TENNIS ATP TORONTO – 5th of August 2014. R. Gasquet d. V. Pospisil 7-5, 7-5. An interview with Vasek Pospisil
Q. How much did that right leg injury hamper you during that match?
VASEK POSPISIL: I mean, yeah, it’s never good to have something bothering you, but, I mean, in general I think I was just a little bit tired mentally maybe. Just been on the road a lot of weeks.
Yeah, you need to be 100% at this level when you’re playing against Richard. Yeah, I wasn’t feeling 100% today.
Q. Obviously major enough to come out of the doubles. Are you concerned about the severity of the injury in the long term?
VASEK POSPISIL: Yeah, I have been doing, yeah, kind of not long term, no. I mean, sorry, to answer your question.
No, I’m not worried about it long term, but yeah, I’m just going to go get an MRI just because I have been struggling with it on and off for a couple of weeks, and it just kind of came back, seized up on me 5 All in the first. I was struggling to lunge on the forehand side after that and to get low on some balls. So that’s obviously not ideal.
Q. You were having some great results, obviously Washington, after struggling beginning of the year with the back. How frustrating is it to be over the back and now struggling with this?
VASEK POSPISIL: No, it’s not I mean, it’s disappointing because you know, the fact that the match today for sure a little bit, but I can’t even compare it to the back or anything.
It’s just a minor, you know, thing. I just want to be ready for Cincinnati now. And because I don’t know exactly, you know, what the protocol is, how many days I should take off, whatever, it was too risky for me to play doubles, especially because I’m feeling pain, but, you know, it’s not a long term thing.
Q. In a way do you kind of feel a victory of your own success, playing so many matches in Washington and then the quick turnaround to come here?
VASEK POSPISIL: Yeah, not so much the one in Washington. I think it’s just a buildup of a lot of weeks in a row.
Q. Going deep in tournaments?
VASEK POSPISIL: Yeah. Well, just playing every week, traveling every week. I played, out of the whole European swing, clay, grass, without coming home, and then Wimbledon I went two weeks, and then I was home for two days, went to Bogota, went to Atlanta, singles, doubles.
So I pretty much had two days at home. And those two days my bags didn’t arrive, so I was like stressed out on the phone talking to Air Canada for like two hours nonstop. I mean, it wasn’t like I didn’t really have much of a break to like go with family and take four days off or do something.
I think that’s kind of the, you know, the buildup that led to this a little bit of the fatigue.
Q. Must be almost a sense of relief to have a couple of days now?
VASEK POSPISIL: Yeah, maybe. I don’t know. I would have liked to have won, but there’s good things to everything, I guess. Probably go to Wonderland now or something (smiling).
Q. Did you finagle any compensation for the bags that didn’t arrive? Did you get like a free ticket to somewhere?
VASEK POSPISIL: No, that was crazy. I actually spent I think I calculated, I think I spent like six or seven hours on the phone in two days talking about oh, my gosh. I don’t even want to get into that. That was crazy.
Q. No compensation?
VASEK POSPISIL: No, I didn’t ask for any. I don’t think they offer it unless you kind of push for it. I didn’t have the energy to do that.
Q. When do you feel the fatigue really hitting you? Leaving Washington? When you got here? When do you think it really sort of slammed you?
VASEK POSPISIL: Probably before the final over there a little bit. You know, after playing I played with Giraldo two sets until midnight and we didn’t finish. Had to come back at 1:00. Played third set.
Then played three sets with Richard that night. Then slept five hours, not even. I don’t know, like, why I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t sleep at all.
Then the next day I was, you know, not feeling great and haven’t fully, I guess you know, then now is kind of just a bit of mental fatigue maybe.
