The former world number one, now director of Roland-Garros, admitted not having watched Caroline Garcia's victory live in the middle of the night, but she is delighted to see the Lyonnaise succeed her on the list of winners of this great end of season meeting.
On the importance of a victory at the Masters
It is a very difficult competition to win.
Not as hard as a like a Grand Slam, though.
Because if you lose a pool match at the Masters, you stay in the race.
Which is obviously not the case at the Masters.
And the tournament is played over one week, not two.
When you gamble, managing emotions is easier over a week than over a fortnight.
On his memories of 2005
I've been in the top 10 for a while and I've been stalling in Grand Slam quarters and running halves.
My lost final went back a little while (note: Australian Open 99).
By winning the Masters, I managed to fight my demons, especially during the semi-final won (note: against Maria Sharapova).
It had been crucial and a click to then go and win the Grand Slams (note: Australian Open and Wimbledon 2006).
I rode this wave of confidence throughout my 2005/2006 winter preparation.
I gained a lot behind during the first part of the season.
I had questioned my playing identity. As does Caro (Caroline) on her side.
My offensive game that I had put in place a few months earlier had paid off.
VS'
On his exchanges with Garcia during the Masters
We exchange regularly during the year.
She asked me what my career had been in 2005. I told her that I had lost a match during the group stage.
I didn't tell her that it was a match that didn't count because I had already qualified for the semi-final (smile) Hers, on the other hand, was like a quarter-final (note: against Kasatkina) and she won it.
On Garcia's exceptional second half of the season
I've been betting on her for a long time, but not specifically this year.
No one would have thought that she would end the season this way.
At Roland-Garros, she won doubles with Kristina (Mladenovic), but she still had physical difficulties and her results did not follow (defeat in the 2nd round in singles).
Read alsoTennis: Caroline Garcia, the year of renewal
On Garcia's potential
At the US Open, she showed that she could go a long way by developing this attacking game (
editor's note defeat in the semi-finals
).
We have known for ten years that she has the potential to go for a Grand Slam.
Physically, I hope all of her physical glitches are behind them.
She's 29 but she doesn't look worn out at all.
The range of possibilities is wide.
It seems to me that it is still very far from the end.
She found her marks.
She is mentally fresh.
Unless there are physical problems again, it seems to me that she still has good years ahead of her.
On the victory without a coach
She may have been a little shaken at the start with the departure of her coach just before the tournament (note: Bertrand Perret who had been coaching her for a year).
But obviously she managed to refocus right away.
This is a good proof of his mental qualities.
As in his game it is quite clear in his head.
She relied on what allowed her to succeed this superb summer.
She won her first Masters match and everything fell into place.
Read alsoWTA Masters: "A lot of happiness" after "a crazy final", jubilates Caroline Garcia
On Garcia's attacking game
When all the planets are aligned, his attacking game works wonders.
She also loves these hard indoor conditions.
I saw him perform at some pretty incredible levels under similar playing conditions when I was Fed Cup captain.
She has a full game.
It's powerful and technically it's extremely clean.
She has tremendous punching power.
It relies on a formidable service that it can vary à la carte.
And she set the sights on the return which puts additional pressure on her opponents.
She also moves better on the courts.
She needs to be even fairer in her choices.
Being aggressive is good but when it's a difficult ball to negotiate it can make mistakes.
On the comparison with 2017
I have the feeling that she still has a little better control of her tennis than five years ago.
Following this 2017 season, she struggled for several seasons to keep her body operational.
The slightest physical concern can take on significant proportions at this level.
That's essentially why, it seems to me that she failed to settle among the best, following her very good 2017 session.
