ROLAND GARROS

May 28, 2022

Leolia Jeanjean

Press Conference

I.C. BEGU/L. Jeanjean

6-1, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Thank you for coming to see us after the end of this adventure, at the end of a match that we felt where you didn't manage to really get into your game, a little bit less in the second set, but not as well as in the previous rounds.

LEOLIA JEANJEAN: Yes, well, for sure, compared to the players I played before, her game was a little bit more robust, more down-to-earth.

I think it's a little bit like my game. I think that's what disrupted me, and I didn't disrupt her very much. The rallies were quite long. I was physically quite tense, and so my legs were not reacting very well.

But to be quite honest, I didn't find any solutions. I don't think I had many opportunities, actually. I didn't have much room to do anything.

In the second set I think that there was an opening that I didn't manage to grasp, especially in the game at 5-4 when I was leading 30-Love. It's a first experience.

I don't think I can disappoint anybody, because I did what I could. It was a first for me.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. Didn't you almost start the match, you know, with disappointment in the first game with five breakpoints? Is that in your head or do you just move on?

LEOLIA JEANJEAN: No, I just look ahead. It's quite usual, actually. If I win the first game, I think it can change the way the first set goes, but I didn't manage, but I didn't focus on it for very long.

Q. All of the hopes that you brought about, didn't these kind of turn against you because you were a favorite? Did this make you a little bit more tense?

LEOLIA JEANJEAN: Well, anybody who thinks I could be a favorite is a bit crazy. I mean, I'm anything but favorite against this girl that's almost 130. There is almost 130 points between us.

And I think on clay, she's not that frightening a player. I don't think she's played that well on clay.

No, maybe I was a little bit tense, but as I said, this girl has a game that's more disturbing than the previous girl. She doesn't give a lot of points away.

When you are tense, then you try and force things a little bit and you give away points.

Q. The adventure is coming to an end, but what do you take home from this Roland Garros? Despite everything, I imagine it's a positive thing.

LEOLIA JEANJEAN: Yes, it's just pure joy to experience this. It's always a little bit difficult to manage a defeat. It doesn't make me happy, of course, but with a bit of hindsight, I had a tremendous time. It was an amazing point in my life, and I'm very happy.

Q. Beyond this defeat, what comes next for you in the short term?

LEOLIA JEANJEAN: Well, I'm going to have to have a look at my short-term program. Either I continue on to some ITFs or do a 60,000 in Biarritz or Nottingham and do WTA at 260. But with a new ranking of course the program will be changing so I'll have to look at this with my coach, that we talk about it.

I think that we will be going on to grass shortly. Marseilles probably.

Q. You said you were quite tense today and that your legs were not responding. Did you manage to enjoy the match?

LEOLIA JEANJEAN: Of course. Just the fact of playing in Lenglen was a real pleasure. But of course I would have liked to do better, maybe play a bit better or make the match last a little longer. If I could have gone and got a third set it would have been good. But I really enjoyed the experience.

Q. A lot of people, most people, I would say, just have got to know you in Roland Garros. We have a feeling you can achieve a lot on a court that's very complex, that you can adapt your game to come into the 150. I think you will be ranked 148 from next Monday. That will change the outlook for you and also change the expectations from others. How are you going to manage this? What do you want to achieve now? What are your objectives? How are you going to manage everything that you brought about this week?

LEOLIA JEANJEAN: Well, first of all, my objective is going to go up into the first 100 ranking, and to play the Grand Slams. How am I going to manage it? I'm going to manage it as I have so far, with the people, with my team. I'm not going to change a lot. I'm going to continue to train. I'm going to continue to do what I have been doing.

In terms of expectation, I'm sure that my team will have some expectations, because they saw me play well. They saw that I could beat a top-50 girl. We are going to try to reproduce this I think in the near future.

But, no, not much will change.

Q. If I say December 2020 and May 2022, what do you say without thinking about it too much?

LEOLIA JEANJEAN: I will say you need to look at what happened between December 2020 and now. There has been a life change in between time.

Q. What has changed most in your life in recent days? What have you seen changing?

LEOLIA JEANJEAN: Well, a lot of people have started talking to me, to begin with. It's rather strange, actually.

But it's almost a change in my career. You go from the secondary circuit with not very good conditions, and you come into the Grand Slam with really great conditions.

It's above all the emotions that have changed. When you play in a full court it's just pure joy, and it's something that I want to experience again and I hope I will experience it again next year.