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ROLAND GARROS


June 2, 2017


Kristina Mladenovic


Paris, France

K. MLADENOVIC/S. Rogers

7-5, 4-6, 8-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. Another emotional win. Can you talk us through that last set?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: I was just coming upstairs saying I don't know what to talk to them anymore. I don't know what to say.

Yeah, that was epic. I think that's the word I'm going to use today, because I still don't know how I won that match. I mean, 5-2 down in the third set. Quite a long fight there.

Shelby was playing great tennis, but I had no doubt about it, because, I mean, she played quarterfinals here last year and she has a great game for clay, I think. She really pushed me through, like, the last breath I had.

You know, I just don't know. Courage? I always believe until the last point. That's kind of my motto every single match.

Yeah, today it was just quite epic.

Q. You said it was epic. In terms of epicness, would you rather choose this match or the first round, given you were injured?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Yeah, I'm not sure I can compare both of them. First round was more dramatic epic, because the day before I'm, like, so down, almost crying. I'm, like, why is this happening to me? Yeah, when I left the court at 3-Love, and the doctor said, Okay, give it a try, but it's bad.

And this one today was more like epic battle, like, great sports emotions. I think was a great game from both of us, putting on the show a little bit.

Yeah, you know, the scenario with the scoreboard and everything makes it unbelievable for me today.

Q. We saw you doing this Stan thing, tipping with your index finger to your hat. Have you done that before?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Yeah, well, that's obviously a Stan thing, because people know more Stan than me, but this is also something I was doing from long time ago. This is also a Kiki thing. But people will start to notice that, I guess.

Yeah, I can say it can be a copy of Stan, because he's a great champion and I respect him a lot. He's a big inspiration.

But it didn't start because of him, but something I was doing also from long time.

Q. Muguruza next. Obviously a tough draw. Just thoughts on what it would take to beat defending champion here.
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Yeah, tough draw, but I think it's also tough for her. It's gonna be exciting. I think we are, you know, getting to a fourth round of a slam. I think it's such a nice head to head coming up for everybody. I think for the tournament, for the crowd, for us. It's gonna be tough. It's gonna be tough. She's obviously playing great tennis. Had also tough matches, which shows she's in a great rhythm. Looking forward to this one.

Q. This week must have been emotionally draining for you with everything that happened. I guess, how does it compare in terms of emotion to other experiences you have had? How do you plan on trying to be fresh for the next round?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Yeah, it's true that emotionally is quite high at the moment, but, you know, it's something I like. I think it's something I'm prepared for, you know. It's not my first time having so many high emotions, big wins, big moments. It's something I know to work on and to handle. Like, I wouldn't know, like, to handle that. Usually after big emotions you go so down that you don't confirm with the next win or next matches, but I proved many times that this is not something that is bothering me at all.

On physical aspect, I'm also very good, very confident. I made so many improvements out there that today my legs could run for another hour, for sure. Then the back is another question. It's still there. I mean, it's obvious that I have some struggles still, especially with my serve.

But, you know, when you go out there, this is something I don't want to think about and just fight with everything I have.

Q. Playing in a home slam, some players would crumble under the pressure. You seem to thrive. What is it about playing on home soil that really motivates you?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Yeah, I explained that many times. It's a big challenge. It's extremely difficult. I mean, on one hand you can say the crowd is amazing for you. It helps a lot. It's tough for the opponent.

But on another hand, you really have to handle that. I mean, nerves-wise and everything, I mean, today it's true. I'm coming back from nowhere. 2-5 down. But if I'm not making those shots, this tennis, I can be five, next minutes, like in the locker room.

I am in bad position, and I'm kind of pumping up the crowd again, you know, with the tennis I'm showing.

It's really not easy, because, like, that adrenaline energy of the crowd came back, but I also felt very down at 5-2 when I'm sitting on my chair, you can feel the breath of the crowd like this is over, like, okay, it's gonna be tough.

Yeah, just kept on believing, fighting. I just like it. I have no explanation, really. I guess you either like it, deal with it, or not.

Q. Petra was wearing a T-shirt saying "Courage, Belief and Pojd." If you have your own T-shirt describing yourself and your experience here so far, what three words would you use?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Three words? Three words? I don't know.

Q. I. Don't. Know.
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: No, just one. Fighter. That's it.

Q. There has been a growing controversy in Australia about the name of Margaret Court Arena after a lot of comments she's made over the past couple of weeks, antigay. A few players calling for the name to be changed. I don't know if you heard about this or what your thoughts on a possible name change for it would be.
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: To be honest, I didn't follow that story, so I don't know. I don't know what happened there. I didn't really follow that.

I heard some stories in the locker room, but to be honest, I don't know what has been said exactly. Yeah, I don't want to make any comment because I'm not aware of everything.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. Very tough for you today. I would like to know, in the third set, how did you find the key to recover? Because your game play improved, and you managed to take the upper hand again and it was tough.
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Well, thanks, first of all. I don't really know.

As I was saying, I just try to fight for every point. It was tough. Shelby played really well from a tactical point of view. She was really embarrassing me. I found it hard to decipher her serve. She has a good kick. Pretty heavy balls, which I wasn't comfortable with.

I think it would be good for me to watch the recording of the match, because I can't really say what turned things around in quite an extraordinary way. But my initial impression is that I think my mind decided to speed up things, to speed up my shots.

At 5-2 I served well. Then 5-3, 5-4, where I put a little bit of pressure and managed to return her shots, and I managed not to make any mistakes. Then my serve after that was good, and then at 5-2 I had a feeling that my game play took a different turn with a kind of boost.

I mean, she played really well, but there are a couple of key moments, a couple of key rallies where I was better. I hit harder. In fact, what she could produce up to 5-2, I managed to buck the trend. That's it.

Q. We saw that you found your serve difficult. Is that just your back or something else? What would you say it is on the whole?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: To be honest, as I was saying before, I don't really want to spend the entire tournament talking about my back. What I can tell you is that things are improving. Otherwise I couldn't have achieved what I achieved today.

It's true that I can still feel it. It's getting better. In the first round I could almost not play. I had spasms. It was atrocious. But it's an improvement over the second round already. My first serve worked well already. And of course on the second, I don't know how many double errors I made. So there is more strain on my shoulders and it slightly modifies my technique obviously, and a lot of double errors there.

Q. Is the back the only explanation for this long match, or is it how you manage the event, the tournament, and so on?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Because it should have been 6-2, 6-2, is that what you're saying?

Q. Yes. Well, you could. You have the ability to. But is it only your back that explains this or other elements?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: I think it was just a very good tennis match. My back and a couple of double errors, double faults. I don't know.

We just deliver with the resources that are available on a particular day. She's a very good player. She went up to quarterfinals last year, and I knew it was going to be tough.

So not related to my back at all.

Q. Don't you think your hatred of defeat also helped you to win?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: Hatred of defeat or will, desire to win? I always try to stay positive.

Q. We're talking about you mentally. It's not the first time that you're back from the dead almost. Where does that come from? It's really not the first time that you managed to turn things around like that.
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: I don't know if you can work on that. As I was saying, it's like when your people have high expectations and you need to manage the stress and so on. I haven't particularly worked on -- it's what I like. It's probably my character.

It's a question of temperament. When I'm playing a match I am who I am every day. I can't deliver that type of turnaround if I'm someone else in real life.

In my personal life or when I'm practicing, when I'm working out, I think everything is connected. It's a temperament. And then it's the way you are, you behave on the court, that counts. It's obviously not always positive. There are matches that you lose and there always will. That's my mindset. Always fight to the last moment, and if I lose it's because the opponent was better but not because I give up or anything.

Q. These are pretty unreal conditions. There is this thunder clap at one point. What actually happened? Did she freak out? Did you almost run off the court?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: It was quite spectacular. I think the WTA or ITF have rules for that. It's actually quite dangerous when there is lightning is that you need to run off, is because it's pretty dangerous. In fact, it wasn't actually raining or anything, but lightning bolts are dangerous. It's the ref who told us to stop. It wasn't her or me.

Q. You say you haven't worked mentally, but we can see you do things with your respiration, you take a deep breath to calm down, it seems. Is it something innate or something you work with?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: No, I have never seen a shrink. Yeah, well, who knows? Maybe I would need one.

What, breathing? I don't know. We all have our own little personal routines to recover after a point.

My physiotherapist gave me a few tips about my back. I don't know if he's going to be happy, because I screamed a lot which is not very good for the diaphragm and for the back.

It's my own way of managing myself, focusing between points of recovering.

Q. A little question that's been a nagging question. Who was the first person who ever called you "Kiki"? How did that actually come about?
KRISTINA MLADENOVIC: I was in my crib, and there was a cousin who couldn't pronounce my name, and he said "Kiki." Then my brother was born, and he was, like, two, three years old and he couldn't say "Krrr" so he said "Keek." So it just got stuck at Kiki.

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