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ROLAND GARROS

May 27, 2019

Stan Wawrinka

Paris, France

S. WAWRINKA/J. Kovalik

6-1, 6-7, 6-2, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. You finished your match with great style and conviction. What are the elements of your game that you're most satisfied at the moment?
STAN WAWRINKA: Well, I think in general, the match was quite good. I think the third and fourth sets were really good. I was putting more energy into it. I was being more aggressive, playing more simple. And I'm happy in general to have won the first match.

Q. Can you tell us a bit about your clay court season, about the preparation? How happy are you? What kind of level are you? Are you a title contender? How do you rate yourself?
STAN WAWRINKA: It's tough to really say where I am right now. I think in practice court I'm playing really well. I didn't find a way really to play really well in match the last few weeks except maybe Madrid a little bit.

Yeah, I'm still believing with myself, I know I'm ready for it, and hopefully it can arrive this tournament.

Q. First of all, I want to congratulate you on your incredibly strong moral statement that you made a few weeks ago. I wanted to ask, some have called it one of the most powerful and significant letters in the history of our sport. Could you talk about why you chose to speak out? You said you have always been taught to do that. Could you share with us, please, some of the responses, maybe supportive, maybe not, that you have had since you made that statement?
STAN WAWRINKA: Well, I already answer all about that. I think this letter was few weeks ago already. I had few press conference about it already.

I think, as I say, it was just the opportunity to do something different for me to do a nice letter from a good newspaper, and I was happy to do it, in general.

At the end of the day, it's just myself, just what I think, what I see, how I see the truth in general, and that's it.

Q. Did you keep one of the famous shorts, which one you won here, the famous ones? Did you keep one for yourself?
STAN WAWRINKA: Of course.

Q. Where is it? Somewhere in your living room, in a frame?
STAN WAWRINKA: No, no, not yet. Probably the day I stop playing maybe I will put them nicely. Yeah, for sure, I kept them. But not only from here. From US Open, from also Australia, something important for me.

Q. (Question off microphone.)
STAN WAWRINKA: Yeah, because you guys didn't like them until I won the French Open. That's why they are famous now (smiling).

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. Tennis right now is a sport of players in their 30s. Do you think that Roland Garros will also be won by a 30-year-old player?
STAN WAWRINKA: Yes, it's very likely that the favorite will get -- well, to win. I'm not part of the favorites.

Q. Can you talk about playing on the new court? It's like underground. You play differently? How do you feel about the new Roland Garros in general?
STAN WAWRINKA: The court is beautiful. It's the first on which I trained when I arrived here. I love the atmosphere. You can have, especially when there's an audience and the atmosphere, everything stays within.

For a player, it's really very pleasant to play on such a court with such an atmosphere. It's a great success. In general, they evolved greatly. What they have done is moving the right direction. And for us, it's very pleasant to see all these new things.

Q. On such a court, the audience is very close. They see you from very close. They see you talking to yourself, getting angry, and you're used to doing that. But did you do it more today or were you calm during this match according to your own standards or do you need to adjust something?
STAN WAWRINKA: No, in general, I always look at the audience. If they're close, I look around. After the match, I'm very satisfied with my first round. In the first round, you never play your best tennis.

But I played well. The first two sets were not so good with respect to what I was hoping to do. And the third and fourth were excellent with respect to my game, my strategy, the intensity I wanted to put. For me, it's an excellent start of the tournament.

Q. Cristian Garin next round is a great test. He's won two titles. Is it the type of match you need or you're fearing?
STAN WAWRINKA: It's a beautiful match to play. He's an excellent player. He's won a lot of matches this year on clay. And of course I don't need certain matches. I just need to move ahead in the tournament.

Q. I asked the same question to many players: What do you expect from your box during a match in terms of body language, discipline?
STAN WAWRINKA: It depends on the period of time. It depends on the matches and especially on the time. Normally I know exactly who is in my box, where they are seated. And then for me there are two or three people who are important, like my coach, like my physical preparer, physiotherapist, my manager.

These are really people based on tennis. And then there are other people around them. I don't like them to move or to talk too much.

Q. Are you satisfied when you see young people, young players like Shapovalov or Tsitsipas with one-handed backhand? Or do you think this shot will disappear?
STAN WAWRINKA: For me, we'll always have single-handed backhanders. There's always been very good players like that. Of course the two-handed backhand is dominating, but we have always had good players with single-handed backhand. So it will continue.

Q. Can you imagine being the owner of the tournament of Geneva in the future?
STAN WAWRINKA: I heard that it's not up for sale, so I can't imagine myself owning it if it's not up for sale (smiling).

Q. Regarding what my colleague was saying, we are doing an article on the court Simonne Mathieu. What did you feel when you play on this court?
STAN WAWRINKA: We feel a fantastic atmosphere. It's a new court. When I practiced on it the first day, you hear the sound echoing. Everything remains inside. And of course when there is the audience, there is more sound. We hear the atmosphere.

As I was saying, it's very pleasant as a player. When there is a lot of people, there is the sound staying on the court. You really feel the entire support of the crowd.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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