Q: Stan, can we start by asking you when did you arrive here and how’s the preparation going so far?

A: I've arrived straight from Buenos Aires, two days ago. For me it's my first time  in Brazil and in Rio so I'm really happy to be here for the first time. It's been so far so good so I'm happy. Preparation has been well, I'm practicing well and I'm probably ready for the tournament.

Q: What do you think about the difference in the courts from Buenos Aires to Rio? Are you adapted to the clay here?

A: Yeah, so far it's been ok. I practiced yesterday and the day before. Quality is quite similar, of course, it's hot with a lot of humidity, but in Buenos Aires was the same too. So yeah, as I said, I think the general quality looks good. We're playing quite late here so we're gonna see how the conditions are and how we're doing at night. But so far everything's been good. I'm happy to discover the city a bit and I'm really enjoying my time here so far.

Q: Welcome to Rio. How are you feeling about South America so far? A lot of players that come here for the first time find quite challenging with the weather. How has it been the process for you? What are your expectations for the tournament?

A: Well, for me, it's my first time in Brazil and in Rio, but I came to play in Buenos Aires already a few times, more than 10 years ago. I used to play also in Acapulco so it's not really a surprise. In general I like those conditions. And yeah, it's been great to be back in South America after so many years and I'm happy as I said to be in Brazil for the first time. I never had the chance to play here before this week, so hopefully it’s going to be a good tournament for me.

Q: How do you arrive in Rio? Do you set any goals? Also, Murray has talked a little about trying to get results even though he is struggling and you are in a similar situation. How's it for you at the moment?

A: No, it's been great. Last year, I was at beginning of the year out of top 100 and managed to finish in the top 50. So I had a really good year. I'm happy with it. I finished it with a big injury but I could start again at the Australian Open. It's only my third tournament. Last week I play some good tennis beating, catching, losing. I think the level was there so I'm happy where I am right now. I keep pushing every day to try to improve, try to win more matches. Every match is difficult to win. Of course if you see here the tournament is strong, same as last week. So you play some tough players but I'm happy with what I'm doing and hopefully I can go deep in the tournament.

Q: You are one of the players with the best backhands in history. How do you feel now that no more top 10 tennis players are using the backhand?

A: I think of course, it's always nice to have one at the top of the game. I think it's going to be next week for the first time since a long time out of the top 10. But they still have a lot of good players, you know, Tsitsipas is gonna be out but he's still one of the best player in the world.I think it's just a matter of ranking but at the end of the day there is always some really good players with a good backhand. But I think it's from tomorrow only. So if we talk about that today there is still a top 10 player. And probably in two months there’s gonna be  one there again. I think it's just a question of generation, of time. We’ve also been lucky with Roger being there for almost 20 years. So for me it's just a question of number nothing more, nothing less. They are now maybe number 11, 12, 14 or 15.  You have Dimitrov, Tsitsipas, Musetti, they are really good. It's not because they're not in the top 10 that they are not part of the top of the game.

Q: You have a daughter, right? Does she play tennis? If she wanted to play, would you teach her a one handed or two handed backhand?

A: I don't know. I don't ask myself that question. She doesn't play tennis so…

Q: What is your motivation now since you have won many, many trophies and a great career. So what motivates you to keep going? And what can you say about the Rio tournament?

A: For me what keeps me going is the fact that tennis is my passion. I started when I was young, I was passionate about it and when you have a chance to put your passion and your job together you should keep going. Tennis has brought me so many emotions. Being a tennis player is what I want, so I try to enjoy it as much as possible. It doesn't matter how many titles or how much money I have. I don't play for that, I play because I enjoy it and because I love what I'm doing. I mean, I may be old in the tennis world but I'm still young in life. So I should, for as long as I can, keep doing my passion. And as I said for me it's my first time here and I was really looking forward to come to Brazil. I'm glad I took the decision to do it this year. So far it's been so good, I really enjoy it. I enjoy the people, the city, even if it's only been a few days I enjoy what I'm seeing so far. I'm sure the week will be great.

Q: Stan, another one about one hand backhand. What was your process? Did you learn it with two hands?

A: For me I used to play with two hands until I was 11 years old and then my first coach, Dimitri, who worked with me until I was like 25, told me I should try to change because it wasn't looking so natural. So I started playing with one hand and it looked much more smooth on me. So then it was all about practice, putting the work, putting the time and trying to improve it.

Q: Choosing to play on clay this early in the season is part of your preparation to the Olympics?

A: No. Of course it can help later on in the season but I think that as a tennis player you are used to change surfaces all year long. The decision to come here was not based on the type of surface, but because I wanted to come back to South America. I wanted to try a new tournament and do things I never did before at this stage of my career. At this point I can also choose the tournaments I want to go. Buenos Aires was important for me to go bak and coming to Rio for the first time was also important, so I took that decision and it didn’t really matter if it was clay or hard. For me it was more about my feeling and where I wanted to play.

Q: You’re facing Acosta in the first round. He is on the final in Buenos Aires today. What are your thoughts about this match?

A: I think in tennis nothing beats the confidence you get from winning matches and winning tournaments. So of course he's gonna be feeling great. Of course I watched him play last week from the first one and he's a tough player, a lefty, a tough clay court player so it's going to be for sure a big challenge for me. But as I say I think in general I'm playing well. I've been practicing well, I played well last week. I feel okay where I am and I'm ready to fight. So as I said, hopefully I can do a good work here.