BILLIE JEAN KING CUP

November 8, 2023

Julien Benneteau

Caroline Garcia

Kristina Mladenovic

Team France

Press Conference

GARCIA-MLADENOVIC/Cocciaretto-Trevisan

5-7, 6-2, 10-6

Team France - 1

Team Italy - 2

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.

Q. A question to Caroline. Obviously losing the second match is always tough, but you did really well to bounce back to win the doubles. Just wondering, how is the mental process to recover in such a short amount of time from the first match to the second match and obviously making that huge effort to win the doubles?

CAROLINE GARCIA: I think there is no process, you know. Just felt it was only 10 minutes, and I was very emotional when I walked back on court with Kristina and Captain.

Yeah, it was very difficult. But we did know, both of us, that we still had one job to do and try our best to try to bring one point at least for the team today. It was a minimum we deserve with the big fighting of the three matches.

So, yeah, it was definitely a big effort. Yeah, we can be proud of the effort and stay positive after losing the first set and playing better and better. Yeah, it's good to at least have one point.

Q. Caroline, can I just ask how your ankle is and what you felt in the moment and what the word was from the team and how it might be tomorrow?

CAROLINE GARCIA: Yeah, we just check. I mean, obviously it roll a little bit, but it's okay. Yeah, we will do the recovery the best way we can. We have the day off tomorrow to practice and see what the Italian and German are doing and then get ready for Friday.

It's okay. It's more positive than negative, so fingers crossed, it stay like this until the end of the season (smiling).

Q. Caroline, you were finding it difficult to hold serve against Jasmine, and particularly in the third set, you had those advantages. Was there any particular reason for that, or is it just one of those days?

CAROLINE GARCIA: Yeah, I mean, I played her a couple weeks ago and it was kind of the same match and same stuff on my service game. Looks like she was reading it well.

Also, in the more important games, I didn't serve as many first serves as what I could and what I should do. You know, I think I probably should have mixed it up a little bit more, tried to go for more first serve.

Yeah, it's a pity I couldn't get that other break in the third set twice. Yeah, I mean, it's a good resume of my season so far.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for the captain.

Q. (Question about next tie.)

CAPTAIN JULIEN BENNETEAU: We don't have our destiny in our hands, you know. It will depend on tomorrow.

So after the two singles, and I told the players, like, two days ago, that's why there was no question about Caroline on court in doubles, because whatever the score was after the singles, I put my best doubles on the court to try to win a point, because it can make a difference at the end. We never know.

They did their job. They did very well the job. It was a very good doubles. But, yeah, the two singles, for sure, we are disappointed. We are close in both of them. It's tough to be 2-0 down after these two singles, that's for sure.

Q. Looking back on the day, is there anything you would do differently if you could do it again?

CAPTAIN JULIEN BENNETEAU: Not in the players I had on the court. I would do the same. But maybe at the beginning of the second set on Alize's match, at this moment, she's in good position. Trevisan is not playing that well at this moment. After that, Trevisan played very good. Credit to her and to the Italian team.

But, yeah, beginning of the second set, more, I don't know, how can I say, how can I be and how can I change things now, but yeah, when we know the result, I would have done differently at the beginning of second set to avoid this moment of, I don't know how we can call it, Alize felt very bad.

I think that with the score with her, it would have been easier to deal during the second set. We could have the score with us at the beginning of the second set. We could have had 2-0, 3-1, at least, and maybe it could have been different.