"It's not easy to keep your cool," admits Jacquemot after her victory against Parks at Roland-Garros
Elsa Jacquemot experienced a rollercoaster of emotions on Thursday evening. Facing Alycia Parks, the 22-year-old Frenchwoman squandered two match points in the second set before being dragged into a perilous third set by the American.
Ultimately, the Lyon native showed great resilience to win in three sets (6-2, 6-7, 6-1) and join her compatriot Loïs Boisson in the round of 16. In a press conference, Jacquemot reflected on her victory.
"It wasn’t easy. I lost the second set after having match points. I started to stress, rushing through points. I’m happy because in the first set, I was really solid.
I was in the zone. She’s not necessarily comfortable on clay because she hits very heavy balls. In the second set, I was less composed. I impressed myself because, in the third set, it’s not easy to stay calm when there’s so much at stake.
I’m really proud of pulling through. It wasn’t easy to stay positive, to tell myself I had to start from scratch at one set all. I told myself not to give up, that we were at Roland-Garros and that I knew I could win this match.
I pushed myself to the limit. Reaching the third round means a lot, but at the same time, it doesn’t mean much because I have big ambitions. It’s the first time I’ve made it to the third round of a Grand Slam. It’s in France, it’s at Roland.
Of course, it feels great. The crowd is fully behind us, it’s awesome. But I don’t want to stop here. I’m lucky to play another match against a French player I know well and who’s my age. I’ll try to prepare as best as I can to be at my peak for my third-round match.
Loïs (Boisson, her next opponent) and I rarely train together. She’s a good player. It’s not easy to play against a French player at Roland because the crowd will naturally be less behind me.
I’m not saying I’m the favorite in this match, I’ll just give it my all, play point by point. There’s the fact that it’s the first time both of us are in the third round, so there will be a lot to manage.
It’s going to be a good match. I don’t know if we’ll play on a big court, but I hope there will be a good crowd," Jacquemot said just minutes after her victory to Tennis Actu TV.
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