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ROLEX PARIS MASTERS

October 30, 2017

Lucas Pouille

Paris, France

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. You just won a big title. What did you feel? Is that a sort of new start for the season at a very important moment?
LUCAS POUILLE: Well, I'm extremely happy that I won this title. Every time you finish a week by a victory, it's always great.

Now, saying it's a new start for my season, I don't know if it's right. But I won five good matches in a row with a good level of tennis, but like I was doing in Asia, although there I was not winning at the end.

I think it's certainly a good prospect for the end of the season.

Q. You talked about an injury at your knee. What is it exactly and was it complicated? Was it bothering you?
LUCAS POUILLE: Well, when your knee hurts it's always a problem. When you practice you can't do what you want to do. I had to work a bit less and lighter. And of course, if you have a pain, it lingers in your mind and you can't play as usual.

But once the pain was gone, when I came back from the U.S., I had a lot of treatment. Then I was able to work well and my preparation was a lot better. And in Asia I kept practicing and now I am feeling physically fit again and I feel good on the court.

Q. So is the Masters still a goal? It's always a question we ask here in Paris.
LUCAS POUILLE: I was asked that question before Vienna and I said I can't lose a single match anymore. So of course as a goal, it would be a bit tough.

We never know what can happen, of course, but for the time being I'm not thinking about it, and I'm not thinking about it when I go onto the court. I'm just thinking about my first round here that is going to be very difficult, and we'll see what happens afterwards.

Q. Did you have any doubts? Did you know it was the knee? This summer it was difficult?
LUCAS POUILLE: I never said my results were because of my knee. It was certainly not because of my knee that I lost those matches and that I didn't have the results I was hoping for.

Now, I can't say I had doubts, but I lost a bit of confidence. It's difficult to hit the right shot at the right moment when you have that kind of pain.

But I always kept working. I always believed in myself. I always believed in Manu and Pascal and the whole team, and I knew if I kept working hard and doing what I was doing, it was going to pay off.

Q. When you win the greatest title in your career, you always want to take advantage of it and then take a few days rest. But there, you have to play here immediately afterwards. Are you happy to play this tournament back to back or would you have preferred to have some days off?
LUCAS POUILLE: No, I'm happy to play this tournament back to back. There's always a pleasure to come back here for me. I like this tournament. There's an incredible atmosphere here. My first good result on the tour was here. So I was really looking forward to coming here.

Anyway, in tennis, you can't always have time to celebrate victory. Of course, I won yesterday and the first thing I did was catch a plane, have dinner, and now I'm preparing for the first match. I have my first round in doubles and my singles on Wednesday. So I have to start something new.

But it's going to help me for this week.

Q. Davis Cup is coming soon. Are you thinking about it? Are you more careful not to get into it in practice? Are you working on your body more?
LUCAS POUILLE: At the end of the season, it is indeed a risk that you can get injured. So you have to be very serious about warming up, about treatment after the matches.

I can't tell you I'm not thinking about it, it would be a lie. It is somewhere in my mind but I'm not thinking that I need to win the Davis Cup final right now. I will have time to think about it once this tournament will be over. Then I will be able to prepare for the final.

Q. Winning in Vienna, did you feel you earned your position on the team for the final?
LUCAS POUILLE: You have to ask that question to Yannick as far as I'm concerned. As far as I'm concerned, I don't know.

Q. Were you afraid you would lose that position with your bad results?
LUCAS POUILLE: No. I mean, just the fittest players get to play. And if Yannick felt another player was fitter or playing better, it's up to him. It's his choice.

Of course, as far as I'm concerned I want to play that final. I want to do everything I can to win that final. But now, the captain is in charge of selecting the team. And the players just do what they can.

Q. This week you will be playing doubles and you played also doubles in Vienna. Aren't you afraid you will be playing too much considering the upcoming Davis Cup final?
LUCAS POUILLE: No, no. There will be time after this tournament before the final. I will have time to rest and practice again.

As I said, physically I feel good. The last week I finished the week without being tired at all, although I played doubles even on the Saturday.

And after the match yesterday, I feel good. This is why I'm playing doubles here. I want to play as many matches that I can because I need to be ready, I need to be ready to play doubles, singles, and play as many matches as I can.

Q. Is it the French team staff who asked you to play doubles?
LUCAS POUILLE: As I said, we never know what can happen. There can be injuries. So you always need to have plan B or plan C even. So me playing doubles with Richard is a possibility.

Q. There was a request from the French team?
LUCAS POUILLE: I don't know if it was a request but we talked about it and they said it would be good if you could play. So this is what we are doing.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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