00:00BNP Paribas, partenaire des plus belles histoires de Roland Garros, aux côtés des ramasseurs de balles depuis plus de 50 ans.
00:30So I'm just looking forward to starting.
00:37When you think of yourself as a player, is it an all-court player? Do you have a favorite surface?
00:46And where does clay fit in, you being a European player?
00:52What do you mean, awkward player?
00:55I mean, the good on-court.
00:57Ah, all-court, all-court. Ah, okay, okay.
01:00Ah, yeah, yeah, I feel like, honestly, I feel like I can play on all surfaces.
01:05I feel like clay has been always good for me, especially when I was younger,
01:10because the game was a little bit slower, there was more time and stuff.
01:13And, you know, being a young player in the tour, it's like in the beginning there's a big physical difference,
01:19so it was maybe a bit easier for me to adapt to these kind of players on clay.
01:24But now it's not really the problem.
01:27Now I feel like I probably still feel the most comfortable on clay court.
01:33But again, you know, I love hard-court, I love grass, I've done great on grass.
01:38But clay, I think it's a very nice surface, because it's not only about the power,
01:41it's also about the understanding of the game and how you, you know, build up the points and also the physicality.
01:52Hey, Oka.
01:53I wanted to ask you about on-call coaching, and it's been kind of available to tennis players for a while now.
01:59Just curious, like, do you think it makes a difference, and what do you want from your coach with it?
02:05And also, like, on the WTA a few years ago, they used to have, like, coaches would come onto the court
02:10and actually speak to players that change events. Would you want that ever?
02:13Yeah, I think it's good that coaching is allowed because it was being done, no matter what, anyways.
02:19But I do believe that I think it's fine that it's from the box that I don't think the coach needs to come on the court.
02:26I think that's a bit of a different dimension that I think is not necessary, honestly.
02:31But I think how it is now is fine.
02:33You know, you can communicate with your coach and your team, and I think that's totally fair.
02:38I think it's like almost any other sport, like football as well, the coach is yelling from the side and stuff.
02:43So, honestly, I think it's good because before, you know, maybe you did some signs with the hands here and there,
02:50and now you got a warning or something like this.
02:52So, it's like now it's just open for everyone, and I think that's totally fair.
02:56What do you want? What do you want?
02:58Yeah, what do you want? It depends on the moment, but I usually like to get simple kind of advice during the matches
03:05because you're stressed enough in the matches.
03:07So, I think the basic stuff, you know, on big points, be brave and stick to the game plan and stuff like that.
03:14I think that's, you know, obviously simple stuff, but when you're on the match and it's a battle,
03:20sometimes you forget things and it's nice to have someone remind you.
03:26I remember when you were quite young, you hit with Novak early on.
03:32Did you have a relationship with him sort of throughout when you were a junior,
03:37and did he have an impact on you, or was it just sort of a one-time thing?
03:42No, definitely. Novak has been really, really nice to me all my career,
03:47and the first time I hit with him was in, I think, the ATP Tour finals,
03:51and then afterwards I hit with him in Monaco when I was pretty young.
03:55So, it was always really nice. He was really kind to me.
03:58He was giving me advices and stuff like that.
04:01So, I think I really appreciated that, and he's, you know, obviously one of the best that we've had.
04:08So, it's really, it feels like a big privilege that he has been so nice,
04:12and I'm sure he's, yeah, we'll still see him around in the big tournaments and the big rounds.
04:22Can I just, like, what was some of the advice that he gave you,
04:25or does anything stick out in terms of what he told you when you were young
04:29that has really stayed in your mind?
04:31Yeah, I mean, one specific thing he told me was when we were hitting forehand cross,
04:36you know, I think, in general, young players, as they grow up,
04:39they get more power, and they're more excited about their power,
04:42and he said, he personally, he would suggest me never to go more than 70%, 80% on every shot
04:48to make sure it's, like, safe enough, but still with good quality.
04:51So, you know, I feel like sometimes you go for all or nothing,
04:55and I think his game shows up pretty good that he's not risking much,
04:58but at the same time he has, like, tremendous quality on his shots,
05:02so that's one thing he told me.
05:05Hi.
05:06Hey.
05:07Curious what you think about the idea that they still have line judges here,
05:12while we have, at almost every tournament, every surface now,
05:17even Wimbledon, they're getting rid of line judges
05:20and relying on the electronic line calling.
05:22Yeah, I was a bit surprised, actually, when I saw it in qualies.
05:25I thought that it was all tournaments now that had automatic line call,
05:29but, yeah, I mean, I don't know.
05:32Honestly, I think it would be easier if everything was the same,
05:35like, either it's all automatic or it's all line umpire,
05:38and I personally, you know, think automatic line call is good
05:42because it, you know, makes less discussions and less drama and stuff like that,
05:46but at the same time I feel, you know, either we, players, read the marks wrong
05:52or there is also some fails in the system,
05:55because I've had also, I remember one mark in Rome,
05:58where I was like, that's ridiculous, that's impossible that you call this one in,
06:02but, again, it's like, if it's here, that would definitely have been called out from an umpire,
06:07but from the automatic it's in, so it's, like, a little bit confusing.
06:11But, again, we're always going to have mistakes as normal.
06:15And one other thing, at Grand Slam tournaments like here,
06:20you can end up with an 11 a.m. match or a match that starts at 11 p.m.
06:26and goes to all hours.
06:28Do you have a preference for when you play?
06:31Yeah, it's actually a good subject,
06:33because that's one thing that's not good about tennis.
06:35That's, like, we don't know when we play until, like, the day before.
06:39We could play in the morning, in the evening, where, again, I mentioned it before,
06:42but, like, football players, they know already in December when they're going to play in May.
06:46And it's like, you know, you can prepare much easier where we tennis players,
06:50also the change of conditions, the change of, you know, countries, surfaces, whatever.
06:55And I think, you know, ideally they could give us a little bit more time with that.
06:59But, like, me personally, I prefer to play in the afternoon, get a good sleep, you know.
07:03It's a bit early now, so...
07:05Just to follow that, actually, Medvedev said, like, back in Rome,
07:12that he wants, he thinks 11 a.m. starts should be abolished,
07:15because it's too early and, you know, he wants his sleep, basically.
07:18So, how tough is that? I mean, here in qualies, they start at 10, so it's even worse.
07:22It's funny he says that, because every time we practice back in Monaco,
07:26he always wants to practice at 9, so it's funny he says that.
07:29But, yeah, I mean, I don't know, I think 11, 12 is fine to start.
07:35I mean, it's, you know, it's not that early.
07:38It's a bit early, but it's not like it's impossible.
07:42I mean, in juniors, we started at 9 often in the morning.
07:44That's pretty tough, because then you have to wake up, like, three hours before,
07:48so you have to wake up at 6, and then it starts to be a struggle.
07:51But, yeah, I think, you know, if I can avoid it as much as possible at 11, I'm happy.
