“What does this victory in the super tie-break (6-1, 6-4, 6-7) represent? [2]6-7 [4]7-6 [8]), your first at Wimbledon?
A lot of pride. It’s been a while since I’ve been back to winning ways. I’ve had a lot of little mishaps, physically, between my health problems in Miami (fainting in the middle of the match) and my big sprain in Barcelona. It’s been complicated since then. I’m very happy to have kept a great attitude throughout the match, even if there were ups and downs in my tennis.
But I knew it was going to be like that. It’s going to take me a little while longer to get back to my best tennis. Emotionally, I was really ready. I stayed very stable in my head, that’s what allowed me to win in the end, even though I could have won more easily since I was leading 7-0 in the super tie-break. That’s how it is, I managed to get over that.
How did you experience this tense end to the match?
It was 7-0 then 8-2. He came back to 8-8. I think I lacked a little aggression, which had worked well during my strong moments of the match. I didn’t have the right intentions. I said to myself: “I’m leading 7-0, I have a bit of margin, make him play”. It wasn’t the best option, but I was able to pull myself together at 8-8 by pulling off a big comeback and then a big first.
Before this denouement, you were never really unhooked…
I came close in the previous sets, where I lost twice in the tie-break. I know that on grass, it’s decided by small details, there are a lot of points that are decided on the first shot. I knew that my level of concentration and my emotional level would really play a role. It was frustrating to lose two sets in the tie-break, I tried to really stay in it. It helped me.
It’s been a long time since you won a match. Was that hard to take?
Losing doesn’t bother me that much. We lose every week, we are, in quotes, used to losing. Defeat doesn’t bother me, it was more the way of playing. I had trouble finding aggressive tennis, like at the start of the season, with good intentions. I had trouble getting it back in place. It was more a questioning of my tennis, how to make it evolve and how to allow myself to find a high level of performance, how to go even further in my objectives. It was more that than the results. Losing is part of the job. There is losing, and losing with style. During my last defeats, I had trouble establishing good tennis.
“Fuck, I’m missing the game against Belgium, it sucks, but at least try to finish with a win”
Inside Arthur Cazaux’s head during his match against Zizou Bergs
Could this all be the result of your misadventures in the spring?
I was out for two and a half months, between the discomfort and the sprain. You inevitably lose your bearings when you don’t play. When I started again at Roland Garros, my ankle was still hurting a bit so I was still managing training. I wasn’t able to train hard all the time. But in recent weeks, I felt better and better physically and yet I still had trouble putting in place the tennis that can take me higher. So there was a lot of questioning. The quick defeat in Eastbourne allowed me to arrive here early and prepare well.
Since you were on the court, you were unable to follow the other France-Belgium match of the day…
I found out the score at the end. It was an Englishman who told me: “Plus you won 1-0, own goal.” So I was done (smile). Indirectly, I thought about it a bit during the match. I said to myself: “Fuck, I’m playing for 4.5 hours, I’m missing the match against Belgium, it sucks, but at least try to finish with a victory.” But it was a good experience, I had never played for so long. I’m happy to have held on physically and mentally.”
