“There is obviously disappointment after this defeat despite three match points…
Obviously, I lead 6-3 in the tie-break, I saw myself as the winner. But I saw myself losing so we must not forget that at 5-2 double break against me it wasn’t crazy. But I managed to come back by making huge points and it’s true that at 6-3 I took two big serves which hurt me a little because I had a lot of morale. I find myself at 6-5 very very quickly and there I make the double. With stress anything can happen. It’s tennis, it’s not the first time, there was a huge audience, it was fabulous. I would obviously have liked to win but it’s neither the first nor the last time that it’s going to happen.
You seemed to be inhabited by the atmosphere.
The audience was fabulous. I managed to make big shots, big passing shots, he gets a little stressed, it’s even harder to lose five points in a row to finish. It’s only at Roland-Garros and Bercy that you have atmospheres like that. I still finish in the top 100 in the world, I hope to achieve it again next year, that’s the goal. I still feel capable of it. As long as this is the case, we must continue. You play for atmospheres like this. That’s why I continued this season. I had my ups and downs but I still managed to enjoy myself quite a few times. I’m not young anymore, I’m in my 38th year which is still huge, but I don’t know when I’m going to stop. Obviously it will get closer next year. I will see at the start of the season how things will go.
How did you get back together for this tournament after three defeats in the first round?
It’s sport, you lose, the next day you forget the defeat, you have to start again. Here I am very disappointed but tomorrow we must forget to try to be better next week and try to progress. This happened to me all the time and it happens to every gamer. There are defeats that hurt more than others but that’s part of the game. It’s not easy to digest this kind of defeat but you have to start again.
So it wasn’t your last Rolex Paris Masters?
If I could, I would still play plenty of them. If it turns out next year will be my last season but I’m not giving myself a break, we’ll see how it goes. It was by far the best atmosphere of the year, Roland-Garros too. It’s certain that I would like to finish in Roland or here, next year or in eighteen months I don’t know.
Do you plan to play as many tournaments next year as this year (33)?
No I think I played a bit too much, I made a few mistakes from time to time. Afterwards I got into paintings that I didn’t think I could particularly play either. At the start of the season, my victory in Auckland allowed me to enter a lot of tournaments, it made me want to go there, to play on earth but it wasn’t always great. The Challengers are playing well too, the guys are solid, you have to try to choose the right tournaments.
You talked about stress when concluding, does that mean there is still life?
Look at (Andy) Murray today, he was stressed too. For everyone, it’s hard to finish a match. I’m not at all bored of playing.
He too is in this quest to prolong the pleasure of playing until the end…
Yeah, (Stan) Wawrinka too. We talk about it from time to time. On Instagram, he wrote to me when I won in Auckland, I wrote to him when he won a few things too. We follow each other. It’s just the passion for the game quite simply, you experience emotions, tonight you lose but that’s part of the game. You’re obviously disappointed but what remains is this audience, the sensations you can have on the court . There aren’t a lot of people who know about this. But we will know how to stop him like me when we no longer have the level at all.
The French Davis Cup team is looking for a captain, do you have a preference?
I admit that today I am not very selectable (laughs). It’s up to young people to decide. At the time it was us who decided on the captain, today it is no longer my role. It’s up to No. 1 and No. 2 to choose who they want, it’s always worked like that. I’m no longer in the game and that’s normal.
Would you be interested in the position?
No, I’m a player through and through. I don’t know what I might like in the future. What I like is playing in Metz next week and at the Australian Open next year. I don’t wonder about the future at all, and I think that’s why I still play. I don’t think about anything other than trying to play.
2023-10-30 23:43:57
#Richard #Gasquet #winner
