Wednesday, May 29, 2002

S. GROSJEAN/F. Clavet 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3

Q. Where is the cake?
SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: I'm waiting for it. You are supposed to
give it to me. Supposed to be a present from you (smiling).
I didn't get any. It's a shame.

Q. Nothing this morning?
SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: I'm very sad.
Q. How do you feel health-wise?
SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: Well, I'm tired. We played three and a
half hours. It was a tough match. I was feeling it at the
end, but nothing too serious. I've been feeling like that
more or less for the last week or so.

Q. Did you have any pain in the abductors? If so, when?
SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: No, it's always the same problem. When
I'm sliding on the side, I have to go far to reach the ball,
this is where I feel my abductors most. I was trying to slide
a bit less. I controlled this.

Q. Were you less and less apprehensive about it during the
match?
SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: Yes, yes. The last two games, when I was
breaking at 4-3, I won the point, I was more relaxed. I knew
I was starting to have problems. I decided to be more relaxed.

Q. Couldn't you do that before?
SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: Well, maybe I should have. But it didn't
hurt before. In any case, it was not easy because there was a
lot of wind and the wind was changing a lot. He was playing
very well, very deep, so it was complicated to use that sort
of tactic at the beginning.

Q. It feels like the same tournament at Monte-Carlo.
SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: I wish so.

Q. But do you feel the same?
SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: No, it's different because in Monte-Carlo
I felt bad, I felt really lousy. Now here, it's just a slight
problem.

Q. What's the main problem when you're playing Clavet?
SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: He moves very well on the court. He returns
the ball very well. He places it very well, exactly where it's
a problem for the opponent. He is difficult to play. He is
really sort of pushing the ball.

Q. You said it was a bit of a question mark before this match.
Do you feel better now?
SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: Well, it's always difficult to play somebody
like Clavet. I knew it was going to be a difficult match. I played
against him in Australia and then in Monte-Carlo. I knew it was
going to be tough. I got ready for that. So now I'll have to make
sure that I'm fresh again. Playing tomorrow for me is not the best
possible schedule.

Q. Are you getting checked, doing tests?
SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: Yes, tonight. I will have a scan again.

Q. How many scans did you have?
SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: I had two or three magnetic scans and again
three or four ultrasounds.

Q. I noticed that you were reacting to the crowd a lot more than
usual. Did you like it? Was it because the crowd was different?
SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: It's because it was central court, it was very
full. I needed the public behind me. I needed their support because
it was a hard match. This is probably why I turned to them and in a
way told them that I needed their backing.

Q. How did you react to the fact that you didn't play yesterday?
Were you already thinking, "I won't have a day of rest between
the two matches"? Did you think it was a good thing to have an
extra day for rest before?
SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: It was both. I enjoyed this extra day. But I
knew the match was going to be tough today. If I won, having the
following match on the following day was not necessarily the best
possible program. I think it would have been better for me to finish
yesterday, like Fabrice did, and have a full day's rest today.

Q. Did you play James Blake already?
SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: I see him all the time (smiling). No, I've
never played him.

Q. You heard about him? He should be making more mistakes than
Clavet.
SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: Yes. But he has very strong shots. He has a
very good forehand. He moves very well, it seems. He had a very
good hard court season last year. We will have to see.

Q. About soccer, I think you saw the match yesterday. Are you
going to follow what is happening on the scene and how are you
going to do that while you're here?
SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: Friday, Friday is fine. Either I have a rest
day or I'm finished and I have vacation. Friday will be no problem.
I will follow what the French team is doing.

Q. Are you going to schedule your practice in order to be able to
watch the matches of the French team?
SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: Yes, obviously. But nothing will happen in the
morning anyway. I don't like practicing in the morning anyway. But
with the time difference, it's going to be okay.

Q. Still on football, did you see what Serena Williams is wearing?
It seems she is using those colors?
SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: It's Lacoste who designed those clothes. But I
don't think they like the blue so much. I'm not worried.

Q. Did you see Serena?
SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: Yes, I saw it. I was playing just after that.
It's fun, no? I don't know. I don't know. I don't really want to
make any remarks on this. It's a bit puzzling. But I think the
audience reacted very well. They liked it. Mixed feeling from the
audience, I think.

Q. A number of players know that they don't like it because there
are plenty of kids. Safin didn't like it too much. You were playing,
yourself, on central court for the first match on a day where there's
a lot of noise with all these kids. Do you take that into account when
you prepare for the match?
SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: Well, Safin was playing against a French player,
so probably he was getting more support from the French kids. As
far as I'm concerned, it's nice to have a full stadium, to have
plenty of kids. I find it very motivating. I like playing on central
court when there is a full audience. It's something that really backs
me up and helps me a lot - and it did help me.

Q. Did you have a look at the schedule? Where do you see surprises
that might happen to you?
SEBASTIEN GROSJEAN: No, I don't look into that beforehand.