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ROGERS CUP

July 29, 2016

Sylvain Bruno

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

An interview with:

SYLVAIN BRUNO

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. How much do you think the illness that Genie had during the week affected her last night?
SYLVAIN BRUNO: I don't think it's a factor. It's no excuse that way, so...

Q. When she talks about pressure, I don't know if you've talked to her today about it at all or how she's feeling today about that.
SYLVAIN BRUNO: She's probably still sleeping now, so I haven't spoken to her.

Q. How do you think pressure played a part in that loss?
SYLVAIN BRUNO: It was a big part. It was a big part. She started well and was not able to maintain when it got a little tougher. I think she had many, many, many missed opportunities. It just added up, added up. At some point she got extremely frustrated.

It was not good for her to focus on this or think about this, but she knew it was a match she should win. When you start going this way or thinking too much this way, it's not always the right way to go.

Then she got tense. I mean, I think everybody saw that. She got a little tight, started to miss a little more. I know her well, so I noticed her ball speed on her serve, even her movement, everything went down a notch, and her opponent went up. We saw the shift that happened.

Definitely it was a factor. She's only 22. It's all about learning and getting better and improving and learning from these losses. I'm sure, I'm sure she will get something out of that match. As much as it is painful, I'm sure she will get something out of it. We'll make sure she gets something out of the first two matches, because there's a lot of good there.

Q. You look at Wimbledon. She had two really good matches, then a total disaster in the third round. The tournament before that... There have been four or five tournaments this year, not reaching the quarterfinals since February. Would you agree that was a match she should have won last night? I mean, good players beat players they should beat.
SYLVAIN BRUNO: Most of the time. Yeah, most of the time that's the case. I mean, of course on paper it's a match she should win obviously. Her opponent, this is her best result ever, third round, let alone winning last night. She's less experienced, all of that. On paper, yes.

But the reality, and I've seen so much tennis, and I've seen it with the top players as well, you know, what seems to be like a given or a match you should win for sure, it's not always the case.

Too bad it happened in MontrÃ©al. But for sure yesterday that was the case. It slipped away.

Q. When you're up a set, you get two breaks, then you can't capitalize on it, is that just nerves?
SYLVAIN BRUNO: Definitely it's part of it. Definitely it's part of it. I mean, I think yesterday it was a big part of it, for sure.

You know, sometimes what happens, too, we need to give credit to her opponent. I've seen sometimes exactly that, the underdog comes in, they're pumped and everything. They lost the first set, they're down a break in the second, slowly they fade away. The top player smells it, picks it up, goes in the next gear.

You know what, her opponent did not do that last night. She stayed tough, she hang in there. Genie felt it. Genie sensed it. We sensed it on the sideline. It was never over, even when she was in a good position. She had many opportunities she was not able to capitalize.

Q. The scheduling last night, did she ask for a late match?
SYLVAIN BRUNO: No.

Q. Wouldn't it have been better if she played the first match, for her?
SYLVAIN BRUNO: Could be. Could be.

Q. If you play the second match, you don't know when you're going to play. It could have been 8:00 or 9:00.
SYLVAIN BRUNO: For sure. It was the same thing for her opponent. Most players in general don't like to play the last match of the evening for the reason you mentioned.

Q. I'm wondering whether Tennis Canada did her a favor by playing the last match, and Milos tonight.
SYLVAIN BRUNO: It's great to have our Canadian players do well. I'm sure Eugene and the organization are all well aware of it. They're happy when it happens. We saw the buzz that Genie created this week. So that's awesome.

But there's a lot of really, really top players here. It's not a tournament for one player. Then you have to play with all of this, as well, so...

Q. I just think you should give Canadian players the best chance to win.
SYLVAIN BRUNO: In the best of worlds, yeah.

Q. If that match had been in Slovakia, it would have been the first match.
SYLVAIN BRUNO: Maybe.

Q. Can I have your comments on a lot of the negative press that Genie received from local media that called into question a lot of things not related to tennis, like her level of French, the way she spells her name, the fact she resides mostly in Miami?
SYLVAIN BRUNO: I think the media in general are very tough with her. That is biased. I know her really, really well. I really, really like her. I think she is an outstanding girl. She is funny, she is charming, she is smart. I really, really like her.

I know sometimes she can say a couple things in a press conference and people picked on them. I think sometimes she's treated a little bit unfairly. I mean, it goes back to once in a while when she calls me and we discuss, she's like, Okay, you know what, I'm not going to be able to play Fed Cup, these are the reasons. I'm the Fed Cup captain. Of all people, I should be the one who is the most disappointed because I know when she's not around that our team is not nearly as good. I understand.

I will read in the paper the reaction from everybody. I'm like, She's done great for us at Fed Cup. She's done exceptional. She made it possible for us to be in the top eight. She went in there and played with her heart on her sleeves, gave it all, won some really big matches. I saw her in Ukraine, none of you guys were there, it was a small Fed Cup tie. She sprained her ankle and wanted to play the match the next day. Our physio was like, This is dangerous.

She's like, I want to play.

She played the deciding doubles and she won.

I feel, you know, she doesn't get the press she deserves for this. When she makes a decision or says something, people are all over her. I think we need to be careful with that. As I said, I'm biased, yeah.

Q. In Rio, how do you think she will be able to bounce back? What are your impressions of the tournament there, the competition, the venue? How well do you think Genie and Gabriela can do there?
SYLVAIN BRUNO: I mean, your question, a lot of it is unknown. Like, honestly, I've not been there. I'm not sure of the venue and the village and all that. I was in London. I know when you get to the Olympics, even in London, it was on the Wimbledon site, but it was very different, the atmosphere and everything. You play for your country, it's the Olympic fever, all of the other sports, all that.

I think Genie will like that, knowing her. I think she's going to enjoy all the other sports, the other athletes. I think she's really going to appreciate the experience.

Do I think she can bounce back? Absolutely, I do think she can bounce back. The Olympic tournament is a tough tournament. She might have a very tough draw. She's not going to be seeded, so who knows. But I'm sure she's going to show up there and the last match will be past, digested, and she'll be ready to move forward.

Hopefully she goes there and, I'll try to make sure of it, it's point by point, the next ball, and we don't look too much ahead.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. What is your general appreciation of Genie's tournament here?
SYLVAIN BRUNO: Overall it was positive. She had two great battles in the first two rounds. Safarova was a great battle. She was very brave winning this. Then she played an extraordinary match against her second opponent. Everything worked out for her there.

Then, of course, she had to play a less experienced player, lower ranked. But, in fact, there were many traps in that match. They played each other already before. The opponent played well then. It was difficult also because Genie knew she was supposed to win that match.

She had an opportunity to go to the quarterfinals. During the match she became tense and tight when things became more difficult and she was not able to relax the way she did in the first matches. She made more mistakes and she started feeling frustrated and discouraged, then it became more difficult.

At the same time her opponent was building up her momentum. She saw Genie going down, not in her intensity but in her level of game. She saw the opportunity and she started playing very inspired tennis. She was everywhere on the court. She put pressure on Genie this way.

Q. She herself confessed it was more of a mental defeat. How does the preparation go before a match like that? You know there might be less intensity because the challenge is not as big. Does she have a sports psychologist?
SYLVAIN BRUNO: The mental aspect is very important in tennis and in sports in general. This is something we are not putting aside. In our preparation, many comments are made on the mental aspect. We work with Genie on the psychological aspect. All this is addressed. There's a discussion between the athlete and all the coaches around her.

It's one thing to be well-prepared, to deliver. When you're in the middle of the action, it's more difficult. That was a day where it was more difficult for her. She used up her mental energy also with the victories before that. Even if she won, it was difficult mentally, even in the second match with an easier score.

In the third match, she wasn't able to go through. But this is not something we are forgetting.

Q. The support of the crowd, applauding, is positive. But in the end, does it also become a burden?
SYLVAIN BRUNO: Right. It's the same in Fed Cup. Having the crowd support is an advantage. They did help her a lot. Against Safarova she felt all the energy from the crowd. It gave her a new energy. Against Cibulkova, too. So there's a positive side to it.

But at a certain time she also feels all the expectations. The stadium was full on the Wednesday, on the Thursday, it's full capacity. The stadium is sold out. They are there to support her, of course. But she knows they're there for a reason, too. So it's kind of a pressure.

Yesterday, of course, she felt it during the match.

Q. She said she wanted to use that energy. Why wasn't she able to do that yesterday?
SYLVAIN BRUNO: Well, you need to take the energy with you on the court from the crowd, yes. But yesterday it was different. I'm not making excuses. She was playing a lower-ranked player and the challenge was different. Against Cibulkova or Safarova, she knew they were established players. Here yesterday she played a player who was playing the best tennis of her career. Genie said, I can make it to the quarterfinals. She's 125. I'm supposed to win. I need to go and take that match. The support of the crowd was there.

But she became tight. She was not relaxed. I felt she was very tense. I could see that in her shots, in her movements, in her serve, in her overall game. That frustrated her enormously. She wanted to do so well. She wanted to keep going. So she didn't react positively to that, unfortunately.

Q. Does she have a sports psychologist specifically for dealing with the mental aspects of the game? On her team, does she have someone like that?
SYLVAIN BRUNO: Many athletes work with a mental preparator or sports psychologist, however you call it. She has seen those specialists. I can tell you Nick Saviano, her coach, is extremely good as far as mental strength is concerned. So it is not that we are not addressing the issue, not at all. Everything is there. But, of course, there's room for improvement.

At the very top you should be able to play 20, 25 tournaments a year, and whatever the conditions, you're supposed to play at your best level every point, every match, every tournament, whatever the circumstances. Some players can do that.

Genie wants to be able to do that. But she's only 22. She still needs to learn. She has to improve. But this is not something lacking in her preparation. You shouldn't interpret this as something lacking.

Q. In your first answer you were saying yesterday was a different circumstance compared with the previous rounds. She was supposed to win. What is exactly the difference for Genie when she's supposed to win as opposed to when she's the underdog? At a certain stage she has to win those matches she's supposed to win, no? What is the mental difference for her?
SYLVAIN BRUNO: Serena Williams, for example, every time she steps onto the court, she's supposed to win against a lower-ranked player. She's very much at ease with that. It shouldn't be a factor because normally, whatever the ranking of your opponent, what you are doing, in fact, is having a match against yourself. You should be at your top on each point, whoever is on the other side of the net. That's the ideal situation.

But in reality, and for Genie and many other players, it's different. When you play someone you beat several times, are lower ranked, the pressure is that you think, If I lose that match, I'm going to have a bad loss. Here she played extremely well in the first two rounds. Everybody was enthusiastic.

Going into the third match, she was supposed not to think about the ranking. But she knew that everyone was expecting her to win. To overcome this, it's a whole process. It takes some years. I'm sure she'll be able to do that eventually.

Q. But do you consider she should have won that match? She was up a set, had a break in the second. The match was not dramatic yet.
SYLVAIN BRUNO: I never thought she should have won the match, even before the match or during the match. At a certain stage she was in a good position, that's true. She was up in the second set after having won the first.

But in tennis things can change in one single point. So by experience I can never say in a match, It's okay, she's going to win.

I agree she had many opportunities, and she missed many of them. This is something she got frustrated about. It was the opposite for the opponent, who was getting more and more confident. This is sport.

It happened to Genie, but I have seen that happening with many other athletes.

Q. Yesterday she was playing a lower-ranked player, but also seeded players had dropped out of the tournament. Did she see the opportunity of going far in this tournament?
SYLVAIN BRUNO: I don't think so. We didn't talk about that. She never thought beyond the next match. She didn't start thinking Muguruza is sick, et cetera. I know her. She never looks three rounds ahead.

Konta, anyway, is not to be disregarded because she's an excellent player. Genie beat her in Wimbledon, but this doesn't mean she was a favorite here. Konta certainly would want to take her revenge here. As well, she won the tournament last week in Stanford. So, no, that wasn't a factor. She didn't think the door was opening or anything like that.

Q. During the draw, when you saw she was playing Safarova, you said, She's not the Genie of 2014, she improved. With the results she had this week, do you think this is good for the following weeks?
SYLVAIN BRUNO: Indeed, we have to look at the positive side. If you just look at the negative part, you can say there will be no consequences after this tournament. But if you look at the positives, you see she is continuing her improvements that I've seen in the past months, in practice. Mentally, physically she's stronger now.

There are good lessons to be drawn from this tournament. But also we need now to control better certain emotions or certain reactions she has. But she has made a step in the right direction. I believe she's going to continue to increase her ranking. This is the important thing.

Q. Genie said she was going to fly to Rio Monday. Are you going, too? How is the trip organized?
SYLVAIN BRUNO: We are a small group from Canada. On the women's team, we have Eugenie and Gabriela. They are supposed to play doubles together. I'm the coach. So I'm leaving with the two players. The boys are there, too. We have a flight on Monday evening to Rio. I hope this is going to be a good experience and a good tournament.

Q. So it's confirmed, she's playing the doubles?
SYLVAIN BRUNO: It always was confirmed. In the French, Genie took time to think about it because she thought singles, doubles, mixed doubles was a lot. She wasn't sure. She was wondering how she could manage all this.

But then she made the decision to play the doubles. In our discussions, and we had several of them, she never said she would change her mind. It was very clear she was going to play doubles.

Q. And the mixed doubles, is it possible?
SYLVAIN BRUNO: Well, this is supposed to be determined in Rio. It's not sure she will be accepted. She had discussed with Vasek. It's in the plans. We'll see what happens once we're there.

Q. If she's supposed to play with Dabrowski, why didn't they play together this week?
SYLVAIN BRUNO: That's a good question. Many teams have used this tournament to practice for Rio. Genie, until the last minute here, was not sure she was going to play the doubles. She was wondering whether she shouldn't focus on the singles. It's a lot already. But then she decided at the last minute to play the doubles. She said, Okay, okay, I'm going to play the doubles. Please have me play with a Canadian player in doubles. It was a last-minute decision. That explains why she was not able to play with Gabriela. Gabriela was thinking, also, to play with her usual partner.

Q. About Francoise Abanda and Aleksandra Wozniak, the global results of Canadian players here is good, right?
SYLVAIN BRUNO: Talking about Aleksandra, although she lost, I think that match was a victory for her. It's remarkable the love she has for her sport and how she works so hard, how she wants so badly to be back at the highest level. That match was sort of a victory for her. During that match she was giving it all. It's going to help her for the future. I think she needs to play many matches now, to build up her confidence, get some victories under her belt. The first victory was a very good thing for her.

Genie takes a lot of space, but Aleksandra does a lot for Fed Cup. She played the quarterfinals here. I'm sure she's going to be back and we are going to hear about her. It's very good for Canadian tennis.

As far as Francoise, people saw her as a revelation. But we have had a lot of hopes for her for a long time. She has a great potential, a great talent. She proved it. I said that already. She has a beautiful quality that top players have. The higher the challenge, the more important the match is, the better she plays. Many athletes are not able to do that. They practice a lot, but they can't play their best tennis in difficult circumstances, and she does.

The match she played in the first round, she did very well. It's difficult to do. After, she had lapses of concentration. But Svitolina is one of the best players on the tour. It was a good battle. She showed she was able to play at that level.

But now what she has to learn is to do that all the year long. In important tournaments she's able to play good matches. In Fed Cup she played incredible matches. But she needs to understand this has to be done on a daily basis. Even in Gatineau or Granby, if the crowd is not there, she has to play as well. She has to have the same state of mind. That's the challenge. When she'll be able to do that, I can tell you we'll see her back here in two years in MontrÃ©al, she won't need a wild card and she'll go further than the second round.

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