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May 27, 2019
Paris, France
Y. MADEN/K. Coppejans
7-6, 7-5, 6-3
THE MODERATOR: Questions in French, please.
Q. You have a lot of regrets, especially three set points, so I imagine that you have more regrets today?
KIMMER COPPEJANS: Well, as you said, during the first set I had three set points and then my tiebreak was poor. And then I was up with one break each time, but every time I broke, my serve was bad. And so twice he got the break back. Especially during the first set, it was crucial. I think it could have been a U-turn. Things could have turned out differently, but that's what tennis is all about.
I think that I played less well than I did during the quallies.
Q. How do you explain this? Were you nervous? Is it because it's the main draw? Did you think that you could do it?
KIMMER COPPEJANS: I felt more relaxed than during the qualifications. I was happy to play today. I was less consistent in my game. I was playing someone who was not playing fast but who was quite strong and who didn't make any mistake. So it was tough.
Q. Do you know each other well? Did you know what to expect? Did he know what to expect? Can you talk about your connection with him?
KIMMER COPPEJANS: I played him three years ago in Antwerp. I lost 6-3, 6-2.
I know him quite well. We often play together on the same tour. I watched a lot of videos on him. I also watched the match with him and Arthur. I think that today he played differently than what I could see on the Internet, but he played well today.
I think that I could do better today. I thought that I would dictate rallies, but I didn't. It's a pity.
Q. When we know that the second round is against Rafa, it's a missed opportunity. It's a wonderful missed opportunity. Do you have more regrets when you think of that match?
KIMMER COPPEJANS: No. I'm pretty happy with my results so far. I really wanted to have a win today and play Rafael, but it's not a huge missed opportunity. I'm still quite happy to have reached the main draw.
Q. Where do you think that you have to improve your game to be able to play that kind of match?
KIMMER COPPEJANS: I have to work on small details, to go up to the net, to hit more drop shots.
In my defense, I could improve a lot. I think I could hit harder as well. I lack in strength against someone like him who's not that fast. Had I hit harder, I could have done better.
Q. What's up next?
KIMMER COPPEJANS: I will go back to Challengers tour on clay court, and then I will have Wimbledon's qualifications to play.
Q. At what point did you think about Nadal or did you just take it away from your mind?
KIMMER COPPEJANS: We had a joke with Mike just before the match, actually, yesterday. He said to me every time that Maden was in my mind, I had to say "Maden, Maden." We had kind of a game like this, but I was focused on him. But I still was quite focused today.
Q. How many times did you have to say "Maden"?
KIMMER COPPEJANS: Yeah, well, quite a few times because I often said it, of course, because I was often drifting away. But one has to be focused on the match going on at the moment.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
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