“Do you harbor regrets after this defeat against Jan-Lennard Struff (7-5, 6-4) in the third round of the Masters 1000 in Madrid?
Three points. It makes the difference. I didn’t have any real opportunities to break, but there was one game where I built my point well and put the forehand just off the line. I don’t have to play so close, I have to play the zone, come to the net and let him shoot the passing shot. I could have found myself at 15-40 from the start of the match. Then the next stitch, I make a great stitch, I have the opening and I put it too close to the backhand line. So in this game, I have regrets because I think I can have the break.
And then there was a point where I got into the hole, at 5-5, 30A. Backhand in the net. It hurt a little. He started playing very well. He gave me some big points. The level was really good. In the second set, he played better than me. In the first, I gain three more points. It didn’t amount to anything. I told Jérémy (Chardy, his trainer) that I felt like I was doing good things, but I have to say bravo to him. He had a super solid match.
We heard you continue to encourage yourself until the end…
I didn’t have any great physical sensations. I said to myself: “I’m down a set, a break. I don’t have the right to give up, I have to fight until the last point. Show him that you will be there until the end, that if you If you have the slightest opportunity, you’re going to take it.” But it still served well, Scheiße! (shit in German). He was hitting super hard in safe areas. He didn’t give me much. When I tried to make him move, he protected himself well. It doesn’t surprise me that he won in Munich and is following up well here. We feel confident. I gave everything until the end, I have no regrets. Bravo to him.
“Even if you don’t play well, you don’t have good feelings, at least you fight, you try to find solutions until the last point. That’s what I tried to do.”
How do you explain these bad physical sensations?
I was a little worse. I didn’t prepare as I wanted. When we arrived, I was still a little tired from last week (he had fallen ill in Barcelona) so I didn’t train too much. This morning (Sunday) I felt like I was struggling. Usually, I manage to push myself again on the next point to do it again. There, I was dropping a bit. On the second one, I said to myself: “raise your head, when there are hard points, keep going.” In the first set, I didn’t do too well because I didn’t feel good. Fighting until the end is the most important thing. Even if you don’t play well, you don’t have good feelings, at least you fight, you try to find solutions until the last point. That’s what I tried to do, but it didn’t work.
Will you defend your title at the Cagliari Challenger?
No, I’m not going to go there. I have to prepare myself, I have to do some physical training. I feel like I’m doing good things, so I have to keep working. I’m going to prepare fully for Rome (May 8-19) and I’m going to give everything. I also decided to go to Lyon (May 19-25). We talked about it a little with the team. Last year I didn’t play the week before Roland. Instead of it being a week that gave me a little energy, it weighed me down a little. It was the first year where I arrived among the best French people. There, I will really take Lyon as a preparation tournament. »
