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BNP PARIBAS MASTERSOctober 31, 2013Stan WawrinkaPARIS, FRANCE S. WAWRINKA/N. Almagro THE MODERATOR: Questions in French, please. Q. So the Masters is coming closer and closer, one step further now. It's almost done. STANISLAS WAWRINKA: Almost means it's not yet done, but it's always a good thing to win those matches and of course to become closer to go to London. Either I win one more match or the others lose before I do, or before the final for Raonic. Anyway, I'm very pleased for this match today, because not only am I playing to qualify for London, but I want to play and have a good tournament here in Paris. The conditions are good for me when I feel good like today, and this is the main thing for me: winning and playing well. Q. It was complicated when we saw you in Basel. Can you tell us why now you seem much more relaxed? STANISLAS WAWRINKA: Because this is France; it's not Switzerland. And also, Basel was something very special. Especially in Gstaad is went wrong for me. I know why. I know the reasons why it happened, and I'm going to work on it so next year will be better. And also, I came early here. I came on Thursday and I practiced on center court, on No. 1, No. 2, with Novak, with Rafa, with very good players. And so I played a lot of tennis on this surface, and I know that when I have a lot of tennis under the belt and when I feel confident, my level of game rises considerably. This was obvious on the court today. Q. How do you watch the matches of your competitors? I mean, are you tense? STANISLAS WAWRINKA: No, I'm not biting at my nails, no. And I don't watch the whole match. I watch the scores. I'm not more nervous now than I was before the tournament. As I said, I know if I play well, I will be the one deciding of my fate. So what is important for me is to play well, to win my matches, and to qualify because I get the results and not because the others are losing. Q. So for you, what happened in Basel was just an accident? It doesn't change things? STANISLAS WAWRINKA: No, it doesn't change my results. For this season it doesn't change my ranking. As I said, in Basel it was an accident. I'm trying for that kind of thing not to happen again. I have been trying for a long time. In Basel the question was not my level of game, it was mentally that I was not able to manage the situation. I know when I'm extremely tense my level of game drops considerably. But this didn't change my motivation or my confidence arriving here. Q. We don't know how it is to be in the shoes of a potential qualifier for London. Can you explain to the public what it means, just how you feel about that? STANISLAS WAWRINKA: As I said, it would be incredible for me to be qualified. It's a dream that could come true. As a tennis player, when you come to the tour you always see that London tournament as something really separate, very special. You know, to get to this tournament you need to be top 8. When I came on the tour, this was not my goal. It was maybe a dream. Now, after many years of work and on the tour, I have a chance to be able to go there. I'm very close. Really hope I will be able to experience this tournament and to have my own locker. It's an incredible status. I mean, everything is sold out. You only have 10 players there. Everything you hear and you see on TV when you haven't experienced it as a player, you're like the public you don't know what it is. Q. You are starting to believe you can go? It's normal? STANISLAS WAWRINKA: No, going to London is not a normal thing. You need to have an exceptional year. This year I had very good results to be able to compete for this. What changed this year is that I really tried to enjoy my victories more. It's not every day you can beat a top player or you can come to a final or to qualify for the Masters. Well, I'm not yet there, but I really want to enjoy those moments. But I don't want to go to London just to participate in it. I know my level of game now, my confidence, and I know I can beat any top player. But I think I also need to be able to enjoy those moments in my career. Q. Many players are injured. We saw Nicolas; we saw Jo. Apparently you are healthy. We can't say really you're fresh. It's the end of the year. But apparently you're very strong physically. Is this the way you perceive things? STANISLAS WAWRINKA: Yes. Every year it's the same. In the end of the season some players are injured, but they are mainly mentally tired and they want to go back home quicker. This is how I see things. But personally, I have been trying for years not to play too many tournaments and to have a few weeks during the year to rest, to prepare physically. I did that this summer, once again, and so before Gstaad. I had four weeks after losing first round, so I was able to get my energy back. I did that. I thought it was important. This is maybe why I was very rarely injured in my career. So this is a choice you have to make. With my team we decided to take that risk. It doesn't mean it's the best idea when I choose to have four weeks between Indian Wells and the clay season. I'm losing points because the others are playing, but it's a choice. But what I need is to be fit, and you can see that in the end of the year, like now, the results add up. Q. Can you swear you didn't buy your Eurostar tickets to go to London? And the suit? STANISLAS WAWRINKA: No. I didn't buy tickets. I didn't book my hotel room. I didn't do anything. For the suit, they always take your measurements and you try the suit. Q. Is it beautiful? STANISLAS WAWRINKA: You'll see the photos. When you have the chance of trying a suit to go to London, you can only like it (smiling). Q. You said you were careful about your schedule. Do you believe some players play too much? STANISLAS WAWRINKA: No, I'm not here to judge what the other players are doing. What counts is the final ranking. We are there to have the highest ranking and to win as many matches as possible. So some players need to play more. They don't need, like I do, to have some breaks during the year and prepare physically. But I do believe some players are playing many tournaments during a year, so they might not get injured immediately, but they get an injury maybe a few years later and they don't realize it's because of that. Often we just look at the present moment. Anyway, I can't say anything about what they are doing. Ranking tells it all. Q. What would you think qualifying as top 8 or top 9? STANISLAS WAWRINKA: Whatever. The important thing is to qualify. We know Murray is not going to play, so some of us are relieved. It's an extra spot, so we are fighting to be at the Masters, to be 8th or 9th. Q. You need to watch the results of other players to know if you're qualified? STANISLAS WAWRINKA: Well, the good thing in my position is that I don't need to wait until they lose. If I win my matches, I'm in, and it's a good thing for me. Q. We were talking about the quarter. If it's Djokovic, you played extraordinary matches in Australia and the US Open this year against him. You lost, but it was extremely tight. So is it going to be very special to play against him again? Do you want to win it this time? STANISLAS WAWRINKA: You always want to do that against the top players, and especially against a champion like Novak. And, yes, if I play him, I would really like to play that match in a Masters 1000 indoors in the best of three sets. My level of game is high right now and I know I'm able to beat him, although it is going to be difficult anyway. THE MODERATOR: English questions. Q. How different and how difficult have the emotions been this week knowing that you're so close to qualifying for London, playing in one event and obviously thinking about another one, as well? STANISLAS WAWRINKA: It's really tough. It's not easy, especially before the tournament and at the beginning yesterday before my match. But the most important with my team is, with Magnus, we decide to‑‑ he push me to really focus on my game, on my level. That's why we practice so much before the tournament. He really tell me that I really need to think about the game, about every point, to focus on what I'm going to do on the court and not to think too much about what it will be if I win the match or not. Q. Having said that, even though he might say that to you, when you step out there, you obviously have a match to win but you know the implications of what every match means. It's a different emotion, isn't it? STANISLAS WAWRINKA: No, it's completely different emotionally. Again, I think during today's match or yesterday I was really happy with myself, because I didn't think too much about the results but I was thinking really and really focus on my game and my level and what I'm trying to do on the court, and that's why I won the two matches. Q. Just looking to tomorrow, what are your thoughts on quarterfinals? STANISLAS WAWRINKA: Yeah, I'm happy to be there. My level is there. That's the most important. I'm playing good tennis so far, so that's positive for me. And then I will see if I have to play Novak or Isner. It's going to be a tough match, for sure. I hope I can play Novak again. We had two big matches this year, and it will be nice to play him again in indoors in two‑sets match in quarterfinal here and try to beat him. Q. Do you stay and watch the matches a little later, knowing how important they might be? STANISLAS WAWRINKA: No, no, no. I'm not that crazy. And I'm not going to cheer for the other, but I'm going to check the result, for sure. At the end, I know I cannot change the result, so I'm not gonna be there for nothing and see who is going to win. I'm just gonna see the result at the end of the day, and we'll see if I have to win one more match. I will again try my best to do it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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