“A month ago, you said you were lacking sensation. Looks like everything is getting better, right?
Exactly. In Montpellier, I lacked sensations. But that’s what we train for. As it’s the end of my career (laughing), I try to be super transparent, to show everything I do. And I also show that I give a damn. In Montpellier, I said it clearly. But afterwards, I almost reached the final of another tournament (semi-finals in Doha). But it’s because we’re working.
We try to believe it. I have some success in certain matches, there are ups and downs. I just try to believe it. For now I feel a little better and I’m taking it. At the end of last year, I felt good. But at the beginning of this year, it wasn’t the way I wanted. I wasn’t feeling as good for Auckland or the Australian Open. It takes a little time, but we’re getting there. My goal is to raise my average level. And for that, it’s important to play every week. It seems like nothing, I’ve played almost every week since the start of the year.
With your stats serving in this first round, your average level is quite protected…
But I work it! Compared to the moment when I made sixty double faults, we have come a long way (laughing). We keep trying things. Against Lajovic, I served less hard to try to be more precise. I’m trying. And when you work hard and have success, it’s cool.
“I was fifteenth. It’s my favorite number, too. Why not try to come back to it…”
You regularly talk about the end of your career. We know that you will play as long as the desire is there and that it is logical at your age (37) to think about the future. But do you still have any goals for these last few years?
I told myself that I would like to return to the level that I was at when I was injured. I was fifteenth. It’s my favorite number, too. Why not try to come back to it… But, honestly, that’s not what keeps me going. Above all, I would like to become seeded again fairly quickly. It’s so much better. In Grand Slam, you know that you don’t face other seeds until the third round. Be careful, there are very good players who are not seeded, but still… This avoids running into Andrey Rublev in the second round of the US Open like last summer, for example. It’s still a little better. In an ATP 250, it takes you to the quarter-finals quite quickly. It also allows you to be exempt from the first round and that’s less fatigue.
Miami immediately follows Indian Wells. Isn’t this series of Masters 1000s one of the most difficult moments of the season?
It’s not the simplest. In addition, between the two I went to Texas for my wife’s foundation (the player Elina Svitolina) and that added to my fatigue. The conditions are really different. Plus, I trained during the day and played in the evening… It’s still an adaptation to make. It’s obviously a little easier when you’re younger, but as I get older, I take it more lightly.
Besides, wouldn’t you be the oldest in the tournament?
Stan (Wawrinka) not being there, it’s quite possible (laughing). »
