TENNIS COPPA DAVIS – Finale di Coppa Davis, Svizzera batte Francia 3-1. L’intervista del dopopartita a Gachassin e Di Pasquale.
THE MODERATOR: Questions in French, please.
Q. What is your feeling after this defeat? Did you lose because the Swiss were too strong or the French missed something?
JEAN GACHASSIN: Well, we knew it was going to be a very difficult tie. We were playing in France, of course. That was a little advantage. We were playing in front of more than 25,000 spectators. That also was an advantage.
But Wawrinka was exceptional, and Federer was playing better and better. Of course now we are disappointed. We are always disappointed when we lose in a final.
Q. What do you answer to those who are criticizing, saying there were too many Swiss supporters, the atmosphere was too Swiss?
JEAN GACHASSIN: Well, there were 27,000 spectators, and they were 10% Swiss people, 2,700. It’s true they love tennis. There were no more than 2,700. That’s what they’re allowed to have, 10%. But they made a lot of noise, that’s true.
Q. Do you believe mistakes were made on the choice of surface in terms of management because of Jo’s situation?
ARNAUD di PASQUALE: Things are said in the locker room. The only one who is able to make the right decision is the captain and his staff. Many things are being said. Of course now it’s afterwards. It’s always easy to say afterwards, You should have done this and that.
I’m sure these opponents are as good on other surfaces. They are coming from the Masters where they’re coming from the finals and semifinals. You can talk about the surface, but I’m not sure it’s appropriate, it’s not a real discussion we can have about this.
The Swiss players were able to adapt to clay. That’s where they were extremely strong. We didn’t expect them to adapt so quickly changing surfaces at the last minute as they did. It’s very difficult to change because clay is difficult in terms of sliding, in terms of how the ball bounces. They were brilliant in doing that. I’m impressed. Especially Wawrinka on the Friday, he was exceptional.
Then as far as communication is concerned, Arnaud answered extremely well. It’s a poker game. You can’t give away some information. Of course, you can say Federer has a lot of experience. He doesn’t mind who he’s playing. In certain circumstances it’s important to keep a certain uncertainty in the opponent’s mind.
What happens between the staff, the captain and the players does not always need to be told to everyone. Maybe afterwards, but certainly not during the tie.
We need to protect the team and keep in the locker room what is being said.
Q. Are you optimistic about the capacity of the players to regroup for the same goal in 2015 for Davis Cup? This loss, is it the end of an era?
ARNAUD di PASQUALE: I imagine you know what I’m going to answer, but I’m going to say it anyway. Maybe it will seem common to say it.
Before the French team wins trophies, they can build upon their failures and losses. We talked about this in Argentina last year. I think the French team is getting closer, getting stronger.
There were little things that were unexpected this weekend, little problems. But it’s part of the game. I believe they were stronger and more united with time.
They still have a few years to play. How old is Federer? He won the Davis Cup. That was the only trophy he didn’t have. But our French players are younger and they still have very good years ahead of them. I am sure they really want to go and get this trophy.
I don’t believe they will stop with this failure. You just saw how disappointed they were, each one of them. You saw Gael disappointed. ‘Disappointed’ is the word. It was extremely tough on them.
Of course, today we can’t be happy. We’re happy for the Swiss, but we can’t be happy even if it’s very good for Roger. So we lost this final again. After Serbia it hurts really badly.
Of course they’ll bounce back and be back into it even stronger, I believe.
Q. I know what you’re going to answer, but are you questioning Arnaud Clement after this loss?
ARNAUD di PASQUALE: You can’t question the work of Arnaud Clement and all his staff. They did the maximum. They had very good preparation in Bordeaux. It’s easy to say, Oh, well, the Swiss came after the Masters, et cetera. Tennis is not a science. The French team did exactly what they could. The whole Federation was supporting them. Everything has been done to prepare for this tie.
But there are always unexpected things that happen. What happened was not easy because we lost the pillar of our team. That was tough. Jo gave everything for this Davis Cup. He’s been doing that for years. He is the pillar of our team.
Even for the other players, it’s destabilizing. We had to face that. I believe they reacted pretty well. There was solidarity.
JEAN GACHASSIN: Clement has our confidence and our trust as a captain. Of course we lost. But many teams would like to be in the final. If every time we lose we should change captains, many captains would be fired in the world.
ARNAUD di PASQUALE: Of course, I remind you that we lost against Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka. On paper they are a lot stronger than we are. Of course, we could have won. But what could have changed?
We’re talking about surfaces, preparations, injuries. But it’s the No. 1 and No. 4 player in the world. So you can control some things and others you can’t control.
Q. Knowing in the preparation stage Jo already had a little problem, maybe there were other strategic choices that would have been better.
ARNAUD di PASQUALE: I don’t know if it can work like this. You know how Jo loves this competition. Not playing yesterday and not playing today for him was extremely tough. It was very bad. On top of it, after what happened in Serbia, it was even worse for him.
He is in a difficult situation.
Q. We have the feeling that Jo decides in this team. Is it dangerous to let him decide all the time?
ARNAUD di PASQUALE: I don’t think you heard well. It’s the captain who made the final decision. It’s not Jo deciding. Don’t interpret this like that. The captain makes the final decision.
Of course, there are discussions that are made together. Then individually after that it is Arnaud and nobody else who makes the decision.
If Arnaud had thought for one second that Jo should not play, whether he was the pillar of the team or not, he wouldn’t have played on Friday. In that case, it could have been Gilles or someone else.
I just don’t believe for one second that Jo is controlling who is selected and who is not.
JEAN GACHASSIN: It is Arnaud making decisions. Look at France against Czech Republic. Arnaud chose Richard instead of Monfils. Of course, he had a dialogue with the players. But when Monfils said he was not ready, well, that was brave of him saying that, but Arnaud made the final decision.
Q. At a certain stage, did France think Roger maybe was injured, and it would be easier, and in the end it was Jo who was injured? Is it even more disappointing?
ARNAUD di PASQUALE: Did we wish Roger to be injured? Of course not. I mean, we had an extraordinary weekend. There was a lot of enthusiasm about this whole tie. This is fantastic. Switzerland is an incredible team right now.
But we were surprised by what happened. After everything that was being said about Roger and his injury and the Swiss team, his back pain, I don’t know.
It’s strange that we were the ones having an injury problem in our team. The pillar of our team couldn’t play. It’s part of our team. Jo is not alone. When I say he’s a pillar, I’m not saying he’s the only one. In Davis Cup, you are playing a collective sport, not an individual sport anymore.
Q. What is most disappointing, Belgrade, where you had a real opportunity, or is it tougher here at home in front of 27,000 people?
JEAN GACHASSIN: In Serbia we really believed we could win. But we knew for this weekend that the Swiss team was excellent, one of the best. Of course, we were having faith because we were in France. When you play, you always play because you want to win.
But we knew it was going to be difficult. Of course, when we lose in a final, the whole Federation is sad, and the captain, too. But this is sport. We had a little incident, and I believe we will be ready for next year and I we hope the team will be able to regroup for next year.
But anyway, we knew it was going to be extremely difficult. We knew the Swiss team was extraordinary.
