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ROGERS CUP MEN

August 8, 2011

Erik Chvojka

MONTREAL, QUEBEC

A. DOLGOPOLOV/E. Chvojka
6-3, 5-7, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. A good effort today. Career high 290 this morning. Three sets with a top-25 player. Validate your decision to get back out there?
ERIK CHVOJKA: I guess so. I'm really happy that I have been having really great results this year. This was all part of the progression. I'm really happy with my match today.
I hope to keep progressing.

Q. Your serve got you out of trouble a lot of times there. The spin backhand, the slice backhand, did that bother you at all?
ERIK CHVOJKA: Yeah, it was one of the keys of the match for me, to serve well. His backhand, the slice, is quite something tricky. You don't see that quite often.
But I think the whole key for that is to adjust well, yeah.

Q. What impressed you the most about him?
ERIK CHVOJKA: I mean, his start. He had such a great start. He just had a great service game, a few winners. That was great for him because it quieted down the crowd and everything was going his way. Very steady. He can open up the court so quickly and finish the point so quickly.
He served very well at times, as well. I think he managed his match very well. I had the whole crowd with me, which could be hard if you're on the other side of that, so...

Q. What kind of battles did you have to fight with yourself to get back into the second and third sets?
ERIK CHVOJKA: You know, I was just focused on my game plan. I wanted to stay steady, then serve well, give him as tough a challenge as I can, then see what I do with my looks.

Q. You said you found the inspiration. What made you want to come back into tennis?
ERIK CHVOJKA: Well, I think I stopped because I was very tired. I had some injuries which kind of demotivated you a little bit. I had friend support. They wanted me back. My family felt like I should go back on tour, that it's not the time for me to study. They're a big part of my comeback, and I thank them for that.

Q. What does this kind of a match do for you in terms of your confidence moving forward at this level?
ERIK CHVOJKA: Well, I think it's a great experience. It's my first match at a big event in the main draw on a stadium court. I can only take good things from this match. I just got to keep working on my game and improving, trying to get to this level, try to compete at these types of events all year.

Q. So what are your plans for the next couple months when it comes to tennis?
ERIK CHVOJKA: Well, for now I have the doubles here. I'm still competing in that event. I want to do as well as possible in that. After that, I will see. Probably a few challengers. You know, it really depends on results. If I do well in challengers, I might start looking at playing some ATP events later on in the season.
THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. What was the best-ranked player you played before this one?
ERIK CHVOJKA: I played Llodra and Serra before. I also played Fognini. The best ranked player I played was ranked 50 or 60.

Q. You decided to go to university, but two weeks later you came back to tennis. Can you tell us about that.
ERIK CHVOJKA: Yes. After two weeks I came back to tennis and to the tour because I liked school, but I felt I was getting fit again and I could make my studies a bit later, and that now was the time for me to play tennis.

Q. So you found your inspiration to play tennis again. Why did you decide to come back?
ERIK CHVOJKA: I had stopped before because I was injured. Of course, this discouraged me a little. But also my friends and my family were supporting me, tried to convince me to come back, so I thank them today for that.

Q. How can you describe your day today?
ERIK CHVOJKA: I was a bit nervous waking up. But this is normal, I guess. It was a beautiful day for me today, all this crowd watching. I had my friends and my family watching among the crowd, which is something that rarely happens when you're traveling abroad.

Q. What is the main difference between the challengers you usually play and this tournament?
ERIK CHVOJKA: In smaller tournaments, the crowd is not as big and you have fewer services than in this tournament. This is part of the normal progression in a player, playing smaller tournaments first, and then playing bigger events with the press and all the rest.

Q. What is your main goal in the long-term?
ERIK CHVOJKA: For this year I would like to end top 200. I would like to be able to play the quallies for the Australian Open. I will work hard for that.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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