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ROGERS CUP MEN

August 9, 2011

Richard Gasquet

MONTREAL, QUEBEC

R. GASQUET/F. Mayer
6-3, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. For your next round, Bellucci, you played him at the French, what kind of match do you expect there?
RICHARD GASQUET: It's tough guy. I had the people behind me in Paris. It was important for me. No, I remember I played a very good match against him.
But I know he's powerful. He's a left-hander. He's very talented. It's a big match for me. To win against him, I really have to play a great match. So it will be tough.

Q. Will it be harder because it's a different surface?
RICHARD GASQUET: Yeah. But on clay, on hard, he can beat me, I can beat him. We will see.
But what I know, I have to play very well to win this kind of guy.

Q. Just describe how you thought you played today and where your confidence is right now.
RICHARD GASQUET: I played well. I won 6-3, 6-2 against a good guy, 23 in the world. So it's a good victory for me. I served well. It was a good match on hard court for me, so I'm happy.
THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. The only time when you were shaky today was when you served against the kid on the court.
RICHARD GASQUET: Yes, because I missed my first serve, and the crowd reacted, so I felt a bit tense.

Q. So it was really the only time when you were tense, otherwise you played a very clean match. It was completely different than your other match against the same player.
RICHARD GASQUET: That was a completely different match, in completely different circumstances. It was Davis Cup, on clay, at home for him. Here we are in Canada and playing on hard courts.
I was anxious, though, because I hadn't played for a long time. I am starting to play again with this tournament. But I did play a solid match, a good match.

Q. What did you do since Davis Cup?
RICHARD GASQUET: I practiced. First I had 10 days' rest. I came here early. This is my first tournament. It's always tough when you start playing again after being off. Every time I come here, it's always the first tournament after an off period.

Q. When you were off, you didn't even touch a racquet?
RICHARD GASQUET: No, I didn't touch my racquet. I just ran a little bit. It was good having a break.

Q. Have you been working with Sebastien and Ricardo?
RICHARD GASQUET: Also with Paul. But I came here last Monday and I'm happy because the US Open Series is long, so I still have time ahead of me to play some matches. I need to play matches again. I was tired after the Davis Cup. It was a tough tie.

Q. What do you think about your draw? As we say, it seems to be a lucky draw for you.
RICHARD GASQUET: It's always difficult to tell beforehand if the draw is good or not. Of course, I don't have to play Nadal or Federer early, but I have to play Bellucci. He's playing well. But I have a chance against him. But I must play like I did today. I'm very happy to be able to keep on playing in this tournament.

Q. How do you explain the great improvement in your ranking lately?
RICHARD GASQUET: Well, I went through a period when I was losing matches, but I still practiced a lot. Little by little I started playing better and winning matches. The victories added up and I became more and more confident.
I was playing a lot better in Rome, then the French Open, and the series continued. But I'm going to try to improve my ranking even more.

Q. There are four French players in the top 20. It's good for French tennis.
RICHARD GASQUET: Yes. We are going through a good moment for French tennis. Of course, we are trying to improve, but we have good players right now.

Q. Did working with SÃ©bastien Grosjean change anything for you? Did you change your approach?
RICHARD GASQUET: No. What is important to me is to keep injury-free. It means that I have to really work every day, day after day, and I must fight for every match.

Q. Do you think the French players have a chance to win this tournament? You almost did it in Toronto.
RICHARD GASQUET: There are chances. Indeed, there is Jo and GaÃ«l. But here it's a very big tournament and it's going to be tough. But there are chances for the French players.

Q. You made the final in 2006.
RICHARD GASQUET: That seems very long ago. It was in another life, five years ago. I'm not playing worse today, but it was a long time ago.

Q. You're talking about another life. What has changed?
RICHARD GASQUET: Not much. But I believe I'm playing well today. I feel good in tennis. I feel good.

Q. Maybe you have less pressure now than in the beginning of your career where you had many expectations on you.
RICHARD GASQUET: Yes, indeed. Now I want to play for myself. I want to improve my ranking. I enjoy playing tennis. I have fun on the court. I believe I'm very lucky to be able to play here in MontrÃ©al.

Q. What can you improve in your game to catch up with the top players?
RICHARD GASQUET: Well, they are very strong physically, very fast. They do everything well. I think that's what they have: they do everything better than the other players.

Q. In France, do you have younger players up-and-coming?
RICHARD GASQUET: I don't know. I'm not in charge of this. Today I know we have four very good players. I believe in five or six years from now the younger players coming up will not be as good unless something unexpected happens. I think we are lucky with the players we have today, and I don't believe in the future we will have as good of players.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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