ROLEX MONTE-CARLO MASTERS

April 6, 2025

Richard Gasquet

Press Conference

R. GASQUET/M. Arnaldi

6-3, 4-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. A beautiful victory tonight. It was complicated, but you were able to beat that Italian.

RICHARD GASQUET: Yes, it's a good victory for me. He hadn't played a lot on center court. I had played a lot myself. I had a chance because he didn't have any references yet, and I took advantage of it. It gave me confidence for what was coming up.

It's a good match winning here. It was not certain before the match. Being on that court with all that crowd I felt that I had a chance. I broke him early, so I thought this was giving me a chance. I was able to finish the match.

Well, I mean, the crowd was there. It was a beautiful moment. The difference was that I played well at the right moment, and I was able not to be broken in the beginning of the third set. That was an important moment. He was starting to play better than I was, and I was feeling a bit tired, but I was able to serve well, play well, and at the end of the match, he became a bit tense.

So it's a great victory for me. Having this wildcard here and winning the match is a good moment.

Q. What does this represent for you? Is it very special?

RICHARD GASQUET: I'm very happy, very simply. You think maybe it's the last time you're going to play on the center court. You give all you have, and I was able to make those shots.

I was able not to be broken in the beginning of the third set. That's how I win it. He's young. He's a good player. He was the favorite in this match.

But I'm used to playing on this center court. This is the kind of court where I can play good matches, and it was the case today. I'm very happy that I won it and that I can stay in the tournament a bit more.

It was a great pleasure to win the match. Not totally unexpected, of course, because you can always play well. But still, on the tour, it's quite difficult for me to win matches right now, so I'm happy.

Q. Richard, you were saying yesterday that you might have emotions coming in. You have a lot of history here. Time is passing by. You want to do well here and in the French Open. So how are you going to manage all those emotions? Did you feel today you might be overwhelmed?

RICHARD GASQUET: I started the match well. This is what's helped me. Before the match I was a bit tense. It was a strange feeling. When you step into the court for the first time in the tournament, here or in the French Open, it creates emotions. It's a strange feeling.

I had that a bit, but I was able to start off well, which helped me a lot. I felt he was still trying to find his references, and I was feeling good. It gave me confidence for the rest of the match.

In the third set I had to fight, save breakpoints, and I was able to do it, and this is why I'm so happy in Monaco. This was a beautiful moment.

Q. You said the beginning of the third set was a key moment. The first game was very tight. But after that, you were playing beautiful backhands and winning straight games.

RICHARD GASQUET: It was mainly very important to save the breakpoints, because he was doing some mistakes, but if you let him take the lead, then he won't make those mistakes anymore. So I needed to stay up at the score, and I needed to save those breakpoints.

I was able to do very good backhands. I was able to be up 4-3. Then you can imagine he might become tense, which was the case. So it was really good for me to win that match, because if you serve for the match and you don't win it, then you feel bad.

Q. Did you have the feeling you would never lose it, or did you feel you were a bit tired?

RICHARD GASQUET: My level went a little bit down at the end. But anyway, even in ten years from now, I will still be able to play those backhands. But if you ask me in ten years from now to play forehands and serves, I'm not sure I'll be able to make it.

I did good backhands along the lines, beautiful shots, and this was good for me. It reminded me some shots I had played on this center court before.

I was happy to prolong a little bit my career (smiling).

Q. (Off mic.)

RICHARD GASQUET: Well, these are fabulous moments. The court was full. The crowd was there. It's very strong moments. It's one of the major tournaments in the world. It's a Sunday. You want to play well, and I was able to do it.

This is why I'm so happy, and now I feel I can stay in the tournament a bit more, so this is very important for me. Really happy that I won against a young player who has a beautiful future ahead of him.

Q. The first match you played here was against Safin. He's here. What do you think of meeting him again?

RICHARD GASQUET: I haven't seen him yet, but I know he's here. He's a legend of the game. I played against him in 2002. I will be so pleased to see him again, as a coach now.

So I'm looking forward to see him and say hello to him.

Q. Since this is the last time you're playing this tournament, what feelings do you have?

RICHARD GASQUET: I'm happy I won, because it was a tight match. The third set was very tight. I was able to win it, and I was happy to do that in front of a big crowd on center court in Monte-Carlo with a wildcard. You always want to do well in that situation, and I'm very happy that I made it.