Thursday, May 30, 2002

P. MATHIEU/F. Santoro 7-5, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4

Q. Can you tell us how you felt? What were your
emotions?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: It was fabulous. It was a very,
very important moment. I really had chills because
I felt such support from the crowd. It was incredible.

Q. It was like two matches in one match. How did you
manage to catch up after the beginning?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: I lost at the beginning. I had a
lot of problems getting into the match. When I won the
first set, then I was able to get into the match and
become a bit more aggressive. Probably at the beginning
I was watching him play a bit too much.

Q. It's incredible that you were able to beat Santoro
in a Grand Slam. Are you aware of that?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: Yes, fully aware of that, especially
here at Roland Garros. It's fabulous. It's my best
victory ever. Well, the second one, because Ferreira was
not easy either. We can always improve.

Q. It was the same court you played when you were a junior.
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: Yes, I like this court. It's a very
good court for me (smiling).

Q. How do you explain that you have improved so much
during the season?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: Well, my season wasn't that bad (laughter).
I'm ranked 100. I worked a lot last year. I think that now I'm
really getting the fruit of what I did last year. This is the
way I see it. I hope this is not the end of it.

Q. Thierry was saying you have a very good mental attitude.
That really helped you play so well. Probably the click was
playing and winning against Ferreira.
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: I don't know if it was a click or not. I
think I reached a turning point. I'm still in the process of
the turning point. I'm aware that nothing is there forever.
I'm always questioning myself.

Q. You never played Fabrice before, but Thierry knew his game
very well. What sort of advice did you get from Thierry?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: Well, I had to be careful not to let him
play too much, play him like a lefty, because he tends to slice
a lot on his forehand. In order to cover the ground, you have to
be careful.

Q. When you were at 4-3, you had a breakpoint. You were on the
ground. This is probably something you're going to remember
forever?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: Yes, it was an important point. But there
were many interesting moments in the match. It's probably one
of the best, but there were several of those.

Q. You spent two or three years with Bollettieri. What did you
learn there that you're using in a match like this?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: I have very good memories of those three years.
It was difficult because I had two knee operations during that
period. It was a hard time in my life, but I learned a lot.

Q. This habit of encouraging yourself in English?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: I took that habit then.

Q. The game you played, were you playing like Hewitt?

PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: Don't compare me with Hewitt. I think I express
myself on the court. It relaxes me, it proves that I feel comfortable
on the court. That's all. Don't compare me with Hewitt.

Q. You were injured in the fourth set. You got help there.
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: I started to cramp. I felt that cramps were
coming in both my legs, so I thought I needed help and called for it.

Q. Next round is going to be Novak. Do you know his game?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: Yes, I know him. When I was at Nick Bollettieri's,
he trained a few times. I saw him many times on television. I'm aware
of his game.

Q. Third match, totally different from the other two?
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: Yes, yes. He's a very good player. He had a very
good season. But I think I have good chances against him.

Q. What is the objective, that you want to reach the Top 50 in 2002?
This is what you have on your Internet site.
PAUL-HENRI MATHIEU: It's very difficult to have a name like that as
far as ranking is concerned. I might be higher or lower in the ranking.
What I intend to do is do my best possible tennis and then we'll see.