ADELAIDE INTERNATIONAL

January 14, 2022

Arthur Rinderknech

Press Conference

A. RINDERKNECH/C. Moutet

6-1, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Talk to us about today's match.

ARTHUR RINDERKNECH: Today's match was of course - how to say - a tough match but maybe not if you check the score. It's probably not a tough match but more inside our heads. I'm sure everybody knows what is a home country duel match. That's what it was.

Of course, a little bit of tension, but happy to get the win with a pretty short time on court.

THE MODERATOR: Your first tour-level final now. What does that mean to you to be in that position?

ARTHUR RINDERKNECH: It's a great achievement. I'm really happy to be in the final. It's a new step again. I made the semifinal in Kitzbuhel last summer. Now final here for my first tournament of the year.

Of course, really happy. Just looking forward to what's next.

THE MODERATOR: A possible opponent in Cilic or Kokkinakis. Thoughts on those two opponents, the potential matchups ahead?

ARTHUR RINDERKNECH: I mean, both of them are such great players. Of course, Cilic has a lot more experience than Thanasi and me definitely. He's the favorite. Now he's going to play against a young and talented player, Australian, with the home crowd. Of course it's going to be a hard match.

We'll see who I play against tomorrow and just going to get ready for this match.

THE MODERATOR: Thoughts generally on being here in Adelaide this week.

ARTHUR RINDERKNECH: I mean, like I said on court, it's my first time in Australia, first time in Sydney, first time here. I'm really enjoying the country. I think it's such a beautiful country. Everybody told me that it was a great country. I can now confirm that it is. Great weather. Of course, it's changing quite fast from one day to another. That gives some charm to the cities. You do different things.

Of course, enjoying my time here and looking forward to discover and visit Melbourne as well.

THE MODERATOR: You have been serving well this week. Do you think your serve is your biggest weapon?

ARTHUR RINDERKNECH: If you ask my opponents, they would say yes. Of course my serve is tough to return, but I think I'm breaking the serves of my opponents in every match almost every set. I mean, I think maybe every set, yeah. It means I'm capable of playing pretty solid from the back, just putting pressure on the guy's serves.

THE MODERATOR: There are some emotions on the court today. How did you manage to keep your emotions calm and move on?

ARTHUR RINDERKNECH: I know Corentin. I know how he is. I know him pretty well. He's a really nice guy outside the court. I've never played against him in the past. I knew he is a tough character on court. I knew he was probably going to go a little bit crazy at some point if I'm leading the match. He did actually. He tried to do some stuff, tried to get in my head.

Yeah, my plan was just to play tennis and be focused on my tennis. I mean, the best way to win a match is to play your game and not to try to make the other guy not play his game. You see what I'm saying?

Yeah, that was it for me.