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ROLAND GARROS

June 1, 2018

Grigor Dimitrov

Paris, France

F. VERDASCO/G. Dimitrov

7-6, 6-2, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. Seems like your relationship with Paris is still on a bit of a rocky road. Can you just talk us through the match a little bit and did you feel that it was going to be a tricky one which could lead to possible exit, or what were your feelings going into the match and during the match?
GRIGOR DIMITROV: Well, of course it's going to be a tricky one playing against Fernando. It's never an easy match. I lost to him earlier this year I think in a tight match.

Today was pretty much the same. What can I say? It's a shame, because physically I felt good, but I think -- obviously I lost my nerves early on in the first set after I lost that set. So it was kind of tough to recover from that.

But even so, I still had some time to kind of get into a rhythm, get into a different match, and just didn't happen. You know, simple as that.

I mean, unfortunately I have to continually stop here, I mean, the same time. Paris has always been, I guess, great to me, but I just could never turn it around out here.

And this year is the same thing. In a way, there is not much else for me to say except, I mean, another tournament has passed, and I need to look forward and look for the tournaments ahead.

Q. Where does this leave you in terms of your year? Because it hasn't been as encouraging as this time last year, even though you lost earlier in Paris.
GRIGOR DIMITROV: Yeah, I mean, the way things are right now, it's a tough way to put things. Obviously I really expected to play better on clay. I mean, throughout the last matches I played, even in the Madrid, Rome, Paris, all matches, I had everything to win. So absolutely my fault.

I need to -- I don't know. I need to reassess that a little bit more. Every year I pretty much play well on the clay but never good enough to have a better result.

Unfortunately, that's the current situation. I don't want to get too down on myself, because it is what it is. Five months into the year. So that's what it is.

You have to draw the line and, you know, look for the next chapter. Also, in tennis you never know one week can always turn things around for you. It's been proven to work in the past, yeah.

But I definitely need to take some time off now to kind of reassess the whole clay court season, to be honest. I think that's going to be the No. 1 priority for me now to kind of step out from the tennis for a little bit, try to watch some matches and sort of try to progress somehow and just get better.

How? I mean, we'll figure. I don't want to be too negative right now. I know it's hard right after the match, but I need to -- I mean, I have always been a positive thinker, and I want to keep that on the same level right now. Obviously it's tough when you lose a match, but that's how it goes.

Q. Going into this tournament, of course you were the No. 4 seed. But did you, yourself, feel like the No. 4 seed, considering how the clay season went before, just in terms of confidence level and everything?
GRIGOR DIMITROV: It doesn't matter. Honestly doesn't matter what seed you are now. I mean, you see players, I mean, even in the previous match, that are playing absolutely their best tennis, and in order for me to sustain that and win, I need to be even more sharper. I mean, look, for example, today Fernando, he's not a high seed, but he played an absolutely stunning match. What can I say?

On that note, it is the way it is. I don't think the seeds matter that much, especially on clay. I mean, anything can happen. Especially in a slam. You play best-of-five sets. In a way you always get a little chance, and today he used them all.

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