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ROLAND GARROS

June 2, 2018

Caroline Garcia

Paris, France

C. GARCIA/I. Begu

6-1, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. How happy are you with the way that you especially managed to close out the match after it got a little bit tricky towards the end but still managed to keep your composure and finish it off fairly early?
CAROLINE GARCIA: Yeah, for sure, I'm very happy to win this match. I think compared to my first two matches it was a better game on court. I played better. My shots was coming out of the racquet more clean, and that's what I was working on yesterday and this morning.

I'm definitely happy with my better game today, and I needed to play better, because Irina is always a fighter and she have a very easy ball and it's always complicated. So for sure I'm happy.

The end of the match was really tense, and I had couple match points but she serve really well. I couldn't do a lot of things. But I kept positive and kept trying, and I made it.

Q. I know you don't want to look ahead too far in the draw, but asking about the next round...
CAROLINE GARCIA: Thanks.

Q. You're playing either Kiki Bertens or Angelique Kerber. Winner not decided yet. Looks like they could go on for a little longer in the bullring. Give me your thoughts on both opponents, both tricky tasks, who get a lot of balls back, you had a recent match with Kiki in Madrid obviously?
CAROLINE GARCIA: Yeah, for sure it will be a big fight either Kerber or Bertens win this one. I played Bertens in Madrid. It was not a very good experience for me. But she played a really good match. I could say I couldn't play better this day.

But, you know, she's always playing great tennis on the clay court, and she had some good experience in French Open in the past. So it will be a fight if she goes through, and I will be ready and will learn from my mistake from Madrid, and maybe I will be able to do better.

And I played Angie in the U.S. swing, and it was a terrible loss, as well. But, you know, she's playing way better this year. Last year she had a complicated year, but she managed to finish top 20 so that means she's still a great player. It's always tricky lefty bringing a lot of balls back.

I will have to play my game either against both of them and maybe I will be able to go through.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. You were saying in English that you felt much better. Does that have anything to do with your training yesterday?
CAROLINE GARCIA: Well, I was quite happy with my win against Peng, but I wasn't doing the right thing with my shots. It's very important to win whatever you use, but that's not what you'd like to show in the Grand Slam, and that's not what I'm going to have to change if I want to go far.

I think that we played very intensely yesterday on the court. There were very positive things, even though I didn't manage to put all the shots in the court, but I was able to use that in my match today, as I did in the warming up.

And that's why I could hit the ball, strike the ball, being much more confident.

Q. What did you feel when you saw on a Saturday afternoon, third round, Suzanne Lenglen that was not really full? Maybe it would have deserved for a French tennis player more people?
CAROLINE GARCIA: Well, I wasn't really surprised. Sometimes people come back because they went to get a drink, and at the end there were many people.

Q. How do you complete a match, how do you finish it off in Roland Garros? It's harder than in other tournaments? I know today it wasn't that easy.
CAROLINE GARCIA: Well, to finish a match is not easy, especially when you're leading, and your opponent has nothing to lose and releases her shots, takes risks.

So when you're playing against players ranked that high, you can make mistakes and be less accurate, and your opponent takes control of the court. It can be very close.

As for the matches I played before, I don't have much to blame myself for. She is a good server. She gives me a winning forehand. Despite that, I managed to line up some winning points.

Q. We don't want to be unlucky or jinx Pierre-Hugues, but if you're the only French player left, will that give pressure?
CAROLINE GARCIA: Well, last year it was the same, because Kristina played and then she lost, and I was the last French player last year.

So I don't think it's going to put much pressure on me to be the last French player in the tournament. It's a Grand Slam match, so you can be more or less successful. Maybe it will be my last match tomorrow, but what I try is to take advantage of the fact that I'm in the French Open and see where I get. Sometimes you're luckier than others, but I think that everyone really played well, and they will have to think about what went wrong.

Q. Your father said that tournaments such as one in Peking is more physical, and French Open is more mental.
CAROLINE GARCIA: That's true. Peking is a smaller tournament, and when I played there, I played five matches in a row. And in the Grand Slams, except toward the end, you always have a rest day. We only play three sets, so that's as usual.

And elsewhere you have a day in between and you have to stay in the tournament, because you can start hearing good or bad things on yourself, and you have to manage to be concentrated because there is more time between matches. You can lose your focus.

And sometimes you have 24 hours to think about your next match, and mentally it's much harder.

Q. Did you ask to play on the Suzanne Lenglen today? If that's the case, are you fearing to play on the central court?
CAROLINE GARCIA: No, today I didn't ask for anything.

Q. And playing on the central court, is that a problem?
CAROLINE GARCIA: I didn't ask anything for today. I didn't ask for Lenglen or Chatrier. But I'm open to play on the Chatrier or on the Lenglen. I think that the matches were really great in Lenglen, and I have shared it with the public. And if I have to go on the Philippe Chatrier, it will be fine.

Q. Do you know what the difference between Bertens and Kerber would be? And are there different tactics to use?
CAROLINE GARCIA: No, both of them are very good players. Bertens is really a very hard player. She played in the French Open before. Kerber is a left-handed player. She's not that comfortable on clay, but she moves a lot. This year she's got a much better record.

I have no preferences. I know that there will be long rallies in this duel, and I have to be ready for it.

But it will be a different match, and I'll have to start implementing my match as soon as possible.

Q. Before the match, were you able to watch other ones, or is it not your habit?
CAROLINE GARCIA: No, I didn't really look at it. Maybe two or three all together. Days go by very fast, and I try not to watch television. There are more interesting things to do and things go by very fast, so I didn't look at many other matches in the tournament.

Q. It's not your style, but are you going to play with the public? Are you going to use the audience? Because it can be a weapon against your opponent.
CAROLINE GARCIA: Yes, it can be a weapon, but they support me without my asking. It's not in my character, anyway, to ask for support on a shot that is unusual. I try and play my game, and fight as much as I can, give as much as I can. If they are really enthusiastic and if I feel that they can give a bit more, I might call for it.

But generally, I just try to concentrate and so far they were very supporting, and they liked what they saw, and that was the most important, that they like my game just naturally. That's what they have been doing from the very beginning, so it's a great pleasure.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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