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ROLAND GARROS

May 31, 2018

Lucas Pouille

Paris, France

L. POUILLE/C. Norrie

6-2, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. Cam Norrie is kind of quite new on the scene this season, hasn't played that much on the tour. Just wondering what your impressions of him are as a player.
LUCAS POUILLE: Well, I think he's -- I mean, he's a great player. He won some great victories this week. He beat John Isner last week, so means he's about to beat the best players in the world.

I'm sure his ranking will be better and better the next coming months, and I'm sure he has a good future.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. It mustn't have been that easy to restart when you were almost about to clinch a victory in three sets. What was the second part of the match like, and what did you do to manage?
LUCAS POUILLE: It's never easy to interrupt a match right in the middle. That's why it can be tricky.

But I'm happy that I managed to get the proper opportunities, the first break point. I have had four or five. And I didn't manage to do anything with them except when I saved set point on my serve.

Even when he gets to the net at 5-3, I managed to turn things around.

Q. To come back to last night, do you think that what you wanted was to finish yesterday and to recover today and try and conclude too fast, which could explain that you lost the third set?
LUCAS POUILLE: Yes, absolutely. It was a long day. We weren't even sure that we'd play. Caroline's match was a very quick one, so we were able to start playing at 7:40 p.m., and we didn't even know that we'd finish that night or not.

And at 9:00 or 9:05, we started the third set, and it was pretty dark. Then some clouds cleared, and I thought, Well, maybe you have a chance to finish and you can rest tomorrow, so keep on going.

After 9:25, 9:30, things become really complicated, last quarter of an hour, last 20 minutes, it was almost night. I could hardly distinguish the people who were in my box, Manu and the others. Obviously my idea was to end it, and I think that this played against me.

But that's what happened.

Q. When you play a match over two days, to what extent does this disrupt your preparation and your rest time?
LUCAS POUILLE: Physically it doesn't disrupt much. I didn't play two-and-a-half hours today. And during training, I would have played for an hour.

It's just from the point of view of your nerves, because you have an extra tension. The stress builds up day after day, and that's what makes a difference. But physically, it wouldn't change much, because had I finished yesterday, I would have played at least an hour today.

Q. You're going to play Khachanov tomorrow. I know you play with him in doubles, and he's a friend. Is it difficult to play against somebody that you really like?
LUCAS POUILLE: Yes, it's quite special. But we're used to it, because we know each other. We all know each other on the tour, on the circuit.

So I don't think it's going to be very different from the other matches. And it's true that we train a lot together. We played doubles together in Marseilles and Dubai practically back to back with four days in between.

It's going to be a difficult match. He's a very good player. He's in full progression and very confident. So I have to be there from the very beginning and give it my all to hope to win.

Q. Are you going to face this match with good impressions and being confident with your game, or are you still trying to look for things?
LUCAS POUILLE: No, I have a good impression. I know that the beginning of the match I started much better today than yesterday and the first round.

It's still not perfect, but the more you move on in the tournament, the better you play. Therefore, I hope that I'll play better tennis tomorrow.

Q. Physically how do you feel? Do you feel that your potential is increasing and that you're ready to play for 15 days?
LUCAS POUILLE: Yes, I feel really well. I don't feel tired. Yesterday we played an hour and 45, I think, so it wasn't that long.

And it wasn't that physical, so I didn't feel tired this morning when I woke up. Didn't feel any physical discomfort.

And after the set today, it was the same. I'm in good shape, and I think I'll feel better and better day after day.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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