F. BAGNIS/V. Pospisil
6-2, 3-6, 6-3
THE MODERATOR: Vasek, after your on-court speech what's the prevailing feeling right now with you?
VASEK POSPISIL: I'm very relieved (laughing), to be honest with you. No, I'm a bit relieved. Yeah, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel after the match. I was thinking that I was ready to retire and that, but now that it's done I know that I'm very relieved, and I'm happy that it's in some ways behind me.
I wish I could have not pulled my muscle in the fifth game of the match and enjoyed the match a bit more. But, yeah, it was still very special to finish here in Canada.
Q. You talked the other day about your emotions leading up to the tournament. Can you walk us through a bit today how it felt leading up to the match, and then the emotions as that match went through, what you described with the injury, and then that great second set we saw as well, and just the ups and downs of the day for you.
VASEK POSPISIL: Yeah, you know what, it was a tough week, a very tough week. Just so many people coming in, and a lot of, it was just hard to process everything that was going on for me.
Going into the match I was really, really nervous, probably more than most times that I step on a center court. I don't know if it was the nerves being the reason for the pulling my muscle, I'm sure it played a big role in that, I was very tense. I knew I just needed to play 5, 10 more minutes to loosen up a little bit.
Of course, then it's pretty tough for the opponent, when he sees that I'm not really moving, it's tough to play high level when you're playing against somebody that's injured.
I snuck out that second set. He didn't play a great second set. I played a couple good shots when I needed to. Ultimately, it's kind of tough to win a match like that on one leg (smiling). Of course, I wasn't going to retire or pull out, I had to finish my last match (laughing).
Q. When you see all the next generation of Canadians, both on the men's and women's side, how proud are you to know that you've had an impact with everything you have done, and also the Davis Cup win?
VASEK POSPISIL: Yeah, I'm extremely proud. It's funny how time flies, right? When you're starting, you're 16, 17 years old, and your dream is just to play Davis Cup one time, you know. It's like representing your country one time, that would be incredible. Yeah, things evolve and things change pretty quickly, and they go full circle.
So it's pretty cool to see so many young guys and young talent that we have that maybe looked up to me when they were growing up, and now they're here playing at the high level. It's an exciting time for tennis in Canada I think for at least the next 10 years. So it be will fun to watch for me and for all fans in Canada.
Q. I think with your tennis career, obviously being Canadian is so rooted in so much of your successes, and just being an ambassador of Canadian tennis. Moving into the next chapter of your life, do you see yourself staying involved in any capacity? Is that something you've given thought, or are you going to take some time to process that?
VASEK POSPISIL: I think, I mean, it's what I know best, and it is my passion. I think if I stay involved in tennis it would... two things: Definitely it would be part-time, and it would be for Canadian tennis.
I don't know if I have it in me to be around the sport too much, unless it's really to help, to give back to the community or juniors that are maybe less privileged, that don't have opportunities, because I kind of can connect with, you know, if they're good people.
But, do I want to stay in tennis on a full-time basis? Absolutely not. I have mixed emotions when it comes to this sport. It takes a lot out of you. It's a really, really tough sport, physically and mentally, and at some point you burn out. So, you know, at least I did. So I'll be, you know, we'll see.
Q. What advice would you give to a young player who is just starting on tour?
VASEK POSPISIL: Advice to young player that's starting on tour? Oh, okay. There's a lot of advice to give. I would say probably something they don't, I mean, it would be more like a reminder than advice, but I would say just, you know, really pay attention to the people that you have around you. If you have good people, keep them close. Work hard, regardless if you're in a peak or a valley or whatever it is, you have to just keep the work ethic the same. Even if you're playing well, don't get over confident, because there's tons of people that are going to pass you if you loosen up a little bit.
But I think just, you know, at the end of the day, it's the work. If you put in the work, and you have good people around you, then you'll succeed.
Q. How did tonight kind of live up to what you had envisioned for the evening, and why you wanted to go out this way versus sort of quietly just coasting off and everyone wondering if you would play again, that sort of thing? Why did you want to do the farewell and the thank you tonight?
VASEK POSPISIL: Honestly, I didn't really want to do it (laughing). It's funny... no, I shouldn't put it that way. I was doing it for my family. Honestly, I really wanted my parents to be at my last match. I didn't want to just kind of end it. Because it's been such a family journey. They sacrificed so much for me. My dad as well, he quit his job, he coached me for 15 years. He was, in some ways, more invested in this than I was. He was just absolutely, you know, it was just as much his journey as it was mine.
I shouldn't say that I didn't want to do it. Of course it's very special, you know. But I wanted to play one more time in front of them, rather than just, you know, I think if the situation was different with my family, then I probably would have just retired and not, you know, I was ready months ago, but I really wanted to play in front of my friends and family one more time.
Q. I think tennis fans are always going to associate you with your international representation of Team Canada. More than most tennis players I can ever think of, you always answered the bell, sometimes to the detriment even to your own individual pursuits, where you could have prioritized scheduling and rest and things like that. Why was it that representing Team Canada was always a yes for you and was such an important thing throughout your career?
VASEK POSPISIL: Well, I mean, I think it's, I mean, like what's the point of this sport if you're not going to play for your country, and play, you know. I mean, I don't understand players that don't play Davis Cup and don't play Olympics, I genuinely don't. It's like, how much money or success or this do you want to chase for yourself individually. Bigger picture, I just don't understand it, honestly.
I think it's just a no-brainer. I mean, to play for your country, it's good for everybody. It's good for you, it's good for your energy, it's good to give back to your country, to be a role model for the kids.
Okay, prioritize a week of rest, to play another, to be fresh for one of a thousand tournaments that you're going to play in your career, or go and represent your country, when you're only going to have a handful of opportunities to do that in your career. To me I just don't understand it.
Unfortunately, I think a lot of times it comes down to money for these guys, and that's just not the right way to look at it. But, yeah, I mean, I just think it's a no-brainer. I don't know. It shouldn't be anything special, you know. I think it should be a default setting for everybody. But the fact that it feels that way I think is, you know, not great. I feel like players should always answer the call for their country.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports