ROLAND GARROS

May 29, 2023

Caroline Garcia

Press Conference

C. GARCIA/W. Xiyu

7-6, 4-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. Congratulations for this win.

CAROLINE GARCIA: Thank you.

Q. It's never easy, a Grand Slam, the first round, it was quite windy. What about all that?

CAROLINE GARCIA: Yeah, it was very, very windy today, and it's been the case for a couple of days here in Paris, quite windy. The sky is blue but there is a bit of wind. Quite pleasant, though.

It was a big first round. It was just a question of a few points here and there. She has lots of things she does well. She has a good game that's very aggressive. I had to keep calm and seize the very few opportunities that I had.

I'm very happy, very happy about my attitude. I was calm. I was positive. This was something I wasn't really good at in the recent past.

So I seized these opportunities here and there. It was an incredible atmosphere, in any case.

Q. Last year you were not that well in the ranking, and then you were No. 5, world No. 5. Now you're back on the Philippe Chatrier Court, you have another status, and there is a lot of expectations on you, I suppose.

CAROLINE GARCIA: Yeah, lots of things have changed for me in 12 months in the right way, in a positive way for me. It's so good, so pleasant.

Since I have arrived here in Paris in Roland Garros, I have received a lot of positive energy, lots of support from the crowd, which means a lot of energy for me. I try and take all of this energy. It's a great opportunity. It's a chance that I'm given.

Well, it's a different status for me now, but that's just like having a sticker on your back. I'm still the same. I try and play my game that I love, that I want to play, and develop on that basis.

Q. The Chatrier court, at the end of the match, was a court where the crowd had left, whereas on Court No. 14 and Lenglen there are more people. But on the Chatrier court, not really. What are the reasons, according to you?

CARLOS ALCARAZ: I don't know. I didn't analyze this. I didn't count the number of people on the court.

But I thought that the crowd reacted rather well, I thought. When the moments were important and in some cases at some moments when I asked for their support, the support from the crowd, well, that's all I can say, nothing else.

At the beginning of the tournament, and that's true for all Grand Slams, sometimes the smaller courts, the show courts have more crowd, as they call it, and others don't have tickets and they want to go on Court No. 14 and support all of the French. Sometimes it's different. Sometimes the crowd is a bit different, but I was really massively supported. I thank them for that.

Q. What is it that you liked in your match that is the substance of your match, what you have played?

CAROLINE GARCIA: My attitude. My mindset that was positive. Well, the opponent was a girl who has played a good match, so I had to accept the fact that she would have winners and aces. The conditions were not that easy. But I was always ready to seize these opportunities that I would have during the match.

I think I didn't really serve that well, but not many first serves. Yet I managed to get through. I missed some of the first serves, but it didn't have a negative impact on me. That's a good point.

Q. This year the organizers have an app, they have developed an app, thanks to which the players can do away with noxious comments from social media. What do you think about this initiative?

CAROLINE GARCIA: Well, yeah, we have been talking about this for quite a while, the noxious aspect of social media.

It's good to talk about this. It's good to act, to find solutions against this. I think it's a good idea from the tournament.

It's the first time I think we have used that app. We will see how it works, but it's a good thing to come up with novelties.

Q. Do you know who's the next opponent?

CAROLINE GARCIA: No.

Q. Do you want to know?

CAROLINE GARCIA: No (smiling).