ROLAND GARROS

June 3, 2021

Dominik Koepfer

Press Conference

D. KOEPFER/T. Fritz

6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4

Q. How does it feel to get through again?

DOMINIK KOEPFER: Yeah, obviously great. I lost to Taylor twice before last year at the US Open, so it's good to finally get a win and not lose three times in a row, and I'm happy that it happened at a big tournament and here. Obviously on clay I was pretty confident about it.

It turned out to be a battle, and got it done in the fourth and really happy about it.

Q. Obviously he's in a battle now and you have a lot of respect for Cilic, too, of course, but if you play Roger, how exciting of an opportunity would that be for you?

DOMINIK KOEPFER: Yeah, that would obviously be amazing. I've never played with him. I've never practiced with him. Yeah, I think it's a pretty tight match right now, and yeah, whoever wins I'll face on Saturday. I'm excited to be in the third round, and yeah, I'm confident, and yeah, hope I can give him trouble, whoever it is, and try to reach the round of 16 again.

Q. You're sort of of the age where growing up you were a kid when Roger was sort of at the peak of his power, so to speak. What always amazed you about his game the most?

DOMINIK KOEPFER: Yeah, I mean, he's so crafty. He's so talented. It's amazing to watch him play. He's different than all the other players, and I hope Roger wins just so I can say I played him, and I don't just want to play him, I want to give him a battle and maybe come out with a win somehow. Yeah, I'm just going to wait a few more hours and then we'll see who I play in the next round.

Q. Sort of that mental approach you're talking about, how do you sort of -- some people go on the court and that's a big moment, whether you play Roger, whether you play Marin, they're both Slam champions. How do you keep the right mental mindset going into the court?

DOMINIK KOEPFER: Yeah, I think it's good knowing I've played Djokovic before and I played a tight match with him, so that kind of takes the anxiety and the nervousness a little bit.

Obviously it's going to be a big moment walking out there and playing one of these guys, but I've been around now for maybe like two years now on the ATP Tour, played the bigger tournaments for the second time now, and I'm starting to feel like I belong here and starting to believe in myself, and obviously results come if you keep believing and keep pushing, and yeah, today was a good day. Whoever it is, whether it's Cilic or Federer, I'm excited to play him.