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ROLAND GARROS

May 29, 2019

Sloane Stephens

Paris, France

S. STEPHENS/S. Tormo

6-1, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How does it feel to be in the third round?
SLOANE STEPHENS: It's nice. Obviously played well both matches, so just happy to be back in a good position in a slam.

Q. Does this feel like you have a certain specific Roland Garros rhythm you get into? Or is it new every time?
SLOANE STEPHENS: No, it's new every time. But I have had obviously, like, my best consistent results here. Yeah, I like playing here. It suits my game well, yeah.

Q. I was reading that some of the players regard you as the biggest threat here at Roland Garros. One of the things that was said is that it's because of your unpredictability and sometimes your opponents don't know what to expect. You have won Grand Slams in the past. When you have won them, do you get a sense early on in the tournament how well you are going to play, or does it just depend on what it is like every time you step on the court?
SLOANE STEPHENS: Yeah, I think obviously depends on the draw, who you're playing. I played Grand Slams where I have played unseeded people in first couple of rounds and I have played some where I have played a former No. 1 player in the second round that wasn't seeded.

It just kind of depends. Obviously once I get into a good rhythm in the tournament I have better results. I just try to do that. I just try to play the best I can from the very beginning, and, yeah, just see how it goes.

Q. During your coaching search, I'm curious if you looked at any female candidates? And when you were working with Kathy, how different it was working with a woman in that role? It seems to be a few more WTA players are picking former WTA players to be their coaches.
SLOANE STEPHENS: I did. I looked at anyone and everyone, because I needed a coach bad. But, yeah, I didn't want to just settle for someone that I was, like, Okay, I'm just going to pick them because they are available. If I was going to be in that space I wanted to pick someone I really liked, that I could stick with and kind of learn from and grow with.

Yeah, I waited as long as possible until I found the right person. Not that I didn't care about the results when I didn't have a coach, but, I was, like, obviously when I pick someone, like, the commitment is going to be there and I'm going to have to really push myself. So I wanted to be sure I made a good decision from the very beginning.

Q. (Off microphone.)
SLOANE STEPHENS: Yeah, no, it was good. Obviously she's our Fed Cup captain. I'm used to working with her and around her. That's obviously why I picked her, because I'm very comfortable with her.

But yeah, I couldn't really say the difference, because I have known her for so long and she's been around since I was, like, 12. It wasn't like a new thing with, like, being a female type of thing. It's just like she's another mom, so it was kind of normal.

Q. I know some players focus heavily on the technical aspects of their game to judge how well they are playing but I also heard recently that you said that even when you are playing technically well, one of the most important aspects for you is how you are thinking, how you are focused, and what your thought processes are. How important is that for you now? And do you feel locked in, focused?
SLOANE STEPHENS: Yeah, I feel good. Obviously bringing on Sven I have had a lot of structure the last couple of weeks, at the amount of time we've been working. I feel like I'm in a good head space. I'm playing better. I'm seeing the court well, which I think is really important for me.

My movement is good. Everything is just kind of falling into place, and that's kind of what you want. Obviously I had a good result in Madrid, but kind of, you want it to click here. This is obviously the most important period that it should click.

So, yeah, I'm happy to be in this position and happy to be kind of getting better match by match.

Q. Congratulations on your engagement. You may not want to talk too much about this, but I wanted to ask, being in such a good space personally, others have said that that really does help them on court. Does that impact your game? Is that a positive?
SLOANE STEPHENS: Yeah, definitely when your home life is good and your family is good and you're happy, I think that definitely does affect how you play on court.

Obviously traveling, being away from home and having a good, like, support system at home while you're away I think is really important. It's not easy being on the road for four or five weeks at a time, sometimes even six weeks, girls go way longer than that.

So yeah, it's not easy. But as long as you have a good support system and a good team and you make sure that, you know, things are well at home or whatever. For everyone it's different, I'm sure, but for me, as long as things are good and everyone is good, my grandparents are good, I'm, yeah, I'm happy.

Q. When you're doing your hiring process for a coach, I don't know if you interview people or talk, whatever, how do you figure out if a coach knows what they are talking about or not?
SLOANE STEPHENS: Oh. I have a really good, like, bullshit radar, so if it doesn't sound right, it's probably not right (smiling).

But, yeah, I think you have to kind of have a vibe with the person. You have to pick up on, you know, their energy. Like, if you're having a conversation and you're just, like, bouncing ideas off each other, it's flowing, and you kind of get a feel of, like, okay, this would work for me because I do get along with this person, we have the same views and thoughts. They're listening, I'm listening, that type of thing.

So, yeah, I think with Sven, yeah, we had sat down and had a full-blown conversation and I was like I'm going to get my shit together before I start working with you and then -- wow, sorry. And before I start working with you. And then so when I start working with you I'll have a clean slate, I'll be ready to learn, I'll be able to take in whatever you're saying.

Yeah, I think it's worked so far. It's a good -- not that it's good to start in the middle of the season, but for where we were and what we had to work with, I think that we have learned a lot in the last, like, month. Yeah, it's a weird process, like, getting to know someone, but at the same time, hopefully I keep him for a long time. I'll know everything about him.

Q. Are there similar things that pop up on your radar repeatedly when talking to people, like same sort of things pop up, or is it always just a different vibe?
SLOANE STEPHENS: It just depends on what you're looking for. Everyone is different. And I feel like I like structure and I like people who are honest, I like people who are up front and straight to the point. That's what I look for in someone I want to be around all the time.

And I don't want a welcome committee, I don't want someone who's, like, talking to every person they see. There are just certain things that I'm, like, Okay, it's just not going to work for me. And if you do do that, you're just going to have to stop because it's not going to work.

But yeah, there's just certain things, like I said, each person is different. But for me, like, I know exactly what I want and what I need to get out of that person for us to have a good relationship. That's kind of what I look for.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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