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COUPE ROGERSAugust 7, 2013Vasek PospisilMONTREAL, QUEBEC V. POSPISIL/R. Stepanek THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Pretty solid first set. A few loose service games in the second set. Were you surprised you were able to pass him as much as you did? VASEK POSPISIL: Uhm, yeah, for sure. I mean, yeah, I was passing very well today, which is obviously good. If he gets comfortable at the net, he's a very difficult guy to beat. Luckily I passed him well a few times. Maybe he was a little hesitant to come to the net because of that, which obviously goes to my favor. Yeah, for sure, I played a very solid match from the beginning. A couple games there in the second, maybe a little bit of heavy legs. But, yeah, it was a good match for me. Q. Can you talk a little bit about having that home‑court advantage, what that does for you. VASEK POSPISIL: Yeah, I love it obviously. I tend to play my best tennis in Canada. So maybe it helps me more than other players. It helps everybody, for sure. Yeah, not much more I can say about that. Just huge advantage, for sure. Q. Yesterday's match was an epic win. Today's was more routine. As a player, is routine better, better for your psyche? Great players win these matches and move on to the next ones. VASEK POSPISIL: They're better. They're not as memorable, obviously. My match against John maybe rates higher in terms of the moment itself. Then again, this is the first time I ever reached the third round here, a Masters, anything like that. But, yeah, definitely obviously routine is better. Rest a little bit. Obviously I need the rest. I've had a lot of matches lately. Tough flight over here and stuff. Obviously playing well today and winning in straight sets is a huge advantage for me. Q. Both days we've seen the fist pumps, a lot of very expressive stuff. Tell us how emotion helps fuel your game. Give us some context. VASEK POSPISIL: Yeah, it's very important for me. I mean, I'm an emotional guy, so I need to bring positive emotion on the court. Sometimes if it's too much, it's not good either because I can get too intense and stuff. That can be counterproductive. But as long as I'm channeling it in a positive way, it definitely helps me. And I play better when I do that. Q. What is the line between that and sportsmanship issues? VASEK POSPISIL: I mean, I try to be respectful. I just try to pump myself up. If there's an issue, then I'm sure the opponent would bring it up or the referee would bring it up. I would have no problem toning it down. I'm playing at home in front of a big crowd. Of course I'm pumping myself up a little bit more than I would in a normal situation, as well, so... Q. From a win in B.C. to 71 with a bullet, first time in the third round, where do you think your game has progressed that you've seen the results come in? VASEK POSPISIL: Yeah, I mean, a lot of hard work, working in the right direction with my game, which is pretty obvious, pretty clear with my recent results, just the way I'm feeling on the court, the way I feel I'm competing with some of these guys, practice. Just knowing that I'm improving, going in the right direction with my game, you know, gives me confidence. Yeah, things are very clear for me at the moment. So I'll just keep working in that direction and see where that will take me, obviously. Q. Is there any one stroke that has really turned around or marginal improvements in all of them? VASEK POSPISIL: Definitely marginal improvements in all of them. I think I've improved my backhand the most out of all the strokes. I mean, I have an incredible coach. That's a huge advantage that I can have somebody to work with me and travel with me most of the year. I felt like I've been improving a lot. Q. You had a late start of the season with health problems. Do you feel it was some sort of advantage? VASEK POSPISIL: You know what, it's ironic, because I had mono at the beginning of the year. I needed a diet change. It was basically forced on me. To have mono, you have to have a strict diet and eat very well. My diet, being completely honest, was not good the last three years. I would eat pretty much whatever, having chocolates, just really bad (smiling). But, yeah, that's made a big difference. I feel much better on the court. I obviously still get tired just like everybody else. At least my endurance is better and I feel like I'm recovering better because I'm filling myself with better nutrients and better fuel. It's actually ironic, the mono may have helped me in a way. I've kind of stuck to the same diet I had been on when I had it. Q. Do you want to give your coach a plug? VASEK POSPISIL: He's a French coach, Frederic Fontang. He's incredible. I got him through the Federation. He's a great guy, great coach, perfect match for me. Yeah, things are going very well. Q. You were losing 2‑5 in the final set. You came back to 4‑5. Were you concerned at that time? VASEK POSPISIL: Not too concerned. I mean, I was starting to get a little bit tired. My legs were getting heavy. I mean, you shouldn't really do that. Serving at 5‑2 I mentally had a bit of a break, which is not the thing you do when you serve for the match. Just knowing I had the extra break... But I was getting a little bit tired the two games before I went serving at 5‑2. They were tough physically. Like I said, just started feeling my legs a little bit. Kind of had a bit of a break. Then I knew when I went to serve at 5‑4 I had to put all my energy into that game. Yeah, fortunately for me I played a good game. I'll definitely try to be a little bit more solid when I need to be at the end there. THE MODERATOR: Questions in French. Q. What can you say about the success of the Canadian players and about the work that Tennis Canada has been doing? VASEK POSPISIL: I think if the children here in Canada can see the Canadian players having good results, it can only be positive for tennis in Canada. I really hope this will continue, that tennis will be able to become a major sport in Canada in the future. Anyway, it is certain that the hard work done by Tennis Canada explains the good results. During the past five years with the arrival of Louis and Guillaume, the results were very positive. Thanks to them, we are having very good coaches. Q. Your ranking has gone up 18 places. You're in the third round. It can possibly even go higher. Maybe you will be a top 60 player now. How do you explain this improvement and what is your goal as far as rankings are concerned? VASEK POSPISIL: Everything is going very well for me, indeed. But this is thanks to the hard work I've been doing. It is paying off right now. Everything is falling into place. The goal I had set for myself for the end of this year was, at best, to be top 50. But later, because I had been sick, I thought I could try for top 70. I had a bad start of the year with the mono and I couldn't practice. I only had one week practice during the break, so it was a bad start. But now everything is falling into place, as I said. Q. You were saying that Tennis Canada helped you to find a coach. How much help did they give you? VASEK POSPISIL: They even helped finance the coach. They did all the work to find him. I started working with him three weeks before the end of last year. It was great, so we decided to continue together. That was thanks to Tennis Canada and Louis. Q. You lost a lot of weight. You said 10 pounds. Is it your new coach who decided what you should eat, who told you you were eating a poor diet? VASEK POSPISIL: Yes. But I never was fat. I did lose about 10 pounds. In front of him, I was trying to eat a bit better. But even what I was eating then didn't suit him. I was eating hamburgers and stuff. Now I totally stopped that kind of thing. I went to the other extreme. I don't touch this kind of food anymore. Q. All the victories lately, do they have an influence on how you feel on the court? VASEK POSPISIL: The confidence is extremely important. I step into the court not worrying so much about winning. I don't feel the stress much. It makes a great difference. When you are confident, everything goes well. Of course, right now I'm a bit tired because I'm coming from Vancouver. But I still feel I have energy and I feel good. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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