French Open Interview: Jo-Wilfriend Tsonga May 26th

J. TSONGA/J. Benneteau 6‑4, 3‑6,6‑3, 6‑4

Q. You put the tie on just for us?

JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: And for you and also for me. I'm happy I played my first match. This is my first victory here. I celebrate this victory like this.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French, please.

Q. So it's a real relief that you won finally here. Was it really the challenge for this match?

JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: It is important for me, yes. It's my first victory here in the French Open. I played Julien ‑‑ last time I played him, he played better than I did. I didn't play well. And this time, everything was okay. Center court and the crowd was behind me. I felt good on that court. So for me, it's are lief. And also, it encourages me to continue in the same way.

It shows I made the right choices lately.

Q. There was tough conditions. It was windy. It was cold. The stadium was not full. And in spite of that, was it a great moment?

JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Yes, it was a very big moment. It is my first win here, and it's very important for me to start the meter going. The conditions were very tough. I mean, it was going to be difficult for me. The wind was bothering me and my forehand, and my opponent had beat me several times already before. He bothers me a lot when he plays and it was my first time on center court here, so it was difficult.

Q. Did your game on clay improve? Did you notice all the improvements you've made? We saw you were frustrated sometimes.

JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Yes, I was very frustrated sometimes,indeed. But it was because of out side conditions, because of the wind, but not because of my game. I believe my game is getting better and better every time. I play on clay, it's even better. So for those who are blase and think I can't play well on this surface, I can prove to them now I can play well.

Q. When you stepped into that court, did you feel anything special?

JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Today? Yes, I had a very special feeling. As I said before, it was the first time I came on that court as a favorite, and I really wanted to do well, so it was a very special emotion. It had been a long time since I played here, and it was special.

Q. Were you tense?

JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Very.

Q. Did the tension go away after a couple of games?

JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: No, I'm still tense now. (laughter.)

No, in fact I feel better now. It went away after a couple of games.

Q. And after your win, what was your first thought?

JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: It was oof. I thought I did well. I did it with the right state of mind. I wanted to do well, and I wanted to be fresh, arriving in this tournament. Of course, we didn't play a long time, but in spite of those frustrations which cost me a lot of energy, I came out of that match still being fresh. I would be able to go running if I needed to.

Q. Do you have a new racquet?

JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Well, it's still a Wilson racquet. I changed it a little bit. I thought it was with my former racquet. I didn't have enough length, so now I have a racquet that suits me better on this surface.

Q. When did you change? Because it's important when you change racquets, even if it's the same brand?

JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: It's been two or three weeks now. The goal was really to optimize my game on clay. I might change again if I go back to hard courts.

Q. So the idea of the tie, where does it come from?

JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: In other sports when you come to a press conference, you have to respect, to comply with a dress code, so I thought that in tennis, too, we could show we have certain ethics. I believe it's important. We have beautiful tournaments, and we should show a bit of respect.

Q. Are you going to wear a tuxedo in the quarterfinal or in the final?

JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: Yes, I wanted to come with a tuxedo in the beginning, but my equipment provider didn't really want to. Now I found a solution.

Q. Are you going to wear a butterfly tie?

JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: If I win, I'll wear whatever you want, but not a string.

Q. I'm going to talk about your next round opponent. It's a tough opponent, Juan Monaco. How do you see that match?

JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: He's a very tough player on this surface. He runs a lot. He moves well. He has very good legs, so it's going to be very difficult. But I believe psychologically I have an edge on him, because I played him in Australia,and even if I wasn't at my best, I was able to play a very good match against him then.

So I believe now I also will be able to bother him a lot on this center court.

Q. Is today's match one of the clay court matches you're most pleased with?
JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA: No, I'm happy I won, but I believe I played well for my last three matches. Of course, there were not many people watching. You didn't see them, maybe, but I played really well, and this makes me believe I can really have a good result here.


Interview from RG
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