ROLAND GARROS

May 25, 2026

Raphael Collignon

Press Conference

R. COLLIGNON/A. Vukic

6-3, 6-3, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Raphael, congratulations. What does it mean to you to win your first match at Roland Garros?

RAPHAEL COLLIGNON: Yeah, it's a great win and a great feeling. I was watching this tournament when I was a kid, and to be able to win here my first round in front of all the Belgian fans here is really special. So I'm very, very happy.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. Raphael, can you tell us about the atmosphere? There were quite a few Belgian fans on the court. Quite a celebration. Can you tell us about it?

RAPHAEL COLLIGNON: Yes, it was incredible. I knew there would be a lot of people, because Belgium isn't very far away, and there is always a great atmosphere for the Belgians here in Roland Garros. So it was a fantastic atmosphere throughout the match. I really felt myself supported for each point, and at the end it was a great relief. It was amazing to be able to share this with so many people. So much atmosphere and everyone chanting my name, it was amazing. I'm really impatient to be here Wednesday -- or Thursday, I don't know.

Q. It's your first Roland. Is it as good as you thought?

RAPHAEL COLLIGNON: Yes. Yes, Grand Slams are very special, and for the Belgians in Roland Garros, even more.

It was absolutely incredible. I had the impression that I was playing at home. That's what it was like. I had the impression that I was playing at Liege, in my club.

It was amazing to share this with all the Belgians here and also a lot of the people I'm close to, my aunts, my Godfather, my dad. There were a lot of people here, my in-laws. It was amazing to play in this atmosphere with so many people who are very close to me. I had a great time.

Q. Did it help you also in the third set, which was a little bit more tricky than the first two? Did the crowd help you to really win the game and take it further than three sets?

RAPHAEL COLLIGNON: Yes, of course, it helped me. I think in the third set, maybe I decompressed a little bit, because I'm not really used to playing in five sets. So when you've won the third set, then you think you're -- when you've won the first two sets, you think I've almost do it, but no. I had a bit of a decompression in the third set.

The fact that the crowd was there supporting me for each point really helped me in that third set. Of course, it helps when there are so many people.

Q. You don't know who you'll be playing against, but if it's Ben Shelton -- oh, Sascha -- no Ben. What do you think about your next opponent?

RAPHAEL COLLIGNON: Well, he's a great player. I'm not sure if he's still in the top 5. He must be fifth or sixth. Oh, he's fifth. Well, he's a fantastic player.

He's already won the Masters 1000 and some Grand Slams. You know, he's a big customer, and I think he's improved a lot on clay court. I think he won in Munich this year.

So he's progressing on this surface. It's not his best surface, of course, I think, but he's really becoming a serious client on clay.

I think that he lost here last year in the Round of 16 against Carlos, but he plays really, really well. Of course, I'll have to play my very best tennis if I want to have a chance to win.

It will be very interesting to see how I do, because I've really played against the top 10s. I've already played Musetti, top 10 also. I've had a little bit of experience at that level, but this will be a good test for me now to gauge where I stand.

Q. We can't not talk about the heat on a day such as today, although the shade came along at the right time in that third set. How did you cope with that heat?

RAPHAEL COLLIGNON: Yes, it was very, very hot during the day, and I'm very happy that I was programmed in the fourth match that we played on the court because it was a little bit less difficult than in the middle of the day.

I think Elise played in the heat of the match. Aleks and myself were quite lucky to play in the fourth match in the shade. We were just next to Lenglen, so we had some shade to protect us, but of course, at the beginning it was quite hot, and I think that it wasn't as hot during the day.

I've been training here during the day since I've been here, so it's been very hot. Now, I did play there in good conditions, and the shade helped me at the end, so I'm very happy.

Q. (Off microphone - question about Alex de Minaur.)

RAPHAEL COLLIGNON: I think I played against him once, but I think it was a miracle that I won, so I don't really have any tactical advice to give him.

But Alex is very confident. He's playing very well. I trained with him here in Roland three days ago, and he's very impressive. I think he'll play his game, and he's really got a good serve. That will be very important, especially in this heat, to win some easy points.

He knows how to play. He knows he has an aggressive game, because I think that if you start the rallies with de Minaur, it will be very tough.

But I think he has some good weapons to give him some trouble, and I think that he will play a wonderful match.

Q. Apparently you signed a contract with Tomorrowland and with Alexander. Do you like this type of music?

RAPHAEL COLLIGNON: Yes, Tomorrowland is a myth in Belgium. We were approached by Tomorrowland two months ago, and we made the video that was brought out a few days ago, and we filmed that about one month ago.

I filmed on the day when Alex was playing against Rudd in Madrid, so as we were filming, we were watching the match, which was quite funny.

It's incredible to be sponsored by Tomorrowland. So I've been following this since I was young. It's a myth in Belgium, so I'm very proud to represent that event.

In addition, you know, the clothes are really stylish.

Q. Did people ask you for more seats here or Tomorrowland?

RAPHAEL COLLIGNON: No, for here. It was really difficult to find seats. I had to ask some Argentinian players, lots of different players, to get the tickets. I was quite lucky, because I needed six more seats than I was allowed to, but I found them.

It's a real battle to find seats here, especially for the Belgian where we have a lot of people coming to support us. So I was good and Steve was good this time, so everybody was able to come, but it's very difficult to find those seats.