“Tell us about this totally crazy end to the match against Botic Van de Zandschulp…
On my first match point (at 6-3 in the tie-break of the second set), I promised myself in my head to serve outside. Well, I served on the T (smile). There is already a problem there. We are at the end of our career, we no longer care, we say things! We’ve all experienced this. I’m sure that if I serve outside, it’s okay because I’ve served on the T a hundred times. But the moment I throw the ball, I say to myself: “the T is still tempting…” I miss the first match point by not really going for it. Always this confidence…
At 6-6, you have a lot going on in your head. But you try to stay in the present moment. I’m dealing well with it. I try to be present. I know that I don’t play very well, that I can’t really do what I want, that I play the backhand too much because it’s on his forehand that he really gave me. He was starting to get angry, but the fact that I felt him on edge made me tense. I came out of it with great luck and success in the end.
“A good tennis player is not a guy who plays very well, it’s a guy who has a high average level. My average level is low. Much lower than when I was at my prime”
You talk about trust. Is it after her that you are running?
At my age, what’s important is confidence. Trying to win, hanging up, fighting, finding confidence. The arm doesn’t fit, lots of things. But try to win small matches like that, here and there. And find a higher average level. People have difficulty understanding it: a good tennis player is not a guy who plays very well, it’s a guy who has a high average level. My average level is low. Much lower than when I was in my prime. I am in the battle.
Like in this second set that got off to a bad start where you were down 5-2?
I’m starting very well. I’m a better player than him up to 6-1, 2-3, 30-0. But I miss a long forehand, another forehand, it makes a good point, I make a double with the let, and there you are again in trouble. When you have confidence and a good average level, you panic a little less. I’m coming back but not really the way I’d like, I’m not making the choices I want… But I’m happy to have gotten through it all the same. It allows me to gain confidence in my movement, in my creativity because I try to create. I try to take the positive. It’s by winning tough matches that things will get a little better. »
