G. MONFILS/B. Reynolds
6‑2, 6‑3, 6‑1


Q. Well, it was perfect. No problem with the knee? An easy match? You played well.
GAËL MONFILS: Absolutely. I was okay. I got into the match easily, better than I thought. At the very end, there was a warning sign, a little pain in the knee, but I think it's due to the fact it was a bit warmer, then cooler. It started raining a little. So I thought there was a little sign on my knee, but not much.
I was quite reassured. I was moving around. I could hit the balls very strongly. I looked at the statistics with Roger. I didn't make many mistakes. So I was really happy.

Q. What did Roger say?
GAËL MONFILS: Well, he said, You played well. Next question. No, he said, You played well. You played well. Think about the next match. He was happy, you see.
We didn't really know much about my condition, and my mindset ‑‑ my mindset was really good. What we were really afraid of is how long it would last, if I would be well‑focused from A to Z.
There was just one moment when I was totally fed up. It was really a ball in the net. Otherwise I was really focused. I didn't do crazy things, so good.

Q. Didyou feel more stressed than usual? You were thinking about perhaps your knee or your focus? How did you feel before the match?
GAËL MONFILS: Before the match, I was totally at ease,okay. To some extent, I had some fears about the fact that if the match is tough, is it not going to be like hell for me, you know, and be in the red. But during the rallies, I was there. I was into the game.


Q. You said last week you couldn't play more than an hour in a row. Now it's more than an hour that you can play. But you still feel pain. Can you play with pain?
GAËL MONFILS: Well, we were talking about this before. You know, the match lasted one hour and 27minutes, I think. At the end, I felt some slight pain, so I don't really know about the pain thing.
But physically, I know I can play one‑and‑a‑half hours, that's for sure. I'll see. I can last one‑and‑a‑half hours 100%, and that's what I showed today. I still have some reserves, you see. I have more in me. And then I had stopped some anti‑inflammation pills for a few days, and I will continue to take them.

Q. So you're going to take them again for this inflammation?
GAËL MONFILS: Yes.

Q. Next challenge is not now perhaps this afternoon and tomorrow, you'll bethinking about the next challenge. Is it as important that the fact you spent not much time on the court? That is, you're going to take care of yourself in between?
GAËL MONFILS: Yes, absolutely. When I rest I'll take care myself. When I've finished with you, I'll watch a few points, Jo against Benneteau. And I'll take care of my body. Tomorrow I'll be hitting the balls for one hour, and then I'll stay at home to think about myself, care for myself, and then it's going to be a match against Victor Crivoi. It's going to be Victor Crivoi.

Q. Why did you sign yourself, you know, and then you gave kisses in the air?
GAËL MONFILS: Well, I was happy, you see. My family supported me an awful lot, youknow, with prayers and that's why I made the sign, the cross sign. So I had to thank my family.
I know that is correct,you know, in the West Indies, in the Antilles,they're believers. They believe in God. I wanted to do this for my family.

Q. Do you have confidence in the next round, which was the case last year,or would you say you don't know what's going to happen next and what's going to happen with your wound?
GAËL MONFILS: I don't really think about this wounded knee or this injury, rather. As I said before,I tried to play. I stopped thinking about this, you know, the injury or no injury. I think about the next round, the next tournament, the next opponent.
Now, this time I started well. I got into the tournament well, a good first round, good first match I won. How am I going to develop even more skills? You know, that's the starting point. If this is the starting point, I hope that if I can win match after match, I can play even a better type of tennis, and that can be like, wow.

Q. You're very ambitious, and a week ago you didn't know if you would play. And what you say today is you're saying is, you're ambitious. It could be like, wow?
GAËL MONFILS: Yes, usually I start getting into the tournament very slowly. I don't play as well as today. But today I felt strong. I hit strongly, and then maybe tactically I could change a couple of things like my forehand. When I decided to hit very strongly, the balls would bounce enormously, so if I gained more trust, more confidence, more matches, I could hit even stronger, I could take the ball earlier when it just bounced back.
So when I'm on the court, I want to win. I forget about my injury. I want to do more. I want to develop a better style of play, day in and day out.

Q. Do you think it's like last year, that is, to start with, you feel the injury, you don't know what's going to happen, and then you're into the tournament and then you find all your friends, your pals? Do you feel something similar? Do you think that's okay?
GAËL MONFILS: I don't know if it's like last year, but, you know, with Roger, that was a bit funny, you know. It's been like four or five weeks. I have not gotten into any tournament or match, but now I'm quite aggressive.
After five weeks I've gained confidence today, and I feel like, why not? I could perhaps have more ambitions, and why not? I could perhaps progress day in and day out. Let's hope for the best.

Q. You keep on saying that after one‑and‑a‑half hours the pain is too much. Is that not information for your opponents? They're going to say, Oh, we want to have a longer match. Is it not that you want to win Roland Garros in one‑and‑a‑half hours with a bit of humor,of course.
GAËL MONFILS: Well, this would be good, if I could. Yes, I know it's information for the next player, but, you know, it's one‑and‑a‑half hours already. They have to make me move around and run for the balls.
Now, if I progressively play better and better, with the beginning being what it was today, I have chances.


(via www.rolandgarros.com, photo/Reuters Pictures)

Gael Monfils - Roland Garros 26. May Interview