost the whole of the fifth set of his match against Isner in the French Open it was very moving when we saw him win the match, at the end being so tired. So he's a great fighter.

He was playing extremely well and Polo is really the guy with the cap on the wrong side and showing his heart. I mean, it's a bit sad that we won't see him anymore in the tournaments. But I know he has many other projects.

You don't need to be sad for him, because he's someone great and he will have good opportunities for his new life.

Q. Do you want to give him a message?
ADRIAN MANNARINO: Shit, he always beat me. He beat me Metz in the semis. That loss had hurt me at the time.

But I would like to congratulate him for his career and wish him good luck for the future. I hope it's going to be as great as his career.

Q. You play with 16 kilos on your strings. Do you know any other player on the tour playing with such a low tension on the racket?
ADRIAN MANNARINO: I don't always play with the 16 kilos. It depends on the conditions. I change it by 2 or 3 kilos sometimes. Other players also play with a very low tension. Jack Sock is at 14, Kukushkin 12 or 13. Many players have a low tension. It's surprising when you see those figures. But when other players try my racquet they believe it's quite comfortable and efficient.

Q. About racquets, I heard you had some concerns and you couldn't find the right racquet for you anymore. You said that on Twitter.
ADRIAN MANNARINO: Well, the situation didn't change. I have very few racquets left. Between Montreal and Moscow I played only with one racquet. It is a problem because when you play with low tensions like I do, racquets, the tension changes. And when the match is long, it's a problem.

I would like to be able to change my racquets more often to keep control over the ball. But unfortunately, I had to stay with one racquet and things went well in spite of that.

But I don't know what I'm going to do for next year. I don't know if I'm going to keep that model. I might have three or four extra racquets in the garage. But I can't play the whole season with those racquets. It's not enough.

So anyway, I will have a month and a half to think about that problem after this tournament.

Q. And about your tennis gear, you told us you were borrowing shirts from your friends. Do you have a contract with a sponsor?
ADRIAN MANNARINO: With my coach, I made a bet I was going to play with the same outfit the whole year. I'm not sure I will succeed. I started in Australia with the same outfit. But indeed I do not have a sponsor for my clothes.

Q. Did you buy your outfit?
ADRIAN MANNARINO: No, no. It was given to me, of course.

So this might change in the future if I have good results. I might have a sponsor. For the time being, it's the end of the season and this is when maybe these things can change. Some people will help me. I will try to have things change.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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