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ROLAND GARROS

June 7, 2018

Garbine Muguruza

Paris, France

S. HALEP/G. Muguruza

6-1, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. What do you think Simona did today that was so effective in the match?
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: Well, I think she played very good level. I think she didn't miss a lot. I think she gave very little free points.

Her shots were very, very deep and very aggressive constantly.

Q. How do you feel she played differently compared to the last time you played in Cincinnati?
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: Well, it's a different surface. Also I think in that match I played better. Maybe she didn't play like this level.

And today I think it went the opposite. I think she played very good. I think I could have done things better.

Q. Did you feel that she was specifically targeting your forehand or serving a lot to your forehand and targeting your forehand? How did you try to adjust to that? Because you had quite a few unforced errors coming off of that wing.
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: Yeah, I think she played a lot crosscourt and serving a lot to my forehand. I mean, it comes and goes. I think today she decided to do that.

We had very good rallies, but she was very successful in what she was doing today.

Q. You just said that you could have done something better. Can you elaborate on that point, please.
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: Well, I think I should have a better serve today. I think I started in the first set not matching her level. She was right away playing incredible, and I think I should have done something a little bit better to not let it go so fast.

But, I mean, she played very good today. So she also put a lot of pressure.

Q. It is not the result you would have hoped for today, but looking at your time here at Roland Garros, what is your overall assessment of your performances and how you feel about your tennis right now?
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: I mean, it is a tough day today. It is a very tough day, because, you know, it's one of those matches where you train so hard, you know, to achieve a Grand Slam final.

I think she played very well. She deserve it. So overall, I'm happy because it's a great tournament. You know, it's disappointed because you're very close to the final match.

But overall, it's very good.

Q. As you said, she was playing really well. Does that almost make it a little bit easier, the feeling that you got beaten and that you didn't, I don't know, squander too many chances or didn't let things go away from your own racquet? Does that make it easier?
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: I mean, maybe a little bit. Yeah, I think she gave not a lot of opportunities, and I didn't really took them right away. So I was always behind a little bit in the score.

So I don't know. Yes and no.

Q. There was a big game at 4-4 in the second set. Do you think you could have turned things around if you had won this game?
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: Yeah, I felt in the second set that it was very even. I felt it was very different from the first set. I had few chances there, and, you know, I didn't took them, and I paid the price later because she speed it up.

So like I said before, I didn't -- the opportunities that I had, I didn't really convert them on my side.

Q. This might be a difficult question, but I just wanted to ask you, throughout your career, how you come to terms with accepting defeat and learning from it and what the process is for you then to come back stronger and go on to win again? Because that must be difficult, especially how you are feeling right now.
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: It is difficult. I mean, I deal with this every week, because I don't win every week, of course.

There is ones that has a stronger effect. Probably today is one of those matches where you're, like, Man, I'm a little bit sad.

But I have been learning a lot. I was so emotional when I was younger, you know, just in the past. And with experience, you just take a little bit more perspective. I'm in that point right now (smiling).

Q. Last year you had, obviously, a tough loss here, and then maybe with that perspective, looking back on last year and you had a fantastic Wimbledon and grass court season, even though you'll have a few days off, I presume, are you afterwards excited for the grass and for what's to come over the next couple of weeks?
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: I am. I mean, grass is very unpredictable. I'm always going there and let's see what happens this year, you know, kind of.

So, you know, I feel overall that these two weeks have been great, so of course it pumps up a little bit the energy to keep it up. So, yeah, I'm excited for the grass.

Q. You have just told us you're looking forward to Wimbledon. Do you feel as though you are harder to beat on grass than other surfaces and that could be an advantage against other players at the start of the tournament?
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: I feel like grass and clay, there is differences that you can use. So I'm happy to change the surface, because I think in hard court it's just everybody plays good. Everything, it's more equal.

So when I can play on clay court and grass, I don't know, I feel excited that everybody has ups and downs or you see a little bit more.

So, yeah, I think it's going to be interesting.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in Spanish.

Q. I see that your eyes are a bit red. I imagine that the defeat has been very hard.
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: Yes. And also it was very hot out there.

But it was a very difficult match. It's a difficult day, because it's a match where I was very close to reaching the finals of the Grand Slam.

And I played very well, and she played very well. In the second set, it was more equal. I missed the opportunities at 4-4 in the second set.

And she has a very high level. I didn't take the few points and opportunities I had.

Q. You said that you didn't get into the match. Why was she so fast?
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: Well, she started playing very well immediately, and I wasn't able to reach the level that she was playing. She made very few unforced errors, and she went high very fast. She played better and better. And in the second set, I stopped and I said, Okay, what is happening? But in the first set, it was just lightning.

Q. How did you see the crowd? Did they bother you?
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: I don't look at the crowd. In some moments, they were more supporting Simona, but I didn't really pay attention to the crowd.

Q. You said in English that you made a few changes in the second set. What did you change to change the situation with respect to the first set?
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: I tried to make less unforced errors, work more on the rally, not try to be as aggressive from the first shot, to be more patient, and to have longer rallies and take less risks.

Q. For the future, you're thinking about the future where you're the titleholder, the woman to beat?
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: Yes, I will play a tournament before to prepare myself. Well, there are just two tournaments on grass, and I will try to be in shape in Wimbledon. It's a very difficult surface. I was very successful on grass, so let's see what happens.

Q. Do you think that Simona Halep is the favorite to win the tournament?
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: Yes. It's her third finals in Roland Garros for her, and she has a great level. She played very well against me. I don't know what rival she will have in the finals.

But apart from being No. 1, she's also the favorite for this tournament.

Q. The difference between the match of today and the previous matches where you were focused and confident, why did you make so many unforced errors, or did you take too many risks?
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: I think that today I had an opponent who is playing very well, very few free points, and my play was not so effective as in the previous matches.

It's the match in Roland Garros where I played the worst. It was an important match, and she was aggressive right from the start. She played very well right from the onset, and that's the result.

Q. Now that you know what it represents to win a Grand Slam, does it make your defeat here more difficult?
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: Yes, indeed. I know what it means, what it takes to be in a Grand Slam. I'm more conscious of the value. When you're not so conscious, you don't pay attention to it. So I think that you note it more here.

Q. You say that you're more conscious, you're more conscious that you will have more opponents and more finals or semifinals of Grand Slams?
GARBIÃ‘E MUGURUZA: Yes, of course. That's where I like to play, that's where I'm at my best. The important thing is to be here, playing these matches, and one will be successful and the other not.

But the importance is to reach the final rounds, and maybe one day I will be in the finals.

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