USO: Andy Roddick Second Round Press Conference

Q. How surprised were you with his performance tonight? You played him at Wimbledon; played him twice before.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, the Wimbledon match wasn’t that level. I thought it was pretty bad tennis, to be honest, probably by both of us. He played great tonight. You know, on my little cheat sheet that Larry and I put together, I wanted to keep my unforced errors down, which I did. You know, he’s going to take big swings and pot shots at the ball. I wanted to make him do that from stretch positions, maybe on the move; I did that. I wanted to get a very high percentage of returns in play; I did that. I think it was close to 75% of returns in play. You know, I thought I hit the ball pretty well. I thought he played very high risk and executed for four sets. I kept telling myself, You know, this has to have an expiration date on it. Unfortunately, I needed another set for that.

Q. You were very upset with the foot fault call.

ANDY RODDICK: Let’s be fair. I wasn’t upset with the call. I got called for two others which I wasn’t that upset about. I just expect my umpires to know the left foot from the right foot. If I ask, you know, what I’m doing, and she says, Right foot, and I point to my right foot and she says, Yes, that one. So then I let it marinate, and say you had time that’s impossible. So if I’m questioning it and then you’re telling me this and you’re pretty adamant about it, that’s impossible. I’ve never once find me any tape where my right foot has ever landed in front of my left foot on the serve. And just the stubbornness of I let mine get in the way of them not being able to say, Okay, just change your mind. You know what, it was your it never would have stopped. I got called for two others after that, and I had was no issue with it. You know, in the moment, I was just stupefied.

Q. How much did you let it get in the way?

ANDY RODDICK: It wasn’t in the way. I was down 5 2 in the third already. If anything, it kind of shifted the energy a little bit. You know, after that, I played okay actually. But, uhm, I don’t think it had zero impact on the match. It wasn’t like I was up, and after it happened it was a different result. I’m sure a lot is going to get written about it. But the actual impact on the match was probably close to zero.

Q. It seemed like you did get a lot of energy from it, though, a certain edge that was missing early. Did you feel that way or not?

ANDY RODDICK: Well, at that point any change in energy was a good change in energy for me. You know, he was in a groove. He was seeing the ball big and he was taking risky cuts at the ball. They seemed to be dropping, the majority of ‘em. So, yeah, I don’t know. It wasn’t all bad.

Q. When you went for the short change after that set, was that more to get out of there for a moment and have time to yourself or was that a necessary…

ANDY RODDICK: No, it was because my shorts were wet.

Q. I know you’ve said once you decide to play you don’t like to point to excuses. Could you address the energy level in the first two sets? Was there a lingering medical reason it wasn’t where you’d like it to be?

ANDY RODDICK: Like I said, there’s nothing there. You know, we’re not talking about it if I win a match. I’m not going to talk about it because I lost it.

Q. You’re a married man now. Do you feel you kind of curtail your anger when you have situations like this and maybe not go off into a real boil? Is it different now that you’re married in these situations where you feel you have to be more respectable on the court?

ANDY RODDICK: You thought I was respectable tonight?

Q. Could have taken it to Johnny Mac levels.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I could have. And the fact that I didn’t is because I’m married? That’s the thought process we’re going to go with? No, I think that’s — no. We got to find another avenue for a story, I think.

Q. The replay showed your left foot did touch the line.

ANDY RODDICK: That’s fine.

Q. If she had just said left foot would it…

ANDY RODDICK: There would have been no discussion. There would have been zero discussion. There was two after that. It was the fact that I couldn’t get her to admit that it wasn’t the right foot just infuriated me beyond… The lack of common sense involved in that was unbelievable to me. I just have trouble when they stick to an argument that obviously isn’t right. It’s her job to call it. Like I said, there were two after that that they said front, and there’s no argument there. There’s zero argument there. I mean, we got to be able to maybe have a test, like point to your right foot, point to your left foot; okay, now call lines. I think that would be maybe standard.

Q. Did she have an opportunity to correct herself, though?

ANDY RODDICK: Well, she was talking. She was talking.

Q. She answered the one thing, right?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah. Then I pointed again. She said, No. Then I said again, Have we thought about this? Do we realize that it’s a physical impossibility? She says, No. I think she was definitely responding, you know, when I was asking questions. None of the responses was, It was your left foot.

Q. In hindsight, did you let it go too far?

ANDY RODDICK: In hindsight did I let it go too far? Yeah, probably. Probably. I think it was a very correctable mistake, and I probably let it get to me more than it should have. Yeah, sure.

Q. Getting to the end of the fourth set, did you expect him to kind of fall out of the zone, or did you think you were going to get him in the breaker, he would get nervous, you have more experience, you could gut it out?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I mean, that was the plan. There’s a lot of matches that have turned on a set before. But I don’t know if he missed a first serve in the breaker. If he did, it was one. I mean, he kept it up. You know, he played well. He deserved to win tonight. He went out and earned a win.

Q. Was there anything out there you think you could have done differently or you have to say the guy played great?

ANDY RODDICK: Uhm, I’ll put it this way: there’s a lot of matches where I come off the court saying, I did not even come close to the game plan that we were trying to apply or exercise. Tonight I came off and I feel like I hit most of the points. Obviously there’s always things you could do differently. But I’ve definitely been a lot further away from what I was trying to do on a tennis court before.

Q. John and Patrick were both saying in the first couple sets you seemed very quiet, subdued, lack of energy. Do you agree with that, or do you think you came out with the fire you needed?

ANDY RODDICK: I don’t know. I did what I could, you know, out there. I battled the way I could.

Q. Can you describe the conversation you had with your opponent at the end of the match. What did you tell him about how he had played?

ANDY RODDICK: I just said, Too good. You know, he’s a pretty good guy. I just said, The last time you beat me in a Grand Slam second round you lost the next match, so don’t do that, to which he head butted me, which was fun (smiling).

Q. When he approached you at the net, he touched you with the forehead. How did you read this gesture?

ANDY RODDICK: It was fine. There was nothing there. I said something and he responded. There was nothing to it.

Q. What was the feeling like when he was in that zone, when it seemed he kept going big and converting on every big try?

ANDY RODDICK: It’s a lot more frustrating when you’re the one messing up time after time a opposed to someone else coming up with the goods. If you put yourself in position, I mean, the guy came — it was frustrating. At the same time, I was just trying to keep making him come up with it, you know, from all ends of the court just firing, pulling the trigger down the line flat, you know, time after time is not an easy thing to do, and he was able to do it. Kudos to him. He played great. Obviously it’s not fun. I kept thinking there was going to be a Love 30. There was going to be something that was going to make him think a little bit. He stuck to it. He played really well.

Q. You said the loss at Wimbledon was the result of bad play on both of your parts. Taking that into consideration going into the match, was the fact you had lost to him there not really a concern to you because it was identifiable as a bad match for you?

ANDY RODDICK: I was more concerned just because he’s dangerous. He’s got a high upside and he’s got a low low side. You know, he’s capable of playing like he did tonight, yet he’s under .500 for his career. He plays high risk. It’s high reward, but he can throw in some ordinary ones. I didn’t put too much stock in the Wimbledon match. I felt like if you would have showed me these numbers before the match I probably would have taken them not his side, my side.

Q. Do you generally grab a stat sheet and look at it or only after a match like tonight?

ANDY RODDICK: No, they normally hand it to you. I wanted to see it tonight to see if I was going crazy or not.

Q. Is there anything on there that surprised you?

ANDY RODDICK: I mean, you have a rough estimate. But 66 winners versus 30 errors for him, that’s pretty good. I felt like I was hitting the ball pretty firm, too. You know, he played well. I just wanted to kind of validate my own mind. At least, like I said, make sure I wasn’t playing crazy pills.

Q. You love this slam. Every slam loss is an opportunity lost. Do you leave crushed? Could you sleep terrible tonight? Do you understand and just move on?

ANDY RODDICK: I’ll sleep a lot better than I did at Wimbledon, which basically I just, you know, felt like I hand fed someone a win. Tonight I felt like the guy earned it. That’s probably easier to deal it, when you make the guy earn it and he comes up with the goods. Still not fun obviously. I agree with pretty much everything you said in your question. But it’s not the worst that it’s been.

Q. Given how well you played in the spring, you win Miami, you get the mono in Madrid in May, do you feel a little bit snake bitten?

ANDY RODDICK: It’s unfortunate. It’s unfortunate. You know, I feel like when I’ve gotten some decent momentum, I’ve in the last year, I missed the last four months of last year and I’ve been dealing with this for a little bit. It’s been a short year as far as all things being perfect at one time. You know, hasn’t really been that way too often. It’s disappointing. But, again, I mentioned this before, but I always think that I have a pretty good sense of perspective. I mean, you know, mono is the worst thing that can happen to me. That’s not such a bad thing, comparable to most.

Q. Are you still feeling a little lethargic?

ANDY RODDICK: I feel fine. I feel like I’m going to get some rest tomorrow.

Q. Do you feel like you were aggressive in tonight’s match?

ANDY RODDICK: I mean, yeah. A little tough to be aggressive when a guy is hitting every ball as hard as he can. I felt like I was hitting the ball pretty firm. I think I wasn’t aggressive because I got married.

Cincinnati Masters: Andy Roddick Semifinal Press Conference

Q. How much did the second rain delay affect you?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, I mean, the first one really helped; the second one obviously didn’t. That’s the thing with rain delays. The momentum can shift really fast.
I benefited from it the first time for sure. He came out and served kind of a sluggish game right away, and I kind of matched that. And then once he got back into it, he completely outplayed me in the third set. He was swinging from the hips. Even the breaker, I didn’t play a bad breaker. I made first serves and he played well.
A lot of it comes down to one of the most important points was the ball I missed, the first point of the game where I was serving it out. You know, it was a short ball. I kind of think I hit it — because he had been hitting his passes pretty well, I think I overhit it. I make him play there, it might be a different story.

Q. Did you feel uncomfortable approaching the net today?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah. I mean, I didn’t — you know, this whole week I’ve kind of been surviving and I’ve been competing real well. Ball?striking has been okay.
Got exposed a little bit today by a player — he’s probably playing a little bit better right now. He’s very confident, and, you know, he has the last five, six weeks to build up on that. You know, he played better than I did at the important moments today.

Q. On your forehand, you had 15 unforced errors. Actually more than your backhand unforced errors, which is kind of surprising. Anything going on specific with the forehand today?
ANDY RODDICK: Just wasn’t falling. I was trying to put good swings on the ball, and it was extremely erratic today. I was pretty happy with almost everything else in my game, even the net stuff. He hit a lot of great passing shots. You know, a lot of times I put myself in positions I wanted to, and he came up with the goods.
My forehand was something that I was in complete control of, and donated a little bit. So that’s something that I need to work on. But, you know, ten days ago I feel like every shot I had felt that way. Now we’re down to one, so it’s a good thing.

Q. Not a lot of aces today. Do you attribute that to him knowing your serve a little bit and knowing where you’re gonna go?
ANDY RODDICK: Possibly. I don’t know. My percentages weren’t where I wanted them to be all week. You know, as far as the other thing, he was doing a good job of — he wasn’t really being aggressive on first serves. He was putting ball in play.
I think more so than that was he was hitting the second ball real well from a defensive position and he was neutralizing really well. I think more so than the serve or the return or anything like that, I think he was — the part of his game that’s changed the most is his ability to neutralize off that second ball and really dig in and then get back to even terms.

Q. How do you feel health-wise going into the Open? I know you were suffering from a little bit of mono.
ANDY RODDICK: I feel okay. You know, to be honest, I came here and I had no expectations. For me to get in five really tough matches is more than I could’ve asked for going into the Open. Honestly, when I came here I was thinking maybe two matches we’ll see. I hadn’t really put too much time in.
So beyond the disappointment that’s gonna linger for the next couple of hours, I think this week has been a complete positive considering how I felt and kind of where I was at 11 or 12 days ago.

Q. You mentioned his first serve wasn’t doing anything much, but you only won four points on his first serve all day. What was going on with that?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, you know, a lot of times that’s a credit to him. You know, he’s mixing it up well and he wasn’t real patterned. I didn’t do that well against his first serve in Atlanta when we played either, so that’s something that I probably I need to look at.
But he’s doing a good job controlling that first ball, also.

Q. In terms of your game, what do like about what you’re doing into the Open, and what do you need to improve on?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, I can improve on a lot. I won a big number of second serve return points this week. If I can get my serving numbers where I want them to be and kind of just maybe tighten up the errors a little bit, I feel like I’ll be playing real well.
I feel like I took a lot of good strides this week, but there’s just a couple fine details now that I think can turn from playing good to playing really well.

Q. What do you do during the one-hour delay?
ANDY RODDICK: Sat in the locker room.

Q. Was Mardy there with you?
ANDY RODDICK: No. I made him get out.

Q. Is the fan support you get here consistent with what you get around the U.S. and around the world?
ANDY RODDICK: I think this is up there with the most that I get. The fans are so enthusiastic here about the sport, and really get behind their countrymen. You know, it’s a place I’ve certainly always appreciated playing, and always look forward to coming back, too.

Q. Del Potro pulled out of the Open today. How do you see the field heading into the Open? A really wide open field this year.
ANDY RODDICK: Um, everything is different at a slam. Everything is different. You’re gonna have the normal cast of characters as the favorites, and then that next kind of tier of four or five guys — I think Mardy has played himself into that discussion, and I think with this week I’ve kind of put myself back in that discussion.
Obviously you’ve got to favor the guys that have been there and done it before. A slam is a little bit of a different animal. So Del Potro pulling out, I don’t think that has much emphasis. It would have been a pretty tall ask for him to come back and his first tournament be a major player. That’s something that’s built up over time.
So I don’t think it’s that much different than what we’ve seen over the last year or so.

Q. On a positive side, you only had four double faults the whole match. That has to make you pretty happy.
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, that’s…

Q. Timing may not be great.
ANDY RODDICK: I normally keep my double faults pretty low. I’ve actually double faulted probably a little bit more this week than I normally have.
Bu, again, overall I’m a lot further ahead than I was 10, 11 days ago where I didn’t know what the hell was going on with myself. Mentally, when you have that many questions, physically, whenever else, it’s kind of a miserable spot to be in.
So to kind of come here and actually be talking about how I let a final slip away is a position I didn’t think I would be in. So I’m gonna have to try to have a positive perspective about things, because I’m a lot further ahead than I was this time last week.
I’m disappointed that I let this one get away today. Overall, I feel like it was a very positive week.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

Cincinnati Masters: Andy Roddick Quarterfinal Press Conference

Q. Was this a little bit easier match than you were expecting? Nothing is probably super easy, but, you know…
ANDY RODDICK: Novak probably didn’t play his best today. That’s fairly apparent. He’s missing balls he normally doesn’t miss. So I probably expected him to play a little bit better.

Q. You really made a big improvement on your first serve between the first and second sets. What did you do differently?
ANDY RODDICK: I mean, nothing really. They just started going in. I was missing a lot in the first set in the tape and kind of barely missing, but my second serve got me through the first set.
Then the second set I was able to kind of land a couple more fist serves.

Q. Were you able to catch the end of the Fish match before your match? And what are your impressions of the first all-American final since ‘04?
ANDY RODDICK: Semis, yeah.

Q. Or semis.
ANDY RODDICK: Oh, I’m excited for a lot of reasons. You know, at the beginning of last week I hadn’t played tennis for about six or seven days. Mardy came down, and my first practice was really bad, and so I didn’t really see this coming. Maybe for him, but not the way I was hitting the ball.

So it’s real nice. Obviously I’m happy for his surge. He’s probably my best friend on tour, so I’m really happy to see him playing well. I just hope he doesn’t do it tomorrow. (Smiling.)
Q. How hard is it to play a really close friend like that?
ANDY RODDICK: We’ve done it enough. I think we both understand that once you get in between the lines it’s business, and we’re trying win a tennis match. When we were younger and probably a little bit — you know, we probably had a little bit more attitude in our matches. (Laughing.)
You know, we would get a little snippy with each other. But I don’t think we have to worry about that anymore. That’s something we haven’t done in a long time.

Q. Do you have any thoughts on Serena deciding not to play the US Open this year?
ANDY RODDICK: It’s the first I’ve heard it of. I haven’t had a chance to talk to her about it. But I do know the US Open is probably her favorite event, so obviously if she’s, you know, this far out and is not gonna play, it’s got to be something pretty serious.
Which is unfortunate, because there’s no doubt about who the top draw card is in New York City as far as the women’s side of the draw. So that’s a fairly big sized hit for the tournament.

Q. Talk a little bit about your friendship with T.O. are you going to the game tonight? How did you guys meet, that type of thing.
ANDY RODDICK: I think we just met at the ESPYs one year. You know, I think we’re both fairly straightforward. And I think either our first conversation could have gone really well, or we could have rubbed each other the extremely wrong way. (Laughing.)
But, no, it was cool. He likes coming out to the tennis, so we’ve gotten to know each other a little bit more. He came down to Australia this year. You know, it’s always entertaining.

Q. What do you do in your free time when you’re in Mason, Ohio?
ANDY RODDICK: I haven’t had much free time. Actually, I have some in?laws here — or not in-laws, some aunts and uncles that are here. My trainer, Doug Spreen, is from here, so he took us out to his golf club one day. I don’t have much time, but the one day I did have off we went out and played some golf.

Q. How do you feel about your form overall? This is probably the most consistent you’ve played.
ANDY RODDICK: Well, I’m happy. I mean, you know, like I said, I didn’t come into this tournament with hardly any expectations. I didn’t know if I was gonna play it, to be honest, you know, Thursday, Friday of last week.
So I mean, the doc told me to probably only practice about an hour a day, and I think I’ve done more than that this week. So it’s all good from — regardless of what happens from here on out, I consider it a big success just because I feel like I have some form going into the US Open regardless.
So this has been a very, very positive week for me this week.

Q. I guess this win gets you back in the top 10 when the next world rankings come out. Is that something you pay any attention to at all?
ANDY RODDICK: (Laughing.) Um, I wish I got to talk about it as much when I am in the top 10 as opposed to when I’m not. It’s only a story when I’m not.
I don’t care at all, frankly. For me, it hasn’t been about — I mean, I missed the last four months of last year when my knee was all blown up, and then this year’s been a little dicey.
I’ve had probably four or five good months to put on the board as far as ranking, so it’s not really surprising that I dropped out. When I have been on the court, my record speaks for itself. It’s 30 some odd wins and 7 losses or something like that.
It’s not something I’m too concerned with? You know, if I felt like I was playing well and not getting wins, then that would different story. I know if I do the right things, prepare and find form, then I’m still relevant.

Q. Your streak at the end of the year, being in the top 10, do you look that at all? I know during the year there’s obviously reasons.
ANDY RODDICK: Well, yes, because I want to play well towards the end of the year. I’m not concerned so much with the streak. I’m more concerned with confidence level entering a tournament to win a tennis tournament, giving myself a shot. I like feeling like one of the top guys. I don’t like kind of the in between that I’ve been feeling this summer a little bit.
But as far as — it’s nice, because it shows consistency over a year, but it’s definitely not something that I’m obsessed with.

Q. What is the key to tomorrow’s match?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, I mean, there’s gonna be no surprises. I mean, I think we probably know each other better than we might know ourselves, especially our playing styles. We talk about tennis all the time, our games; we’re practicing, and we give each other little tips of what to look for, what we’re doing differently.
I mean, there aren’t a whole a lot the secrets out there. It’s just gonna be matter of who executes better and who’s able to do the right things.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

Cincinnati Masters: Andy Roddick Third Round Press Conference

Q. You had a couple of animated discussions with the chair umpire tonight. Was that about him not overruling when he should’ve?
ANDY RODDICK: It had nothing to do with that specific instance. First and foremost, let me say that Robin didn’t hear the call because it was a very meek call; therefore you didn’t challenge quickly. Completely understandable.
So my only thing is he thought he won the point, went back to his towel, came back, and then we heard the score, and then there was a challenge. So my simple question was, how long — I’ve seen umpires go, No, you took too long before, and they won’t let ‘em challenge. So all I wanted was a number on what’s too long to challenge.
They said, Timely manner. I said, What’s a timely manner? Just it’s at my judgment. Just give me a number. That’s all I want is a number.
You know, I ended up badgering him to where he said ten seconds, and then I just had another discussion with some other people from the ATP, and they said, Well, until the other guy serves. I said, Well that’s like 22 seconds.
So we’re talking about a 12-second differential between know one knows. That’s it. I mean, I’m not asking for like a miracle. I’m just asking for — and someone else suggested that why don’t the hawk eye people just start a thing and have a buzzer go off when you can’t challenge anymore if someone is thinking about it.

I don’t think you should be able to look at marks and do the whole thing. We all do it; we’re all guilty of it because we can, but I don’t think we should be able to. That was my only thing, was that I couldn’t get a flippin’ answer on what’s a timely manner. Just give me a definition of that. So we just talked each other in circles for an entire switchover.

Q. Yesterday was solid; today was — fill?in the blank.
ANDY RODDICK: Sorry?

Q. Yesterday was solid; today was?
ANDY RODDICK: It was pretty good. Um, you know, most of it, the first set and a half was really, really good. Played a loose game there and then didn’t play a great tiebreaker. Again, kept it together in the third and was able to get through. I thought I served pretty well and returned pretty well.
I think each match is getting a little better.

Q. When was the last time you would have felt as well about how you played as you did today?
ANDY RODDICK: I don’t know. I played pretty well yesterday. But I don’t know. It’s been a little while. I mean, it’s been a struggle, so…
To put three good matches together here was extremely necessary fore going into the US Open. If I had gone out first, second round here, that would not have been very good.

Q. With respect to being on the sidelines for a little bit of an extended period of time, you had a night match tonight, and obviously a day match tomorrow. Any concerns about the quick turnaround time?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, well, they gave a not before 2:00. With the match at 7:00, not before 4:00 would have been super. Two hours doesn’t make much sense, but it does in the grand scheme of it.
So, yeah, especially with what I’ve been going through, I’m a little concerned about it.

Q. What does a match like this do for your confidence, not only for the rest of this tournament, but going into the US Open?
ANDY RODDICK: It’s good. Any time you beat a guy that’s 5 in the world — you know, beat a couple guys top 40 and then a guy 5 back-to-back-to-back, it’s good thing. Especially a couple of tight ones. All three of them were pretty tight. That’s what you’re looking for. I came here with not a whole a lot of expectation.
So I’m gonna leave this tournament, regardless of what happens, a lot more confident than I came. That’s the first time I’ve been able to say that for a little bit.

Q. Talk about Robin’s serve. Obviously he serves as hard as you do. It didn’t look like he was mixing it up maybe as much as you; is that a true assessment?
ANDY RODDICK: Well he probably hits it harder. You know, he consistently probably hits it harder. It’s a flatter serve, you know, therefore I think I have a little bit more movement on mine. Slice tailing away may be the other thing.
But he serves big. There were a couple times there I think when I had match points I guessed the right way, you know, and still didn’t get it. If he hits a spot at 137 going the other way, you know, he’s dictating to you a lot of the time.

Q. Sounds like a silly question, but you have a one-two combo with your first and second serve, maybe the best on tour, why do you and other guys take something off the second serve simply to get it in knowing that you’ve then reduced your chance of winning he point? We’ve actually crunched the numbers, and it actually comes out the other way sometimes.
ANDY RODDICK: Well, because it’s normally a 50/50 proposition. The average first serve percentage on tour is what, 55? You know, that’s basically — here is the difference, okay.

Q. But you’re winning 75% of those points.
ANDY RODDICK: I understand that. I’m gonna explain it to you. Blackjack is what, about a 50/50 game? But you normally play until you go caput, correct? So all it takes is all of a sudden you’re — two double faults in a row and you’re Love-30. If sports were played on a stat sheet, you know, the look of it would probably be a lot different.
One thing you’re not putting into consideration with the numbers is nervous tension. You know, it’s a lot easier on a black and white piece of paper with a number to — most people don’t serve a ton better under pressure.
So if you’re digging yourself a hole, Love-15, Love-30, it’s a totally different ballgame. That can’t be explained numbers, I don’t think.

Q. Talk about your next match tomorrow against Djokovic. I think you’re up in career head-to-heads. He’s got some physical issues, respiratory, that might affect the match.
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, we’ll see. That’s probably not — I don’t — no disrespect, but I don’t think I’m too concerned about. What I am concerned about is playing a guy who’s been top 3 in the world for the past four years or so. That’s what I’m concerned with.
You know, he brings a lot to the table. He returns great and he’s great off the ground and he’s pretty solid and he toughs out a lot matches. It didn’t get easier from here.

Q. I was thinking though that he’ll be about as depleted as you are, so it might be more of an even match.
ANDY RODDICK: Well, I mean, I would be guessing.

Q. Third set, Soderling serving at 3-4; he got into a Love-40 hole; he bounced back, got it to deuce, and then he had another breakpoint at that point, so four chances gone by the wayside. Didn’t convert. But what was your thought process going into your service game at that point?
ANDY RODDICK: I was disappointed that I didn’t get a look at one second serve on those points. I think I put three out of four first serve returns in, you know. In the second set I feel like I didn’t put returns in when I could have, in the tiebreaker especially.
There I felt like I played a pretty good game through it all. He hit two aces and the first one he cracked a forehand winner at the first Love-40 point. What you want to do when someone makes a first serve is put the return in play and kind of see how it develops from there.
I did that. So I was disappointed, but it was definitely a better-played game.

Q. So in this the end, such a small difference in the entire match. That third set tiebreak, is it really just luck, or is it you just taking the right points at the right time?
ANDY RODDICK: It is taking the right points at the right time. You know what it is? It’s putting yourself in good positions more often. In the second set breaker I played probably two or three loose points. There’s your two points to the bad. I missed rally backhand. I don’t think I put a first serve return in play.
In the third set breaker I think I played pretty solid. Even the points I lost he was having to – what was it, at 4-5 or something like that we had an decent rally, and he crushed a forehand up the line for a winner.
If he hits that, that’s too good. But I played the right kind of point, and I think I did that more consistently in the third set breaker.

Q. Is there anything that you’re not happy about with the match tonight that you want to improve on you’re your next match?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, there’s always stuff that I need to improve on. Probably not gonna advertise it.

Q. Even in general?
ANDY RODDICK: Even in general I’m not gonna advertise it.

Q. Do you have a recommendation on the challenge rule?
ANDY RODDICK: Just put a number on it. I don’t care what they do. Let’s just put a number on it.

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Cincinnati Masters: Andy Roddick Second Round Press Conference

Q. You had a lot of breakpoint opportunities today. I didn’t see the final stats, but it was tough converting them. What was he doing, aside from the pace on his serve, that made it tough for you to convert?
ANDY RODDICK: Um, well, I think most of the time he played pretty good points. I had one good look at a forehand pass off of an overhead on like a quick reaction, and I rushed a little bit. But, you know, overall, I mean, if you’re 1 for 1 for 1 for 7, it’s pretty much the same deal.
I like the fact that I’m getting myself looks. It means I’m putting returns in the court. You know, I was putting some first serve returns in, and I feel like – I haven’t seen the stats – but I feel like I won my fair share of second serve return points again.
So that’s a good sign.

Q. Are you completely recovered from your illness, and how long has that affected you?
ANDY RODDICK: I don’t know. I mean, I was feeling a little ordinary at the end of the match the other night; I felt better today. But I don’t know if there’s, you know, any way — I definitely feel a lot better than I have, you know, the last couple months.
But there’s no way of knowing when I got it. I just, you know, felt a little bit slow and lethargic, and some days I wasn’t able to go very long. And when I hit the ball, it was a steep slope. There wasn’t like any working through it and kind of working through the tiredness.
For me, knowing what you’re dealing with was a huge mental relief, as opposed to just like I’m sitting here thinking, Okay, two months I go I was moving and playing great, and now I’m feeling pretty slow. I don’t know what happened. I think more than anything, that was a relief for me.

Q. The weather hasn’t been as hot as it can be here sometimes. Is that helpful to you?
ANDY RODDICK: Yes. Yeah, I think so. You know, normally I love the heat. I don’t mind it at all. I like the way the heat plays. The ball jumps around a little bit more.
But, you know, anything right now that can kind of keep it out of that realm is fine by me.

Q. Was experience the decisive factor today in your match?
ANDY RODDICK: I just feel like I was more solid. The thing about him, I like those matches where you remember the points that he won, you know, because they’re spectacular. But then, you know, I’m putting the balls in every time in every point and making it work and not making a lot of easy errors, moving the ball around, differing spins, you know, so it doesn’t look overwhelming.
But time after time there’s a repeater effect. Today I felt like I had that. I felt I was just more consistent overall.

Q. I know you were kind of trying to mix up your game a little bit, go to the net once in a while. What factors do you consider when you decide that, Okay, I’m gonna go to the net?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, a lot of it’s what’s given to you. You can’t just make the decision to go to the net. You have to have the right ball. Right now, if there’s something short, I’m gonna try to do it.
Like I said, like we talked about the other night, you know, it’s not all about wining that point. It’s about showing a different look. If I’m playing someone and know that I can’t leave a ball short, it plays into the thought process on every shot, even if it’s just a rally ball.
That’s something that — I didn’t win many percentage points today, but a little least that kind of variable was in play.

Q. When you pulled out of, was it Rome or Monte-Carlo? I can’t remember. But when you pulled out of…
ANDY RODDICK: Both.

Q. Oh. Do you think the mono went all the way back that far?
ANDY RODDICK: Oh, I think you’re talking about Madrid.

Q. Okay.
ANDY RODDICK: Um, I don’t know. I mean, that’s what — in the conversation with the doctors, our conversation went back that far. But as far as, you know, it’s not like something where, you know, I know I sprained my ankle on this date. It’s tough to say.
Maybe. I mean, obviously I was pretty sick there. At the time we thought it was a stomach virus. But, I mean, who knows?

Q. Your next match will be either Soderling or Hewitt. You’re 1-2 against Soderling, and you’ve tied up with Hewitt 6-All. Talk a little bit about potential matchups with those guys, what you have to do really well.
ANDY RODDICK: Well, it certainly doesn’t get easier. Both those guys — Soderling has completely changed the course of his career the last year and a half. Lleyton is a Hall of Fame player, you know, no doubt.
That being said, there’s not gonna be a lot of similarities between the two if you play ‘em. Lleyton, about what I was talking about earlier, is, you know, he makes you work on every point. He doesn’t give you an inch, you know, makes second serve returns, you know, doesn’t play himself out of points.
Robin is a lot of upside. You know, he goes big on his shots, you know, so there are — both very tough, but completely different styles.

Q. Do you have any preference?
ANDY RODDICK: No. I mean…

Q. You’ve won the last five matches against Hewitt, so I didn’t know if maybe…
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, a lot of those I won before 6-4 in the fifth and 7-5 in the third, you know, so it’s a deceiving stat. Either one is gonna be really tough. I’m just happy that I feel like I’m — regardless of what happens from this point forward, I feel like I’m playing decent tennis again. So that’s a relief.

Q. An American hasn’t won the US Open since you did it in ‘03? Do you think it would be a boost for U.S. tennis if you or another American could win it?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, define what you mean by U.S. tennis, because that’s a vague term. If you’re talking about TV ratings and participation and stuff like that, the numbers suggest those things have never been higher.
So what exactly are we talking about?

Q. I guess those things, and also just kind of the whole image of it. This is the first time in a long time there hasn’t been a top 10…
ANDY RODDICK: Well, I’m not concerned with image will. I’m concerned with the reality of the situation. There’s not a top 10 player right now. I have about ten tournaments on the board right now, and I’m, what 11 or 12 or whatever, and, you know, have played about four or five good months. So I’m not worried about that.
On the flip side, it’s been a while since we’ve had four in the top 20, and we’re flirting with that right now, or top 25. So you can basically make the stats say whatever you want to. Just ask a statistician. It depends on who you ask.
But, you know, I think the game is strong. If you’re looking at attendance, if you’re looking at sponsorship, we’re one of the only sports that didn’t take a monster hit during the downturn in the economy. We’re a global sport. We’re not just in the U.S.
But all the numbers that are being reported as far as apparel sales, participation, TV ratings, you know, this, that, and the other are up. So I have a hard time dealing with the question that says, What’s wrong?
If money is coming into the normal business, then that’s normally a good thing.

Q. I’m doing a feature on the ball girls and ball boys here at the tournament. What do you think of them. You can be pretty intense on the court. What advice would you have to a newbie?

ANDY RODDICK: Just forgive me. You know, they actually do a really good job here. I’m testy, at best, if I’m being nice to myself on the court. But they do a real good job here. I was a ball kid. I feel like most of the guys who are here have been a ball kid at some point.
So, you know, we certainly appreciate them, even if we don’t show it in the heat of the moment at the time. (Laughing.)

Q. Who was the player you really admired when you were coming up as a ball kid?
ANDY RODDICK: Jeez, I — you know what? Well, if someone’s nice on the court, they’re focusing their energy in the wrong way.
But I was actually a ball boy for college tennis. I remember doing O’Brien and David Dilucia. It was the Rolex college tournament in Austin when I was growing up, so that’s the one I did.

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Cincinnati Masters: Andy Roddick First Round Press Conference

Q. What did Stakhovsky do differently in this match that he didn’t do the first time you played him?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, he didn’t serve 40% tonight. I think he served 38 or 40% the first time we played, and that makes for an uphill battle most times.
So he served a lot better, and I think that — I mean, I think that’s the main difference.

Q. How were you able to recover so well in the third set after being up 5-4 in the breaker, had the match on your racquet…
ANDY RODDICK: 5-2 in the breaker.

Q. 5?2 even, sure. But having the chances to close it out and then not doing it, but you coming out so strong right after.
ANDY RODDICK: You know, it just happens like that sometimes. I mean, you lose a tough one that you’re up, what do you do? You just keep going. I get on the right side of it and was able to — you know, the third set was almost a blessing in disguise that I got to play it, because that’s the best I’ve played in a couple months.
So, you know, unfortunate that I was there, but I’m glad I played well in it.

Q. Set point first set and 5-All tiebreaker you came to net both times and you didn’t get the point. Is that something that you’re working on with Larry, to come to net a little bit more or at crucial junctures of the set?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, yeah, I mean, it didn’t work then, but it worked a lot to set up the points. I would say overall had to be 65% points won at the net. I’m not sure what the exact stat is.
Also I think just him knowing that he couldn’t get away with — he has a pretty good chip. I wanted to establish that he wasn’t gonna be able to play that as just a safety shot to be comfortable.
And so, you know, not only just look at the net approaches, but sometimes he forced a couple there in the third set I guess not wanting me to come in. So it’s all ?? that doesn’t just show up on one point. It’s a process of kind of working your way through a match sometimes.

Q. You tee’d off on his second serves. At one point, 60% of your second returns. Did he do anything different on his second serve that he didn’t do on his first?
ANDY RODDICK: Um, did he do anything different? Well, yeah, I mean, the first serve is obviously coming in at 128.

Q. Aside from speed.
ANDY RODDICK: Um, you know, I felt like once we got to neutral tonight I was winning the majority of the points. So I’ve been returning pretty well in practice. I mean, he goes for it pretty good on his first serve, but he also goes tight. You know, he rarely goes for the safety, you know, body serve or he doesn’t give himself a lot of margins.
So his first serve points won is normally gonna be pretty high when he does get it in, so it is important to try to establish the upper hand on his second serve points. I did that well tonight.

Q. That 6?1 in the third set suggested that the mono wasn’t a problem.
ANDY RODDICK: No. I mean, I don’t know that I feel perfect, but good enough. It’s just something that at this point you hope it’s ?? you don’t know what percentage of it is there. You just go. If you make the choice to go out there, you try to give it your best.

Q. Third game of the match, first-round match, Come on. You had about a dozen tonight. Was this in your mind a little bit bigger match than maybe expected to get so involved very early on?
ANDY RODDICK: I think so. I wanted to show a little bit of emotion tonight. You know, I wanted to get the crowd involved. I want to compete. More than anything, I just wanted to compete out there and be tough the whole time.
I did. I lost the second set, but I came right back and I was able to get back on top. So I thought I did a good job of that tonight. I was excited to play. I had a good time out there tonight.

Q. Talk about the ridiculous shot at 3-0 in the third set. That was an unbelievable shot to break.
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I mean, he barely snuck that lob up over my head, and, you know, it was unfortunate. I went from a dominant position in the point to a very defensive position. The only thing I was trying to do was I thought that he was probably coming in on that. He likes to come in when he can.
So I figured ?? all I was trying to do was get direction up the line, and actually edged the up hitting it better than…

Q. Good shot?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I ended up hitting it more solid than I thought. But I think it was because of direction. He was kind of covering the crosscourt, and it was probably the safest shot.
Yeah, definitely not gonna execute that one every time, but I was happy I made it.

Q. Did you lose any weight with mono?
ANDY RODDICK: No.

Q. Is there any danger in exercising heavily when you have it?
ANDY RODDICK: Possibly.

Q. We saw the braces on your ankles tonight. How are they feeling after your first match?
ANDY RODDICK: Those braces have been there since — how old are you?

Q. 13.
ANDY RODDICK: 13. They’ve been there since you were about five. So they feel okay. (Laughing.) Thank you, though.

Q. You’ve had a lot of success on the court in Cincinnati. What are some of the top things you like to do when you have some free time off the court?
ANDY RODDICK: Well yesterday I had a pretty good day. I was out here at 9:30 and practiced about a an hour and a half with Fish, and then caught the Red’s game. My friend Homer Bailey from Texas, we train together in the off?season, so I caught him pitch six scoreless, and then went over to the Bengals game last night and then had a nice steak dinner.
You know, it was a pretty good day.

Q. T.O. was here tonight.
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah.

Q. Did you get a chance to talk to him at all?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I saw him afterwards. Might go get a bite to eat now. He traveled to Australia, so I figured he would come up to Mason.

Q. Your next opponent is de Bakker. You played him in Indian Wells and you got him 4 and 4. He actually out?aced you that day, and I came away from that match telling people, I just saw Andy Roddick play a version of Andy Roddick. It really looked like you were playing yourself when you played de Bakker. What are you gonna do different against him this time?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, if that’s the case, that should make the scouting report easier for me, right? I played him in Australia also first round. He plays big. You know, I think the thing that he’s gonna want to probably look to improve on as he gets a little older is just consistency.
He’s certainly capable of hitting big serves and shots, it’s just a matter of not playing the loose games. It think that’s the difference, or it has been the difference the two times we’ve played.
He’s certainly can hit the ball big, and he’s certainly a very dangerous opponent.

Q. Has your backhand gotten a little bit better? It looks like he was targeting that a little bit more this match.

ANDY RODDICK: Well, I mean, people talk about how good it’s gotten. I don’t know that I would consider it like a great shot, but I don’t know that it was ever as bad as people made it out to be either.
It seems to be when I win a match, my backhand is so improved; and then when I lose a match, it’s the worst shot in tennis. So tonight it was improved.

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Cincinnati Masters: Andy Roddick Pre-Tournament Press Conference

Q. Talk a little bit about your year. Started out pretty good with the title in Brisbane, and then good results in the spring. Tapered off just a little bit. Talk about what’s happened with your game.
ANDY RODDICK: Sure. Yeah, you pretty much said it. I mean, there’s not really — I guess I’ll go through the process of repeating what you just said.
My year started off pretty well and has tapered off a little bit recently.

Q. Is there a particular reason you can point to in terms of why?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, we’re gonna fix that. It’ll get better.

Q. When I saw you in Washington after you lost to Gilles Simon there, you said you were having with problems and feeling tired and fatigue and you were going to get tests done to figure out what’s wrong with you. Did you ever do that and figure anything out?
ANDY RODDICK: Um, yeah. I pulled out last week on the advice of doctors. I got some blood work done in Washington, and then again in Texas, and one of them came back positive for — I guess I’ve been dealing with a mild, mild case of mono for the last couple of months that I wasn’t really sure about.
So they think I’m fine now. They think I’m most of the way through it, you know, if not all the way through it. So I think more than anything else, it’s kind of a mental relief opposed to wondering why, if I was out of shape, this that, and the other.
So that’s that.

Q. You looking really forward to playing here? You’ve had a lot of success. Won two titles; seems to be one of your favorite places to play.
ANDY RODDICK: I love playing here. I always enjoy coming back. You know, it’s a little bit different now. I’m still trying to–taking the wrong turns in the hallways and towards the locker room, the new facilities. They say, Go to press, and I really didn’t know where I was going.
No, I mean, obviously it looks great. Looks like they did a really great job. I’m happy about that for two reasons: Obviously selfishly, we enjoy the spoils of it; and beyond that, they’ve shown a commitment to keep this tournament here for long after I’m done playing, which is probably the biggest issue that we’re dealing with.
So I’m happy about it on both those points.

Q. Talk about your Huskers joining the Big 10.
ANDY RODDICK: We’ll see. Still a ways away, you know. I’m not sure — I’m excited about them moving the Big 10. I feel like they just kind of fit with everything.

Q. Ohio State’s tough.
ANDY RODDICK: Ohio State is tough; so are Oklahoma and Texas, so it’s kind of a case of pick your poison. But I was happy to see it. I feel like ? and this is just a tangent ? but I feel like once they separated into North and South and we lost the every?year rivalry against Oklahoma and Texas, it lost a little bit of something.
So I’m excited. There are so many great programs in the Big 10. Obviously you said Ohio State and Michigan and Penn State. I would be remiss if ?? my trainer, Doug, would be upset with me if I didn’t mention his Hoosiers either.
I feel like Nebraska fits in there real well, so I’m excited about it.

Q. Can you talk about your friendly rivalry with Chad Ochocinco. Do you think you’ll ever play an exhibition match with him, or at all?

ANDY RODDICK: I don’t know. We’re gonna have to get something together, I guess. I haven’t talked to him since I’ve been here. We both been flapping our gums for a little bit while, so I guess we’ve got to live up to it at some point. We’ll see. Maybe it’ll happen sometime this week.

Q. Do you talk beyond Twitter?
ANDY RODDICK: We kind of talk through T.O. sometimes. We kind of trash talk through him. So who knows what the other person is hearing. T.O. might elaborate, maybe add something to it.

Q. Are you gonna go to the game Sunday night since he flew down to Australia to see you?
ANDY RODDICK: Way to add the guilt on the back of that one. Appreciate it. We’ll see. I mean, I could tell you yes and you would never know.

Q. Shorter trip.
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, exactly.

Q. With your mono diagnosis, does that change your expectations and goals for this tournament and the US Open?
ANDY RODDICK: No, I mean, like I said, I’m through the worst of it, which is good. I think if anything, you know, like I said, I’m just glad that we found something that was causing.
It’s weird not — the fear of kind of the unknown and not knowing what’s going on. There were some days where it was good and some days where it was real bad. So it was like you would have those two or three good days, and it was like, okay, you’re just being kind of a wimp.
So it’s nice to just have a little bit of clarity moving forward. It’s not something that’s gonna affect me, you know, anything super serious. So it was good. It was good to kind of at least figure it out, and well worth my time to take the time to really give the time to figure it out.

Q. So you were kind of getting drained when you didn’t expect to be?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, faster. You know, I would get — I normally — I enjoy training all day and running all day and doing all that stuff. You know, I opted out of probably four or five workouts this summer that I’ve never done that before.
So that wasn’t fun. It was just me wondering if I was out of shape or what was going on, why there was this lethargic feeling. You know, like I said, it is what it is, and you move forward.

Q. How long had it been going on for?
ANDY RODDICK: Couple months, maybe. I mean, I guess that’s about — that’s what the doc said. I said, I’m feeling better. I felt a lot better in Washington than I had kind of training.
So he said, you know the good news is you’re probably ready to rock. Be a little careful, but he said, You should be fine to go. So that was a relief.

Q. Can you pinpoint why you’ve had a lot of success here? This is one of tournaments you’ve tended to do really, really well. It there anything you can point to that your game just hits right here for some reason?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, I mean, I think there’s probably a convergence of reasons. You know, it’s probably my favorite surface. You know, I normally enjoy pretty hot conditions. No one really enjoys them, but I don’t hate them as much as most.
I’ve always gotten great support here, especially I remember in ‘06 when I was in a similar situation. I think I was 12 in the world, and I think people were trying to retire me then. You know, the crowd really got behind me that year, and I was able to go through and get a win, which was desperately needed at that stage of my career.
From there, I made the final of the Open again. So a lot of that was the support I got here. I feel comfortable here. I have family close by here. You know, it’s just a place that I enjoy coming to.

Q. Were you able to practice since D.C.?
ANDY RODDICK: Yes. Yeah, I didn’t practice for a while, but I started hitting a couple days ago.

Q. You didn’t pull out until fairly late in Toronto, I think. You didn’t go to Toronto, is that right, or did you go?
ANDY RODDICK: I did not go.

Q. What was it about the timing in making that decision?

ANDY RODDICK: Well, it was just a matter of being thorough. I mean, if we get these things back and nothing’s wrong and I’m just tired, that’s something you go play.
Toronto was nice enough. We explained the situation. They were great. They said, We can try to guarantee as late of a start as possible, 3:00 on a Wednesday or whatever it was. So that gave us the flexibility we needed.
Washington I think I lost at Thursday night, so there was an a little bit of wiggle room as far as trying to come up with what our plan was. I think we worked with the ATP to see what our options were. Toronto accommodated, and then we got kind of our answers back.
From that point, I wasn’t gonna play Toronto. But I didn’t want to pull out on Friday and then not give myself any chance or any form of mental clarity, I guess.

Q. How important is it that you have fallen out of the top 10? For instance, now you don’t have a first?round bye. You’ve got to play a first?round match.
ANDY RODDICK: That’s fine. I’ve done it before. We only started getting the byes a couple years ago. I think people put a lot more stock in it. I’ve kind of checked out since Washington, but I’m just hearing from Sam and Mardy how much they’ve been asked about it.

Q. Do you think it might actually work for you? Because it gives you more matches, assuming you win.
ANDY RODDICK: We’ll see. You can view that either way. I can’t predict circumstance. You know, sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t. But it doesn’t bother me that much.
I know when I’m playing well, and I’ve proved that as recently as April. When I’m playing well and fit, I’m one of the best in the world. I don’t feel the need to prove that on a week?to?week basis. I’ve been proving that for ten years.
I’m probably less concerned with that than everybody else is.

Q. Roger avenged his loss at Wimbledon last night. Do you think about getting another shot at Lu on your favorite surface?
ANDY RODDICK: I don’t know if I’ve thought about that one time in the last little while.

You know, obviously it puts a little bit of an onus on it if that opportunity presents itself.
But, you know, I played him five times before that match. I will play him more. Obviously there’s ?? next time you go out there you are gonna want ?? you do want a piece of that person, but it’s not something that I have been consumed with or even thought about on a daily basis.

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W: Andy Roddick Fourth-Round Press Conference

Q. Always the fifth set in Grand Slams. Do you dread the fifth set in a slam these days?

ANDY RODDICK: No.

Q. Obviously a tough one. Anything he did towards the end? Is it just one of those things the ball bounced certain ways, shots went certain ways?

ANDY RODDICK: Well, yeah. The ball bounces and shots land.

You know, I thought he did a good job of controlling the middle of the court all day. You know, his ball was coming in with a lot more behind it than mine. He was switching directions, you know, keeping me off balance, not letting me get set. You know, he was able to execute that for a whole day.

You know, I thought he served better than he has against me before.

That being said, you know, I had shots. I didn’t take advantage of ‘em.

Q. Did you play as aggressively as you wanted to?

ANDY RODDICK: Well, no. But, I mean, through three sets I was playing horrendously, I mean really, really badly. I mean, to the point where I was trying to think of how to put balls in the court.

Actually, I mean, I think the fifth set was probably the best set that I played as far as hitting the ball, you know, making him struggle to actually get through service games sometimes.

But when you dig yourself a hole, it’s tough to get out, when you’ve given someone confidence, when they have their feet under them a little bit more.

Q. You’ve played him before. Was he a new guy this time?

ANDY RODDICK: He’s not a new guy. He’s very good on surfaces that bounce low. He’s very good inside of his slot. You know, unfortunately here it’s tough to get it out of there. You know, you play high, you run the risk of leaving it short and hanging.

You know, like I said, I think the thing that he did very well ? better than times that we played in the past ? was serve. I thought he served a lot better than normal.

Q. Are you a bit stunned after something like this or just down?

ANDY RODDICK: I don’t think ’stunned’ is the right word. You know, I don’t view what happens today as an impossibility. I take every match very seriously.

You know, I don’t know. I always struggle with how to describe my mood. I mean, there’s only so many ways you can say it. So, you know, I’m sure you can use your intuition and reach out and come up with something.

Q. After the fourth?set breaker, where he got a little bit nervous, you had a couple big serves, thought that maybe in the fifth he’d tighten up a bit. He hasn’t been in that position. What were you expecting going into the fifth?

ANDY RODDICK: Uhm, you know, honestly if you would have told me I hit the ball like I did in the fifth, I would have liked my chances at the end of the fourth.

Credit to him, because I got into some games. I make him hit a good pass on breakpoint. He stuck a volley. He hadn’t taken a first ball and came in all day and he did it down breakpoint. He played high?risk, but he executed very well. You know, he had a game plan, he stuck to it, and he deserved to win more than I did. That’s for sure.

Q. Any reason why you felt you were down in the first three sets in terms of quality?

ANDY RODDICK: What’s the question?

Q. Any reason why you were not hitting the ball that well in the first three sets?

ANDY RODDICK: If I would have had a reason, I probably would have figured it out, right? It didn’t feel clean. It didn’t feel good.

Q. Was he controlling too much real estate where you couldn’t get into net as many times as you wanted to?

ANDY RODDICK: It’s tough to come in against a ball that stays low and flat like that. You need some time to set and go. You know, you get him on a surface that is conducive to his swings, he can keep the ball down. It’s tough charging off of a ball that’s not coming off the ground too much.

So, yeah, I mean, he did a good job of, like I said, controlling the middle of the court. You know, if I was through the middle, he was getting length and driving the ball.

Q. There were patches in the match where you felt like he was reading your serve pretty well? You hit a lot of aces.

ANDY RODDICK: I didn’t get broken for five sets. It wasn’t my serve. It wasn’t my service games. It was my returning. That was crap. It was really bad.

I haven’t been broken since the first set against Llodra. So I don’t think it was my serve.

Q. Reasonably new court. Does it play different to the other show courts here?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I mean, I think it’s different. I don’t know how much is the court or just the surroundings and stuff. It’s definitely a different feel. You know, but we played the same court. It’s the same lines. It’s the same deal.

If I want to consider myself a contender for this tournament, I’ve got to get through that match.

Q. Back to the returning. Were you not reading him the way you wanted to or the ball wasn’t coming off the racquet?

ANDY RODDICK: It wasn’t coming off the right way. I was fighting it all day. You know, seemed like games where I got good swings on it, he was playing from ahead. He did a good job, as well. I don’t know.

I had I think one second serve on a breakpoint. That was there in the fifth when I hit a decent return. He cold?cocked one, came in, hit an inside?out stick volley. That was a pretty impressive volley at that point.

You know, I just wasn’t doing a good job of converting.

Q. So tomorrow when you wake up, you think you’re going to be pissed off, disappointed?

ANDY RODDICK: I’m going to be thrilled. I mean, c’mon.

Q. You’ve been through these slams before.

ANDY RODDICK: And it never gets easier. Of course I’m going to be pissed off when I wake up tomorrow. I mean, if you got fired from your job, you probably wouldn’t wake up the next day in a great mood. I mean, c’mon, let’s go. We’re better than those questions.

All right, thank you.

W: Andy Roddick Third-Round Press Conference

W: Andy Roddick Second-Round Press Conference

Q. Have you been watching Isner?

ANDY RODDICK: I’ve been. There’s so much stimulus going on right now between the World Cup and Isner’s match and everything else.

Q. And your match.

ANDY RODDICK: I can’t watch my match, but… Yeah, I’ve been kind of trying to dabble in a little bit of all of them.

Q. NBA draft coming up.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, but that’s easier. You don’t need to watch that. You can just kind of check it.

Q. Do you want to talk about the match today. Tough first set. You escaped an early game in the second set and seemed to kind of gain control of the match.

ANDY RODDICK: Uhm, yeah. I mean, that was as tough of a second round as there is I think in this tournament right now, considering the surface. You know, it’s a quick day out there. You know, he’s well?versed on how to play on this surface, and he’s confident right now.

So, uhm, I mean, if you look at the stats, we both had 55 winners and about 10 errors. You know, so that’s a pretty decent stat line.

I had to make an adjustment. In the first set, I played fine. I played well. The game he broke me was one of the best return games someone played against me. I had Love. He played good points. Off of my serve, I had to start coming in and serving and volleying behind it. He was pretty comfortable chipping and kind of coming in at random spots. You know, he was dictating the way the points were going. So I think that was a key adjustment.

Q. Is the court faster? That seemed like a match 20 years ago.

ANDY RODDICK: It’s going to be weather?dependent. You know, when it’s colder out, it slows up a bunch. When it’s really warm ?? it was really warm last year almost the whole tournament, and it was pretty quick.

I’d put more stock into the weather as opposed to the actual court.

Q. John and Mahut are in an incredible marathon. You had your marathon last year. What happens when you get deep into a fifth set and it just goes on and on? Do you go to a different place? Is it harder to focus?

ANDY RODDICK: I played a couple. Obviously last year, Davis Cup with Tursunov, the El Aynaoui match way back when.

It’s so important to stay there mentally, especially on grass. You know, you got to harp on those first points of every service game, try to get that. Love?15, 15?30, that starts becoming dicey. So they’re doing a pretty good job of putting themselves in good position as far as serving with a lead.

Beyond that, you know, you always kind of try to convince yourself it’s only going to be another 10 or 15 minutes, even if you might not believe it at the time.

Q. When did you make of your return to Centre Court today? Do you appreciate how popular you’ve become in this country over the years?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I mean, it’s real nice. I mean, it really is. You know, certainly I feel, you know, whether it’s right or wrong, that they kind of maybe appreciate the body of work that I’ve put together at this tournament. It’s always gratifying.

It’s humbling, as well. I mean, you know, you never feel like you’re entitled to anything. For people, you know, they can choose whether or not to support you or not. The fact that they kind of were vocal about it and have been since I’ve been back over here, it’s a nice thing.

Q. You’ve been here a couple of weeks, Jonathan Ross, anyone come up to you particularly nice, said anything particularly nice to you?

ANDY RODDICK: A lot of it has been. Even Ross himself, you know, I really feel like he was genuine when he said he wanted me to do well here. You know, that’s been the case more often than the other way since I’ve been back over here.

You know, for whatever the reason is, I’m not sure, but, you know, given the two options, it’s the better place to be (smiling).

Q. After you lost to Roger a few years ago, you talked about the kitchen sink, the crowd really seemed to get in with you on those remarks.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I mean, I think it was probably more to do with last year. To be honest, afterwards was kind of a blur for me. But, uhm, I’ve been told I said the right stuff.

It’s funny, because the whole time I was waiting there, I was praying that Sue Barker wasn’t going to ask me to say anything. Sometimes it works in weird ways.

Q. Sam has had some good success at the 250 level. Can you talk about what a player needs to do to make the transition to have success at the bigger tournaments?

ANDY RODDICK: There’s no substitute for getting out and doing it one time. I’m pretty confident that it is something, you know, you all have probably reminded him about. I’m sure he knows about it himself. He’s acknowledged it. I think that’s a good step.

When you ask him about it, his first response isn’t getting defensive, it’s saying, I need to do better at these events. I think that’s a big step right there, acknowledging what it is.

Once you know what a problem is, then you can go about doing your best to make it right. So he’ll be fine. I mean, he’s got too much game for that to be an issue for too long.

Q. How worried were you in the first set after what happened with Roger Federer? Did you think at all about going out?

ANDY RODDICK: No. I mean, what happens to other players, you know, doesn’t really have an effect on my match, you know. You play who you can that day. I was more concerned with Michael Llodra at that point. He was playing flawless tennis. He played an almost perfect first set.

Coming off of a win last week, I mean, he certainly was very confident. I mean, it took some of my best stuff today to get through that. I thought I played really well. I think I had to.

Q. Is that your best serve?and?volley performance do you think?

ANDY RODDICK: I don’t know. I did it pretty well against Rafa in Miami this year. But, you know, it’s just nice that I can go to that play not out of desperation but because I think it’s the right thing to do at the time, you know. I think that’s a nice adjustment to be able to make now.

Q. Another inspired and very accurate job of officiating in World Cup soccer. Any comments on what just occurred?

ANDY RODDICK: No. I got to learn when to comment and not. After my little display the other day, they cut into the coverage, ESPN did, to say what I said about the muggings that were going on.

Q. So it’s safe to say…

ANDY RODDICK: It’s safe to say we may or may not be getting screwed again today, but (laughter).

Q. Llodra is working with Mauresmo. What do you make of that?

ANDY RODDICK: That’s fine. It seems to be working. Listen, a lot of times if someone can communicate and get through to you, then that’s the person you need to be with. If they communicate in the right ways, and you get along with them, you can handle being on the road with them, then it’s a good fit.

A couple of people have talked to me. I think they think it’s a lot weirder than I do. I think so far it’s been great. To Michael’s credit, down two sets to one, he started getting maybe a little frustrated, came back. The first point of the fourth set, he was vocal, C’mon, right away. He kind of kept it together out there real well.

So far I would consider it the right move.

Q. How long did it take you to learn how to manage yourself in five?set matches where you’re not just out there playing but you have an awareness of where you are in the match, what you have to do?

ANDY RODDICK: I’m still learning all the time. Definitely my five?set record is not as good as it probably should be. But, you know, I think just overall in the last couple of years I’ve been able to manage matches better.

Dropping the first set today, I kind of kept it together and stayed the course. Then when it turned, it turned quick. I was up 5?4 in the second, but he had been getting most of the looks. All of a sudden we’re a set all.

Probably the last couple years I’ve probably done a better job of match management.

Q. You spoke earlier about the appreciation others have of what you did here last year. How has last year’s experience affected this year’s for you, if at all?

ANDY RODDICK: It doesn’t. I mean, it doesn’t. Yeah, besides more questions in press conferences (smiling).

You know, any time you get to an extended part of the tournament, it’s nice because it gives you the confidence in the venue that you can do it. You know you’ve been there.

Obviously doing something in any field of work, if you’ve done it before, you feel more comfortable kind of going through it.

But, uhm, you know, I’ve been very conscious I can’t play these matches for last year. It’s a separate tournament. You know, like I said, there’s no sense of entitlement. I have to get through and go one match at a time.

In my head they’ve been completely separate. It’s just everywhere. Outside of my crew, it seems like they’re running together for some reason.

Q. You may have noticed that Britain has had its worst ever Wimbledon this year. Does it strike you as odd or amazing that a country of such wealth in the sport cannot be able to produce players?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah. Yeah.

Q. Do you think perhaps there’s a reason?

ANDY RODDICK: I’m not going to sit here ?? I think it is surprising. I think, obviously, the facilities are in place and everything. Everything’s there. I don’t know enough about the inner workings to act like I know, you know, what the reasoning is, you know, behind I guess the lack of players in the top hundred or whatever it is.

You know, I don’t know.

Q. Other than the Federer match last year, is there any match in particular here you’d want back, a replay on?

ANDY RODDICK: Oh, that’s easy. The Gasquet match that I let slip away. I mean, besides finals. You always want a shot at a final. But one I had completely in my grasp and let slip. Through the course of my career, I haven’t let that many slip from positive positions. You know, that one I let get away.

Q. What about Sam being on the council?

ANDY RODDICK: It will be entertaining. He’s going to try to get a vote for burritos in the lunchroom.

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