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ROLAND GARROS

June 4, 2018

Marin Cilic

Paris, France

M. CILIC/F. Fognini

6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 6-7, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.

Q. It just not have been easy to go into the fifth set with the opportunities and everything. How did you stay in that match mentally?
MARIN CILIC: Difficult. It was a difficult. It was a tough day mentally. First two sets I played solid. I think Fabio was not playing that well. He was missing some balls, and I gave him opportunity in that third set. The fourth one was we were both holding serves.

It was also frustrating. I was missing some returns when I had some chances, small opportunities. Match point, missed return, missed another two returns after that. And just after that, obviously, it happens like that. Every single time, he played amazing tie-break.

And it was tough, extremely tough mentally. First few games in the fifth set I also was not returning well, and it was who is going to break first, and it was lucky it was me. And just continued to put pressure until those last couple points and then, you know, lucky we got through.

Q. You're playing Del Potro now. You get a lot of comparison with him in the past because you're the same age, height, and some say a similar game as well. But on that point, are you okay with that or can you talk about the difference in your game with Juan Martin?
MARIN CILIC: Yeah, we played many times. We know each other. He won, you know, a lot of our matches in these last few years, and we had few tough ones. One of them was the Davis Cup match, that was the last one. That was a big match. And, yeah, I mean, Juan Martin is having great season playing great tennis.

And then, you know, are playing similar games but still different. I mean, I think in some ways I'm maybe a little bit quicker on the court, but he's in some ways serving a little bit better, hitting off his forehand side bigger and more consistently, I would say.

So just in those comparisons, it's always a tough matchup between both of us. I think we are always playing some tough matches, and I believe this one is going to be for both of us very tough.

Q. The crowd were really invested in today's game. When you were on top, they were cheering you. When Fabio was on top, they were cheering him. When the momentum swings against you, do you just think about your game, or is there an element which you think, How can I get the crowd back on my side?
MARIN CILIC: It's, I think, more important to win points, you know. But, yeah, it was -- I think it was entertaining match. Mentally difficult, I think, for the crowd.

There was some, obviously, great rallies, great, you know, cat-and-mouse points, coming to the net to go left, right.

And with Fabio, it's always like that. You can see a lot of things happening on the court. Even, you know, having few medical time-outs, then he was out of it, then he came back and played great tennis, great tie-break.

You know, and the crowd gets into it and, obviously, the crowd always loves to see the thrillers to go all the way to the fifth set.

And it's not easy mentally to stay in there, but for me it was big focus just to keep focusing on my game and to continue and to look for the opportunities. I know I missed a lot of them, but I knew one or two are going to come again.

Q. When you had the knee injury a few weeks before the French Open, I guess you were getting maybe worried about your shape here. When did you feel that it was going to be okay?
MARIN CILIC: I still had some problems with my knee just up to the tournament, couple days before. I didn't feel the full strength on my right leg.

But then, just one or two days before the tournament started, I felt really good. We did as good as we could the therapies and the recovery.

Still, you know, I played in Rome. The starting of the tournament was tough. I didn't feel good. I wasn't moving well. And then, match by match, everything felt better and better.

And I'm playing pain-free because you can see I'm not wearing that taping around my knee.

So everything feels good and, you know, also today was difficult match physically, three-and-a-half-hours.

But everything was well.

Q. Both you and Juan Martin are holding serve really well throughout the week. We could be set for some tie-breaks in the next match. Do you ever think about your approach to that before a match and how you might tackle that, or do you wait until it happens?
MARIN CILIC: You know, you wait until it happens. You never know what's going to come. Obviously, you can expect one or two tie-breaks are going to happen.

But, you know, we are both, as well, returning well. There's going to be a lot of points played from the baseline that can make a difference. And, you know, you have to focus on your game and try to use the opportunities as quick as you can.

You know, I think, in these kind of matches, not many points are differentiating the players. So it's going to be extremely important to play every single point on a high level.

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