Giant killer Mathieu Montcourt of France has had a wonderful week so far at Tashkent Challenger recording two upsets in a row against 8th seed Go Soeda of Japan and against 2nd seed and 70th ranked Dudi Sela of Isreal.
Here's a piece of the interview with Montcourt after his win against Sela.
Q: How do you feel after today’s win?
Montcourt: I’m very proud of the way I played today, I played very well. It’s a good win for me. I told myself I had to fight hard and win today and I did it. I’m playing very well and feel nice. Also I’m liking the courts.
Q: Are you surprised with your performance?
Montcourt: Yes, I’m truly surprised, I was not expecting this results. I cam e here with a view to win a few matches. I had lost couple of matches in the last few weeks and feeling low on confidence.
Q: But you are playing relatively well this week?
Montcourt: Like I said, I have nothing to loose, I’m just trying to play fee as I can without expecting too much, that is why I’m probably playing better
Q: It’s believed that the French are essentially clay court players, but your game is much suited for the hard courts?
Montcourt: Very true, I practice at the Rolland Garros which has clay courts, so all of us practice on the clay courts, but if you see today many of the results of French players are coming on hard courts look at Tsonga, Gasquet they are winning on hard courts. Nowadays it doesn’t matter on which surface you practice, one has to learn to win on other surfaces like hard courts and grass too.
Q: How do you look at the future?
Montcourt: I have 2 more events still to go , I’m playing in Korea, I haven’t set any goals , this is the end of the season I want to end it with a high and make lot of points. I want to play well without putting pressure on myself. This way I’m preparing to play better tennis next year.
Q: Your views on the Tashkent Challenger?
Montcourt: It’s my first time in Uzbekistan, and I’m impressed with the organization of the event. I did not expect anything here, but I’m surprised at the way they are doing the event. The people are friendly and the hotel is good, so are the courts and playing conditions. I think it’s a very high and well organized event.
(Via Sunder Iyer on behalf of the media team at Tashkent Challenger)
