ROLAND GARROS

June 1, 2024

Corentin Moutet

Press Conference

C. MOUTET/S. Ofner

3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Is that the best feeling you've ever had on a tennis court?

CORENTIN MOUTET: Yeah, one of them, for sure. It was a big fight. You know, he played very good. I knew I had to stay focused because physically I had two big matches, so I knew that I could play on these.

But yeah, it was a great match. Amazing atmosphere. My first match this year on Suzanne Lenglen. The crowd was really good. Yeah, it was a great atmosphere, and I played good. I'm happy with my game.

It was a challenging match because even though I was playing good in the first set, he was playing amazing, so I had to really, like, play a good match too to be the winner today.

Q. Can you just describe how much of a difference the crowd made, especially after dropping that first set, because it seems like there was a groundswell of support we haven't seen for a long, long time.

CORENTIN MOUTET: Yeah, they were supporting me a lot through all the match. Yeah, it's precious. It helps in the difficult moment. As I said, the first set was pretty difficult because it's not like I was playing bad. I was playing good. I did a few mistake that I could avoid, but it still was a great set.

So yeah, I had to keep going, and the crowd, of course, supported me a lot, so it helped me for sure today.

Q. You're going to play Jannik Sinner, an Italian. Do you think you are capable to drive him crazy as you sometimes do when you play, you have all the support of your public and your tennis is pretty different from many others? What do you expect out of this match?

CORENTIN MOUTET: It's not my first goal to make people crazy. (Laughter.) I try to play my game. I don't know what you mean. Yeah, yeah, but tennistic terms it's a good quality.

I don't know. I'm going to play my game. I never played him. We never practiced together. So it's going to be a first time for me playing with him, such a great player. I watched him a lot playing. He's very aggressive. He's No. 2 or something like this. I don't know. It's one of the best players in the world, maybe the best at this moment.

So let's see how it goes. Of course, I'm going to try my best tennis-wise. Yeah, let's see the result.

Q. I believe you won nine points with underhand serves. I don't know if that was something tactical that you thought before the match or it just felt natural for you in that moment?

CORENTIN MOUTET: I don't know. When I see the opponent far from the line, sometimes it's an option. Yeah, I don't know. I tried to use my skills, you know, tried to use my quality. It worked well today.

It's good. I did a lot, quite a lot, but I think I lost only one point. So it's a good percentage I would say.

So, yeah, I don't know what to say more. It's a shot that we can use, so if I can use it and win some points, I will use it.

Q. Just finally, what sort of an atmosphere would you like there to be for this Sinner match? Obviously you're getting a lot of home crowd support. I'm guessing you want it to be like tonight; loud, rowdy, almost hostile in a way?

CORENTIN MOUTET: No, I wouldn't say hostile because today, you know, they were supporting him on some point because he did a good points. I was even, like, encouraging them to support him on some points because, you know, when you play two five sets in a row, it's so hard physically. Much respect for that that he, like, gave his best today on the court.

Yeah, I felt that it was a lot of respect for both players today and that they just enjoyed the game, enjoyed the match, and I hope it's going to be the same against Sinner.

Maybe more people are going to be for him because he's one of the best players in the world, but let's see. We are still in France. I hope it will be a lot of support for me.

Yeah, let's see. I will enjoy my match and try my best.

Q. You were operated on one and a half years ago. You went down to 140.

CORENTIN MOUTET: 170.

Q. We feel that you've worked hard to come back to your level and you're close to your best ranking. I've often heard you say I'm working, the time will come. Can you really tell us about this and all the work you've done and the feeling that you have today that maybe the work is paying off?

CORENTIN MOUTET: Yes, it's paid off today, but in other moments of the year as well, but it was a long period. It was hard. Hard in the head, physically. The training was more intense with this handicap.

It's far more complicated. My team supported me, and we went through the storm all together. So it's tough because I question my choices, and people forgot that I had this disability. So when I lost a match and I went down in ranking, they thought it wasn't normal, whereas I was playing with one hand.

It's a tricky period, but I'm happy because it really forged myself, and it took longer than planned to come back to my level, but work pays off. We knew if we worked well -- so you can work in the shadows, but it doesn't pay off immediately. You have to be patient, which isn't easy. You have to carry on working and persevere.

Q. Yes, you started the first set very well, and we felt that you were kind of losing it a bit and your opponent was playing well. We felt sometimes you were a bit annoyed. What was happening in your head? When you're annoyed, did that motivate you, or were you trying to fight against that so that you didn't lose focus in the match, because we have the impression in the first set that it was difficult?

CORENTIN MOUTET: No, it wasn't difficult to stay in the match. I'm quite ambitious. I wanted to win, and that was the main objective is to stay in the match and to keep concentrating so you don't lose the thread.

But yes, it's annoying, because as I was saying, I was playing quite well, and he was really impressing me. He was really impressing me. He was hitting hard at the backhand, and even in the forehand I thought he was going to be more passive, but he was hurting me too, so I started the match very well.

He was more passive, and as soon as he started getting into the court, I had to find solutions. Things were going very fast, so it was frustrating because I had the impression that his level had to lower so that I could take a breath. So it's frustrating because you don't know if it's going to happen.

No, I think we all get annoyed. Some show it more than others. Maybe you can see it on my face more than others, but I think we're all sometimes annoyed deep down. It's a balance to find between remaining motivated and trying to get back into the match and to remain positive and to not do too much because then you can lose your concentration and lose energy, waste energy.

Q. This is your second round of 16 in a Grand Slam, but this is Roland Garros. It's in front of your audience. What can you say? What are you feeling inside now?

CORENTIN MOUTET: Well, I'm super happy, super proud. This is a tournament I've been watching since I was small. As a French player, whether you follow tennis or not, it's a tournament that is part of your youth. When you're at school or those who are revising their Baccalaureate -- I didn't go that far -- but for those who are revising their Baccalaureate it's in the background. I was in boarding school from 12 to 15. We put the telly on whilst we were training.

For all of us it was an objective. It's something that everybody knows in France I think. Even people who are not interested in tennis, it's the major tennis tournament in France, so it brings everybody together.

So it's necessarily a satisfaction, and I'm really delighted to be in the second week here. I hope to go further, but it's a good step, and I'm happy to be there.

Q. You're preparing yourself to qualify to play in the Olympic Games. To say that you're going to play with the French team this summer, what's happening in your head? Did you talk about it before?

CORENTIN MOUTET: I haven't had time because I qualified today. As soon as I knew the place was in Paris, it was my main objective, of course. It's a dream for me to play the Olympic Games and to meet other French athletes.

It's mythic as a sportsman. Even in tennis we have the Grand Slams. It maybe doesn't have as much value for the audience of the other sports.

The first thing that I thought about when I was injured one and a half years ago, I said it's bad timing. I'm 51 ranked in the world, and the Olympic Games are coming up. It's the first thing I thought about when I got injured, and I was afraid of missing it.

Today I'm not certain if it's sure, but I'm well ranked, and I can't lie, that was my main objective. We even started talking in my team that if I lost early here, I might play a challenger in the second week. So it's the objective of life. In Paris it's something you can't miss.