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LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMESJuly 31, 2012Jo-Wilfried TsongaLONDON, ENGLAND J. TSONGA/M. Raonic THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Could you describe your emotion when that match ended and why you think it was so difficult today. JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: You know, at the end I was just very happy for my country. I did it for them, and that's it. You know, when I arrive on the court, I forget myself, and I try to play for the others. Q. How important was it to be that one game ahead in the final set? You had match points a little bit earlier in the set. Was that very important for you to take some pressure off? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: It was not easy, you know, because I have to finish on his serve. And this guy have a big serve, so it was not easy. I had many possibilities, and I didn't took it. He played better than me on these point. Finally I did it, so I'm really happy. You know, I think it's something good, to have some good match like this at the Olympics. It's good for tennis, it's good for sports, and I'm just really happy the way I played today. Q. When a match starts to go that long, you're not thinking it's going to go three hours in the final set, how does your mindset change in how you approach each point, each game? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: I think point after point, game after game. You don't think anymore. At the beginning, you know, the first said, you say, Okay, what I will do, I will play. In the second, How I will do, how I will play. The guy play better than you. Then you have a third set to play. At 10‑10, you know exactly what's the guy going to do, and what you have to do (smiling). That's why I think, you know, at the end it's difficult to break the other guy because his serve is just perfect and every shot he play is perfect. That's why is difficult to break the guy in front of you. Q. The fact that you've broken two Olympic records in this one match, how important is that to you? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: You know, for me it's good. For me it's good because this is the only way, you know, to write my name in the history for the moment (smiling). With Rafa, Roger and Novak, even Andy, you know, it's tough to go through big tournaments. So, you know, I'm really happy. I hope I will have some more. Q. You said he played better than you, at least early. Was that because he was able to get to some breakpoints? How did you handle that, because you didn't allow him to take advantage of a lot of those opportunities? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Yeah, I think he had some breakpoints, but I don't think he played a lot better than me. Along the match, played well. I was aggressive. It's never easy when you play a player like this, you know, who serve at 220 kilometers in every point of the match. It's never easy to play a guy like this who have a big serve. It's really difficult. Anyway, you have to defend. This is not my game. So, you know, I'm pretty happy the way I played today because it was not easy for me. I had many problem in the past, you know, with player like this who serve really good. It's always very tight against them. I'm happy to go through today. Q. How are your emotions different playing on these very same courts wearing the blue rather than the white of a few weeks ago? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: You know, it's something special because I dream about Olympics when I was kid. And now it came true. It's maybe better than in my dream. You know, for me, represent my country is something big. They give me a lot, so I try to give back, and that's it. Q. You'd never played Milos before. What did you learn about him today that maybe you didn't know? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: I learn that he can be really strong, you know, in his head, mentally really strong. I didn't know he was able to play like this, never miss during many, many games like this. I think he played well even on his baseline. Sometimes it was strange for me because I return and I say, Okay, I have the advantage on the baseline. But no way, no way I have the advantage, because he hit the ball really hard. It's difficult to know what he's going to do. Q. Looking at the schedule tomorrow, I think you may have to play two matches, singles and doubles. Does that concern you at all? Are you feeling quite tired after today's match? JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: You know, anyway, it's not like if I play one hour. It's a long match. But, you know, I will do everything to recover tonight, and that's it. I will take some time, you know, relax. I want to say many things I can't say in the normal life, but here I have to be more quiet (smiling). FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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