Fabio Fognini

F. FOGNINI/G. Monfils
2 6, 4 6, 7 5, 6 4, 9 7

Q. Is it the craziest match you've ever played in your career? Is it the greatest emotion in your career?

FABIO FOGNINI: Yes, I think so. It's a great match. Look at the score. It's an incredible match. The first time I've won such a match with such a crowd on the grand court. I must say I'm very happy. I'm waiting for the next match.
Q. Were you happy to see that the crowd was against you or were you angry?

FABIO FOGNINI: I think it's normal. We are in France. These were French people. The crowd does "tifo." How do you say this in French? Oh, yes, they support the French players, which is normal. In Italy, it's different. They would support me.
Q. Did this help you that the crowd was against you to be more motivated?

FABIO FOGNINI: No, I don't think so. No, it's normal. It's normal. I played an excellent match. It was two sets up for him, and then I changed my tactics.
Q. What did you change during the match?

FABIO FOGNINI: Well, the first set and the second set were very quick and easy for him, 6 2, 6 4. Then after, I wanted to have a longer match, a (in Italian). Oh, yes, I wanted to have a longer match. I wanted to have longer rallies, "les échanges" in French, rallies. Yes, it was a good idea. At the end of the day it worked well.
Q. What happened when it was 4 All yesterday evening? To start with, I had the impression you wanted to continue. And then after, your coach said, No, no, no. Stop.

FABIO FOGNINI: Stop, stop. It's not this way. Stop. It was a difficult question. It was 4 All during the fifth set and a lot of tension. The supervisor walked on the court and he said, Do you want to continue or stop? He wanted to continue, and I said, Okay, we'll continue. If we can finish the match, is it only two games to play? He said, We're going to continue and we'll play two games. I said, Well, for me that's okay. Two games is okay. If I lose this, he's going to serve for the match, and then what's going to happen then? We are going to stop now, or will we continue until who knows?
Q. What happened at the end? We saw the very last points Gaël was serving. He served at 125 kilometers per hour, so not big. Then you pushed the ball. What happened then?

FABIO FOGNINI: I think there was a lot of pressure on us. It was the first time I was playing here on center court with Gaël, and I know him very well. It was a great match, great moment, a lot of tension.
Q. Could you see the ball correctly yesterday evening?

FABIO FOGNINI: No, not really. It was difficult. But that's tennis. The supervisor decided to continue, so we had to continue until 5 All and then stop the match.
Q. Is it true you had a laser yesterday on a return, a return backhand? Is it just once or several times?

FABIO FOGNINI: Yes, first time laser. I said something in Italian, you know, not nice. (laughter.)
Q. What about the evening? Was it difficult? Could you sleep okay?

FABIO FOGNINI: That's an excellent question. It was very hard, because it was very late. I worked with my physical trainer in my room. I couldn't sleep well. It was (in Italian) but that's normal. That's the fear I had about today.
Q. Was there tension with Gaël, or was it just with the crowd?

FABIO FOGNINI: No, not with Gaël. I know Gaël very well. We've known each other since the juniors. We know each other very well, and there was a bit of clash with the crowd, but that's normal.
It's the first time, here again, that I played such a moment. It was difficult for me to control my emotions. It was a very long match, and it was 4 All during the fifth set.