UNITED CUP

January 3, 2024

Edouard Roger-Vasselin

Caroline Garcia

Adrian Mannarino

Elixane Lechemia

Team France

Press Conference

Team France - 3

Team Italy - 0

THE MODERATOR: Congrats, Team France. To the captain, you had a very tough group with Germany and Italy. How proud are you of coming out on top, winning five of the six matches?

EDOUARD ROGER-VASSELIN: Yeah, really proud of my team. All the credit for the players. They did a really good job against a really tough team, tough group. Yeah, we can be proud of ourselves, of our team. We can trust ourselves also. We know we are a good team. We are looking forward to play tomorrow in quarterfinal here in Sydney.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Adrian, how nice was it after a tough one the other night to get a win for your team to start the match?

ADRIAN MANNARINO: Yeah, in a team competition, is never easy to lose a match because you feel like... There's pressure for the team, you want to always do well for the team. When Caroline had to step out on the court with 0-1 on the scoreboard, it was not cool (smiling).

Yeah, today I managed to play a pretty consistent match. I was happy to bring the first point to our team. She finished the job pretty well, too.

Q. I know people ask you all the time about your game style. Did you play that way from a young age or is that something you developed?

ADRIAN MANNARINO: No, I think I've always been this type of player. Yeah, maybe I'm doing a little bit better now with experience. I know little bit more about my game and what I should do on court, but it's always been that way.

Q. Caroline, what were you most pleased about with your match?

CAROLINE GARCIA: Yeah, was definitely a tough match. I played Jasmine a couple of times at the end of the 2023 season. I got two tough losses. I was ready for a big fight. She's very talented player. She can play very early and very fast.

Yeah, I tried to stay calm when I lost the second set after getting some opportunity, yeah... Was a good match. Obviously some tension out there. But the attitude made me stay positive. I tried to go get the match at the end. It made the difference.

Q. Looking ahead to the quarterfinals, thoughts on your opponent?

CAROLINE GARCIA: We are not sure who we will play, right? I cannot answer that question (smiling).

Q. To the mixed doubles team, mixed doubles is playing a big role. Can you talk about making the contribution to your team on the mixed doubles court.

ELIXANE LECHEMIA: Well, I don't know if we can call that contribution today because we already won the match today. Was 2-Love.

No, was nice. I was expecting to play today. Yeah, I prepare myself to play. I was also pretty nervous 'cause it was my first time playing for France.

Yeah, first few games was a little bit tight. I was nervous. Also the court, I didn't play on center court before. It was kind of weird playing on such a big court with the lights and everything.

But in the end, it was better and better across the match. It was a good match.