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ROLEX PARIS MASTERS

October 31, 2018

Adrian Mannarino

Paris, France

K. NISHIKORI/A. Mannarino

7-5, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.

Q. Can you just talk a little bit about the match today, the result, and your thoughts on how you played.
ADRIAN MANNARINO: Well, I think that Kei played very well. He was mixing his serve, the pace, and everything pretty well. So it was not easy for me to return. And then I felt like when he really wanted to make the defense, he returned it a little bit better and he made it difficult at the end of the set. So it was not easy.

But yeah, he was playing fast. It's not easy to get the rhythm with him and I think he was just better than me.

Q. Going into the match and knowing his game, what strategy were you planning to play?
ADRIAN MANNARINO: Well, I knew that he was returning very well, so I knew he served well, a lot of first serves. And then tried to make my best during the game because I knew that he was going to play faster than me and he was going to put a lot of pressure.

So I was just trying my best to just put the ball in the court just one time more. But, you know, sometimes he is taking the ball so early. So I was just a little bit too far. And, yeah, he played well.

Q. The French are known for supporting their players so strongly. How much does that support mean to you?
ADRIAN MANNARINO: Well, honestly, today, I was not really concentrating on that. You know, it was tough on the court. And I was just focusing on what I had to do and trying to play my best. I think that maybe if I would have taken the first set when I was up 5-4, Love-30, then maybe I could made a little push with the crowd too. But, you know, when you're down on the score -- because, yeah, he was pressuring me all the time.

So it was not easy for me to create the game. It was not that entertaining for the crowd. You know, I was just trying my best but it was not enough. I was not making a lot of winners.

Yeah, I didn't play well enough to ask for a little push from the crowd.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French, please.

Q. What do you tell yourself? I'm on holidays or I would like to push further?
ADRIAN MANNARINO: Well, I'm quite happy to be on holiday right now despite everything. But after such a hard summer, after the Asia and US Open, these are the last two, three tournaments where I can be back on track.

So it's a bit hard to think that -- I'm not totally out of energy, but still I will have some time to relax, to rest, and to prepare well for next season.

I won't have a lot of points to defend this year. I haven't played very well this year. So what could be a good motivation is to have good objectives and to make sure that I achieve them.

Q. Just to go back on today's match, it was the first encounter with Nishikori, if I'm not mistaken. Is he difficult to play against? We've talked about it. He plays fast. He hits the ball in a very specific way. Or maybe it's not that difficult to handle that and the problem was somewhere else.
ADRIAN MANNARINO: Well, I've played with him quite a lot so I knew what to expect. He doesn't seem to be pushy but he hits the ball very fast. And his strong point is his first stroke after the serve. He's in a corner and then he manages to get it open on the other side.

There were not a lot of rallies. I didn't have the feeling that I got into the match and to fine-tune myself because the rallies were very short. In one or two strokes, he manages to stand out. And it's quite hard when you're the opponent because you're on the defensive approach.

And it's quite stressful because on the serve, you know that he's going to cut me at the throat right away, then I'm going to be overwhelmed. Of course he also makes mistakes. Otherwise it would be too hard.

But he plays fast. He puts the pressure on his opponent's shoulders. And after one or two returns he plays well, and the match is wrapped up in his favor in the end.

Q. Davis Cup question. Have you had news or as far as you're concerned you're on holidays and it's over?
ADRIAN MANNARINO: I've had no news so far. So I don't think I'll expect any news to go on holidays. I will leave and if I get a good call in the days to come, well, all the better.

And if not, I will just enjoy myself and relax.

Q. Regarding the same subject, do you still believe in it still? Do you think that you fancy your chances to be part of the team?
ADRIAN MANNARINO: Well, yes. I'm among the top 50 today. So I do fancy my chances. However, I have no idea what Yannick has in mind. Of course Richard and Lucas are important pillars of the team. There may be one or two members where choices can still be made and I hope to be one of them.

Q. Honestly, because this is the last tournament of the season, wouldn't you rather know if you're in or out? Because isn't it complex for you? You don't have a lot of holidays and being unaware of the decision is hard.
ADRIAN MANNARINO: Well, from a logistics point of view it would be easier to know, but this is the way it goes. If I were to shorten my holidays, I would. Obviously I'm actually traveling far away. If I have to do a round trip it would be hard. But we'll see nonetheless.

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