ROLAND GARROS

May 30, 2025

Quentin Halys

Press Conference

H. RUNE/Q. Halys

4-6, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. (Question about regrets.)

QUENTIN HALYS: No regrets. Specifically it was similar to what happened in Wimbledon where I was on top of the first part of the match, then he was on top today. It was on and off. The momentum shifted from one player to the other.

You can always regret a missed forehand or backhand. When it comes to the match as a whole, I am pretty happy with what I did. I did pretty much everything according to plan. I couldn't say I'm full of regrets right now.

Q. Could we circle back to two points of the match when you were two points away from the match, then what happened in the first set. You had no energy left whatsoever or was there a mental difficulty after not winning the fourth set?

QUENTIN HALYS: I had a second serve at 190 kilometers per hour, then there's a forehand that hits the net, falls on the right side. He played unbelievably well in the fifth set. This was not a problem on my side.

He had no cramps. He was really relaxed. He played really well. I don't think I played that bad. On the first break, he played three unbelievable points. Maybe my serve was not as good as before. Every time he was hitting the ball, he was really strong, a lot of winners.

I'd say it was him who had a great fifth set. He was really relaxed. He ran really well. He returned really well.

Q. You've gone up in the rankings. What is missing? Consistency? In tennis it is always a step-by-step approach. You can't be successful in everything. You are going very high up the ranking. What is still missing?

QUENTIN HALYS: Same as for the way I'm playing. Let's give it time. I would like to be able to go even further, but one learns in those losses. They're very productive because a lot is to be learnt from those losses.

What happened in Wimbledon, I was able to use that to be in the third round of the French Open. Maybe this is a surface that my opponent is more comfortable with than grass. I have to give it time to keep improving.

It is a painful loss. But I will be able to use it with time, to use the details to work. I still have a lot of work to do. I think I have room for improvement. There are a lot of aspects on which I should be able to keep improving.

I hope my ranking will go higher and higher. There are a lot of points on which I need to improve on. I know that.

Q. Despite the fact you lost the match, this is your best performance this year. It's in the French Open. What do you draw from all this?

QUENTIN HALYS: I would say a consistent level, although one of them was cut short. My win against Kecmanovic was good because he's a very good player. I have a very nice level. Today it's encouraging.

I didn't know what to expect when I came into the tournament. My consistency throughout the three matches is good.

From a tennis standpoint, I could have improved some points. But it was not my best level. I think I've been very consistent and that my behavior was in the right place.

Q. In the first set you were able to use all the opportunities to take the break points. That's how you won the set. There was a shift in momentum. Rune was able to better use the opportunities. How would you explain that?

QUENTIN HALYS: Generally speaking, during the two and a half first sets, I was not returning well. It was really challenging for me. My position wasn't right. It was some kind of a small miracle that I was able to win the first set.

The way I returned, I'm not able to have him play enough. After the end of the third set, it was better. I think this is how he gained confidence. When he was serving, I was not challenging him really. When my returns got longer, when I was able to have better position, to have him play more, this is when the fight got really intense. That's when I'm making it really difficult for him.

It was a close one. This is probably what was missing in the first few sets, being able to better return.

Q. After the tear you got in your adductors, it really stopped your momentum. You found a new momentum. Do you think that you'll be able to adapt your game before the grass season?

QUENTIN HALYS: Of course, I was not able to recover as much as I wanted. I was able to go to Madrid. This is one of the mandatory tournaments. I was in a competitive spirit. From a tennis standpoint, it was difficult to find a good pace. I had not enough time and practice on clay, but finishing the clay season like this is great.

I think the conditions in the French Open are a bit quicker than the other tournaments. This is a tournament that I love because I'm feeling great on this surface in this tournament.

It will be absolutely different on grass. But I'm taking a lot of confidence from the French Open. I think in some way it will help on grass.

Q. This is not about you, but Rune was able to get someone expelled. He says there should not be interactions between a spectator and a player, no matter what happens. What do you think about this? Is this something you would be annoyed with? Do you have on opinion on this?

QUENTIN HALYS: It depends on what happened. Precisely I was too far away from what happened to know what happened.

In my opinion, the players are respectful with the crowd. Some of them are a bit more impulsive. It's good for tennis that players are able to express themselves.

That being said, the players have to be respected. We are not animals. We are trained to do our best. There are some ups and downs. The bets are not having the best possible effect because we can see people in the crowd expressing their emotions when they lose their bets. But we're not responsible for this. We are trying our best to win, to give some emotions.

Maybe the crowd should be able to do better. I think it would benefit sports in general. It would benefit everyone. With the appropriate distance, and if everyone is able to respect what the other is doing. Some people in the crowd unfortunately are not doing this. The crowd needs to understand that some days are not good days. Some people tend to forget unfortunately that we are only human and there are off days. Sometimes we lose. This is what tennis is about.