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ROLAND GARROSMay 26, 2014Virginie RazzanoPARIS, FRANCE D. CIBULKOVA/V. Razzano THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please. Q. Last week in Strasbourg, Alize Cornet said she was extremely upset about being booed by the French fans. Have you had experience with that? VIRGINIE RAZZANO: What did she say? Q. She said she was upset about being booed by the fans at her first‑round loss. I wondered whether you had had experiences of that in the past by the French fans? VIRGINIE RAZZANO: No. No, never happened to me. Next question. We are different. Everybody has a different personality, character, you know. For me, no. Q. Do you think that sometimes the French fans get behind the male players like Tsonga and Monfils more than, say, the leading French female players? VIRGINIE RAZZANO: Could you repeat the question? Q. Do you feel that the public, the French fans, they sometimes get behind the players like Tsonga and Monfils, the top male players, say, than the top female players? VIRGINIE RAZZANO: (Through translation.) No, not necessarily. Maybe‑‑ sorry, I'll speak English. I would father speak French. I think we discuss men's tennis rather than women's tennis. But with the Fed Cup results we got with the French team, I really believe that people are starting to talk more about women players than they used to, the fact that we're back among the best world players. Well, I don't know. I don't believe that people support male players more than female players. I don't think so, no. Female tennis players are showing what they can do, so we're going to have a different image of female tennis players. THE MODERATOR: Questions in French, please. Q. Back to today's match, the first set was very close between the two of you; the second set was more difficult. Can you explain the fact that the second set was more difficult for you? VIRGINIE RAZZANO: Well, I wish I could say here that ‑‑ the French supporters really supported me. I mean, this is home to me, and I really believe that today the French supporters were behind me. My match was difficult. I did not know really who I was coming up against. I was injured before Roland Garros, and that's why I retired from Strasbourg. So I really did not know what I was going to do before I played Cibulkova. The supporters were really great, awesome. I felt supported from the beginning to the end of the match. Also, the first set was closer than the second one. During the first setit really showed that we were fighting hard. It was a tough fight. We really were punching, hitting the balls. We played some really nice rallies. Looked more like a boxing match. She would hit me and I would hit back. It was really close. It wasn't much that made the difference. I had a set point, but I was a bit neutral on some of the shots and she took advantage. When you're one of the top 10, obviously you even try a few things as soon as you get an opportunity, two or three set points as far as I'm concerned. So no, no regrets as far as the first set is concerned. But the second set, what happened is she played really well. I really congratulate her. She is No. 10 in the world. She's had a very good early season January through to Madrid and Rome. Well, Madrid and Rome she didn't do so well, but she's in top physical condition. She did quarters and semis in Indian Wells and Miami. She's in top form. During the second set she neutralized me with the length of her balls. She was very aggressive, and that's why I was not able to play my aggressive type of tennis. I felt I was pushed back behind my baseline, and I could not find the right length of balls to prevent her from playing that pace with that kind of intensity that she was displaying. As I said, I still have to work. I just recovered from my injuries. It was very close during the first set. I had two set points in my favor, so it was very close. If I had won the first set, then maybewho knows how the match would've evolved in the second set. She was a bit tense in the first set. Her first balls weren't always getting through and I was able to attack on her second balls immediately. So it was really a tough fight through the first set. If I had won the first set, maybe in the second set she would not have gotten her first balls through; whereas she had a very high percentage of first balls she was hitting hard because she did not want me to hit back on her first serves; whereas later she took the initiative very early on with the first serve. She hit very strong, very early. I tried to prevent her, but that's what tennis is all about. In spite of all your efforts, in spite of everything you try to overturn the match, you say, I'm not going to give her a single inch of ground and neutralize her. The trouble is there are two of us on the court. It wasn't easy and I failed. But I'm happy. I'm proud of what I have done. Again, when I walked on to the court I did not know how things were going to be. I was playing a top 10. I had not played very much before I came here. I stopped for ten days. I didn't hit a ball. So if you play a top 10 without having practiced sufficiently on clay, you don't know what's going to happen. With this first set, I'm rather optimistic for my coming tournament. Q. What was your injury exactly? VIRGINIE RAZZANO: I hurt a rib. One of my ribs was painful. There is a joint, there was an inflammation, and it took a little time to heal the injury. It's healing now. Very soon I'll be able to work on my muscle tone and muscle preparation, but I couldn't do it until now. So I still have a lot of work to do before Wimbledon and the upcoming tournaments to be in top form. I'm in good shape, but I want to be even stronger for the coming events. Q. The second set, in the end she neutralized you, as you say. Was that also due to the fact that you were lacking physical condition. You were not in very good shape? VIRGINIE RAZZANO: No, no, not really. I was not out of breath. I could have played three sets. It's simply that she changed the pace altogether. She went into overdrive, fifth gear, so obviously the pace was quite different. She used a different tempo. I was there physically. I was strong enough, except I could not or no longer play very long balls. I had trouble finding the right length, so she could come up in the court and attack me. She was much more relaxed in the second set. When you've won the second set and you were tense during the first set‑‑ she was tense. She was playing me, I was in front of the French public, and I'm Virginie Razzano. She knows me and knows I'm a good player. She knew I could get away with a lot of things, especially in Roland Garros. So she was tense during the first set, but the second set she was leading 2‑0. She won the second game, and then we were sort of going advantage. You know, 2‑0 she started relaxing and her confidence built up. She could hit stronger longer. I was trying to hold on to what I was doing right in the first set, but that was not enough. I don't think that the score actually shows what the second set was all about. Yes, 6‑0, that's hard, but we fought more that you would think from the score. Q. How did you hurt your rib? During a match? VIRGINIE RAZZANO: Yes, in Madrid. Before I left for Madrid. I did Madrid qualifiers, Rome qualifiers, and in Madrid I already had problems with my ribs and my back. I played all the same, because I was‑‑ my muscles were tense, stiff, then it ended up hurting a joint. Q. Roland Garros, you don't have that many Roland Garros tournaments to play. Are you going to try to enjoy every minute? VIRGINIE RAZZANO: Of course I have still many tournaments to play here in Roland Garros. Q. Yes, but when you walk on court here... VIRGINIE RAZZANO: No, not at all. I didn't think about that. I don't think that I'm going to retire and do something else. I don't think about that. I still want to have fun on the court. I feel well; I feel in good shape; I'm working on my fitness to be fit and in good shape and fight with the best. The best for me are the top 10. My ambitions are very high. I have defeated some of them in the past. I already have a very nice career. I have shown that I can do it. I still want to defeat many more. I have a lot of ambitions. I am going to play several tournaments here in Roland Garros, believe me. As long as I'm in shape, I'll be here. We don't care about the mental condition, as long as the physical condition is there, I will play. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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