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ROLAND GARROS

May 29, 2019

Stan Wawrinka

Paris, France

S. WAWRINKA/C. Garin

6-1, 6-4, 6-0

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. Did you expect a tougher match against him?
STAN WAWRINKA: Yeah, always expect a tough match when I enter to the court. But I knew he was also playing well, especially last few months. He won two tournaments. He won a lot of matches on clay court.

But also, I know how well I can play. I'm happy with the way I have been playing today. I think I have been playing really well. I was really aggressive, moving much better than the first round.

Yeah, I'm happy with the match.

Q. There was a nice moment after when you grabbed the child from the stands. What exactly happened there? Can you just talk about how you saw it? You walked the child over, it looked like?
STAN WAWRINKA: Yeah, people were pushing too much, and he start to cry because he had some pain. I took him out of that mess a little bit, and he was in pain and sad. So for sure, I tried to make him feel better, give him a towel, and try to find his dad.

Q. Speaking of close quarters, being close enough to see that, you were in the Bullring in the Court 1, which seems like we have been saying good-bye to for a long time now. Could you say a few words about the specialness of that court and that atmosphere?
STAN WAWRINKA: Yeah, always been great court, even more this year because now it's open for everybody to come. So it's really packed house, a lot of people from every seat, from the first to the last seat. The atmosphere is really good, is really close from the players. You can really feel the people cheering, making some noise and all.

Yeah, it's always nice to play on a court like that.

Q. Can you say this is one of the best matches you have played since you came back after your knee surgery? Does it mean that you're at a better level than in the last few months?
STAN WAWRINKA: Yeah, it's for sure one of the best matches I play last few months. It's the most complete match, also.

But again, it's Grand Slam, it's in French Open, I like the conditions, I know how well I can play here, I know how well I have been practicing and pushing myself to play a match like that. I'm happy with today, but this is just one match, so I just want to be ready for the next one, keep practicing and see what's gonna happen next match.

Q. Sort of along those lines, with all the trouble you had with your knee and multiple interventions, I'm just wondering whether there was a time that you thought it might not be possible to get back to the level of reaching later stages in Grand Slams? What was maybe the most difficult part of working your way back?
STAN WAWRINKA: Yeah, I had a lot of pain full time. After the surgery it took me a little while to get back fit and ready to play like today. It took more than a year, and it was not too easy way to be back.

But again, at the end of the day, I knew why I was doing it, because I love tennis, I love the game, but especially I love to play. In a court like today with a lot of people in a Grand Slam, that was always my dream to play in the French Open when I was a kid. So that's when you are in pain, not sure how well you're gonna be back or which level you can be back, you focus on that, focus on what you wanted when you were a child.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. What mark would you give yourself out of 10 for today?
STAN WAWRINKA: I'm not giving myself a mark. It was just a very complete and solid match from beginning to end, three sets against a very good player.

I felt good, I moved well. I was aggressive when necessary. But it was a very good match. But as I said, you don't know what will happen in two days. I'm very happy with my performance, but it's still only the second round.

Q. You mentioned that briefly in English it was potentially the last time you were playing on this court. Did you feel any specific emotion?
STAN WAWRINKA: No, obviously.

Q. Do you have any specific memories on this court?
STAN WAWRINKA: I would say that throughout my career it's not the place where I had the best matches, but it's still a mythical court within the French Open. As I said, the public is very close. This year they opened it up to the public, so it's even fuller from the first to the last row and it's a great atmosphere.

Q. What do you feel about the playing conditions? It was said that the surface is very fast, because it didn't rain a lot. Is it going to be an advantage for you?
STAN WAWRINKA: I only played on two courts, but obviously it's quite quick. Simonne Mathieu was very quick, very hard underneath, so it was slippery.

So these are conditions, rather fast conditions. I was told that the central court is also the same. I haven't been able to train on it, play on it, but I'll see. But as a player, you adapt.

Q. Do you have a preference as far as your next opponent is concerned? If not, can you tell us about both of them?
STAN WAWRINKA: Well, not really. They are two players who have been looking to find their way over the last few weeks, to renew with confidence.

I would say Dimitrov is able to be extremely aggressive, but it seems that over the last few weeks, he had trouble finding this confidence. He trained a lot over the last few weeks. He plays well. But on the court, it's different.

Cilic plays well, but he plays from the back of the court, and when things go wrong, he has trouble adjusting. But it should be an interesting match.

Q. Mentally, do you approach a match against Cristian Garin as you would a match against Kovalik, who may be a bit weaker on paper?
STAN WAWRINKA: Well, yes, you approach it mentally in the same way. But the two matches are different, because the first round is always different from the second round. You're looking for something else.

But mentally you approach all matches within the same way, with the same desire, with the conviction of what you want to do, and then things happen on the court.

Q. There is a match that is interesting for tomorrow: Djokovic against Laaksonen. Are you going to give a few tips to Henri about Novak, or are you closer to Novak than Laaksonen? What would you tell Laaksonen?
STAN WAWRINKA: First of all, to tell him anything, he would have to ask me first. But I will say yes, it will be a complex match. He has to play his game. He has to play his match and believe in it.

It's always the same. When you get on the court, it's not easy when you're playing against Novak when you're playing in a Grand Slam tournament, but you have to go there and try to win.

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