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ROLAND GARROS


June 1, 2014


Jo-Wilfried Tsonga


PARIS, FRANCE

N. DJOKOVIC/J. Tsonga
6‑1, 6‑4, 6‑1


THE MODERATOR:  Questions in French, please.

Q.  What can you tell us about the match?  What do you think of your match?
JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA:  I didn't feel well.  It was a complicated match.  I didn't go through happy moments today.  It was not fun for me.  It was tough.
So I didn't have time to go for my shots.  I didn't get off to a good start.  Then against this type of player, things started to deteriorate.
He played better and better.  For me, it was tough.  I didn't have time to hit my shots, so it was tough.

Q.  We know that starting the match well is pivotal.  This is what Nicolas told you.  So lots of forehands went wide.  Why is it so?
JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA:  I don't know.  I don't exactly know what happened, but my shots went wide.
With this kind of match, it's important to get off to a good start.  But of course, the match continues, so had time to recover.  He was a better player, even though I started to hit the ball better.

Q.  Two years ago you lost the first set 6‑1, but after that, you rallied.  Why hasn't it worked today?
JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA:  So I wanted to change a few things.  I decided to fight very hard.  I wanted to be more patient.  But he was quite aggressive.
When I wanted to pick up my form in that match, it was very difficult, because Novak was aggressive.  He prevented me from playing today.  So I have no explanations to give you.

Q.  Against Ferrer in the semifinal last year, you said that you were not up to the job, that you hadn't risen to the occasion.  Is it the same feeling?
JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA:  No, it's different.  It's different.  Today Novak was better than me.  He outplayed me.
I didn't have the opportunity to break him.  He broke me very often, so it's a different match to that of Ferrer.

Q.  When you see the games passing by, what did you think?  What is your assessment?
JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA:  You feel powerless, defenseless, so it's not pleasant.
I experienced these feelings in my career.  So I said to myself, I will hang on, I won't throw in the towel trying to do what I could, and I thought that things would get better.
But it wasn't the case unfortunately.  That's the way it is.

Q.  Last time it was a five‑set match against Djokovic.  So things turned awry in front of your home crowd.  Isn't this the worst thing, to be defeated in one hour, 30 minutes?
JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA:  Of course.  I mean, it does hurt.  After the match, I mean, I had lots of thoughts in my mind.  But I have to continue.  I need to hang on.
I shouldn't give up, and I won't give up.  In tennis you have good moments, but you go through bad moments, as well.
So I hope that I will experience happier moments.

Q.  After this type of match, do you feel the need to pause with Nicolas and Thierry about the strategy, the preparation, the expectations, the mutual expectations?  Do you want to take stock of the situation or not?
JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA:  Last time I played against Novak I was defeated 7‑5 in the fifth set or 7‑5 in the third set.  Whether you have match points or not, the outcome is the same.
I'm not going to revisit my whole strategy because I lost to Novak today, because I have lost the previous matches against Novak.
Over the past few weeks I have improved, so I will go on and we will see what will be the outcome.

Q.  Novak was quite good, but we didn't recognize you.  Were you tired?  Did you feel the ball well?
JO‑WILFRIED TSONGA:  Tennis is a sport of a position.  6‑Love, 6‑2, 6‑1.  If I lost 6‑2, 6‑1, we are under the impression that the opponent is not good.
Today you're under the impression that I was not good because Novak was excellent, but that's tennis.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports




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