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ROLAND GARROS

May 31, 2018

Richard Gasquet

Paris, France

R. GASQUET/M. Jaziri

6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-0

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. Were we entitled to be afraid for you at the end of the second set? Both mentally and physically you looked taken aback.
RICHARD GASQUET: Well, I know it was a long match. For a little while I was not playing that well. The weather was stifling on the court. I didn't manage to break back, and then obviously he felt confident, served well, played well. So I knew I had to give everything I had at the beginning of the third set to make the difference and not to leave too much in it of my energy in the second set.

So I got ready beginning of the third set. We had long and hard balls, and I held my serve. You know when you're one set love, you don't look too proud obviously. And then in the fourth set I had a slight problem in my thigh. And I'm glad I won, especially the third set, which was a difficult one.

So I was glad to get 6-3, 6-0, because at the end of the second set I wasn't sure I was going to win like that.

Q. What happened at the beginning of the second set? You won the first set rather well. Then you had three break points, and then you had an empty moment.
RICHARD GASQUET: Yes, bad game, breakpoints, I lost confidence, and then he was playing well. Well, he was playing well, so I was the one who didn't play well. I didn't manage to break back. I missed a lot of dropshot shots, which I don't usually miss.

It was a long match with some strong moments, weak moments. I knew I had to pick up at the beginning of the third set. I knew that it was important at that moment. Otherwise it would have been very difficult. It was important for me to break.

There were a lot of difficult rallies, and I managed to get this game which was very important for the rest of the match.

Q. Recently you said that years fly by. Despite the years, is it that good to be at the third round of Roland Garros?
RICHARD GASQUET: Well, when I was 25 I felt when I'm 32 I will not feel so much stress. Well, it's not true. You know, you always want to play. You always want to do your best. You get injuries. You get a few things.

And I'm happy to be in the third round and to beat some players and still be there with the public behind me to feel these feelings of the match, of stress, to still live through this, and then for a while I haven't been in the second week. I have played a lot of second weeks in my career, so I'm glad to be here and to be able to defend my chances and play at the best level I can.

Q. For the rest, unless there is a specific disaster, it should be Nadal. You have known it since the draw. Were you able to not think about it?
RICHARD GASQUET: Well, you see it, you know it. It was like Federer for the Australian Open. Even in the first round you play against good players, so you have to get through the first round.

I had it in the back of my mind, but I had to first play the other matches. I knew it wasn't going to be that easy.

Obviously now it's a different thing, but I'll try to do my best, because unless there is a disaster, as you said, he has a good chance of winning. But I don't want to get on the court and say it's Rafael Nadal. He's extraordinary. We all know he is. So I'm not going to repeat that all day long.

I'm just going to get on the court and try to play a good match. I'll try to do it with Federer in Australia, I'll try to do it with Nadal. You have to be ready to play a good match, because you do want to do something.

But I'm not going to think about it throughout the day and think he's an incredible player; we all know it. I'll try to play a good match.

Q. For ten years you hadn't won a single set against him. How can you get on the court and still believe in it?
RICHARD GASQUET: Well, ten years is a long time. It's long, even though I believe I played him in 2005, and I also played a good match in Monaco. A lot of people were expecting this match, third round, 33 degrees. He was not the same player as in Monaco, he was playing very fast. So when I left the match, I was with my father at this time, I said, He's going to win and he might win a lot of Grand Slams behind that, because he was incredible.

I didn't think he would win ten times, but I knew he would win five or six. I have known him for a long time. I have known him since he and I were young. I appreciate him a lot.

Well, we all know what kind of champion he is, but I want to go there and to do my best. It's a great draw for me. It will be on the center court. There will be people. I intend to have a good match.

Q. You said he's a friend of yours. Do you share other things apart from tennis, or is it just that you're on the same tour for 20 years?
RICHARD GASQUET: I'm not telling you I have dinner with him every night, but he's someone I appreciate. I have known him for a long time. A pleasant person. I have a lot of respect for the champion and the man he is, because he's a very pleasant person outside the court.

Q. You were both very strong very young, so you had years of comparison.
RICHARD GASQUET: Well, the comparison was not that long, because, okay, when we were 13, 14, but when we got 18, the comparison was not there anymore (smiling). You know, that's a bit of a problem that there was a comparison with Rafa Nadal, but there was.

Q. Aren't you tired of hearing that again and again?
RICHARD GASQUET: Well, that's over. When we were young, obviously I was compared to him many times. I won a match in Monaco. He would win the next match.

But then I saw that the comparison was going to become difficult to maintain, and it was going to be difficult. It was the case.

But at least I can still say that I was compared to him at a time, and despite that, it will be a great match for me. I'm happy to get to it quite fresh with no pain, no injury. I'm going to enjoy the moment, even though I know it's going to be a bit complicated.

Q. But there are players not as strong as you are that have beat him. Do you think you respect him too much? You don't match his play so well?
RICHARD GASQUET: No, it's not a question of respect. When I'm on the court, I lose. That's it.

I do my best every time. Once or twice there was maybe a kind of a respect, but I tried every time. His style of play is complicated.

For example, I can control people's backhand, 90% of the players, but not for him. And his strong point is canceling my strong points.

But there is not that many players who are below me who have beat him and especially in the Grand Slam. There are a few but not that many.

It's up to me to find the solutions. Once in Basel we had a very tight match. I found a way. So you want to do something once you get on the court. It's not always easy, but today, as I talk to you, I want to do something. Then we'll see.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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