THE ARTOIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Date: 2008-06-12

THE ARTOIS CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 12, 2008

Andy Roddick
LONDON, ENGLAND
A. RODDICK/M. Fish
7-6, (ret.)

The Moderator Questions.

Question Disappointing to win that way?
Andy Roddick: Yeah, it's just unfortunate. You know, for a number of reasons. Obviously, Mardy is a friend. I don't want him to be hurt. I want to see him be okay. Next week might be a question, but hopefully for Wimbledon.
I thought we were having a pretty good match. I thought the level was pretty good. You know, it's disappointing in that regard, too.

Question Is it disappointing also because you'd have liked a bit longer of a game, more time on court?
Andy Roddick: No. You know, me coming off of an injury, you know, we were out there for about an hour, so that's about right for me.

Question (Question regarding pieces in the media indicating the injured shoulder, but that it was not hampering play too much.)
Andy Roddick: That's fine. That's fair. I hit it pretty well yesterday and today. So it's pulling up all right.

Question When it comes to having to play five sets, are you confident?
Andy Roddick: Yeah, I'll be fine. It's only going to get better over the next week and a half. So, you know, I feel like I'm ahead of where I might have thought I was going to be a week and a half ago.

Question Four wins, where are your priorities between winning this again and getting your shoulder moving on and ready for Wimbledon?
Andy Roddick: Well, I mean, first and foremost, you have to be healthy to play Wimbledon. If I win here and can't play Wimbledon, that's not exactly an option that I'm excited about.
But, you know, hopefully we can have both. I mean, that would be great. That's what we're shooting for.

Question Do you consciously perhaps take anything off the serve or is it full out?
Andy Roddick: No, I mean, right now I'm trying to hit it. It's not going in probably as big as it normally does. But that being said, I think I served close to 80% today, so that helps.
It's just gonna get better. If you don't serve for three or four weeks, it's gonna take a little bit to get the pop back. It's not because I'm in pain that it's not coming off. It will just take a little bit of time to get those three, four, five miles an hour back.

Question Can you give us a little bit on your future possible opponents.
Andy Roddick: Yeah, it's kind of going to be -- they're not really similar at all. You know, Gulbis takes a swing at every ball and kind of just goes for broke. You know, I feel Andy's a lot more kind of methodical and is able to vary his game a lot more. Maybe doesn't hit the ball as big as Gulbis, but has a lot more options.

Question How have things been working out for you with your brother as your coach since the split with Jimmy?
Andy Roddick: Well, he's been my coach since before my split with Jimmy, too. I feel that gets lost in the shuffle a lot of times because it's not as fun of a story.
No, it's fine. I'm happy with the way things are going right now.

Question Obviously you're a very experienced player now. How much do you actually pick into what your brother helps you with and how much do you draw from your own experiences?
Andy Roddick: I draw a lot from my own experiences. I mean, I don't think it's rocket science to figure out what I need to do to win matches. You know, Jimmy was great at helping me get my confidence back when I was kind of down and out a couple years ago, when I wasn't playing well. I think it took someone of his pedigree to kind of help me get back.
And now I feel like I'm at the point where I'm able to know what I have to do to go out and win tennis matches.

Question Was that part of the reason why it came to its end?
Andy Roddick: No. I mean, he just called it. But there were no hard feelings. There was no ill will. You know, I'm sure we'll get together if he's coming over to do commentary.

Question Do you feel strong going forward to Wimbledon now?
Andy Roddick: Yeah, I feel fine.

Question You were saying yesterday you hoped you'd be among the five put down as a possible Wimbledon winner. Apart from the three obvious ones and yourself, who would be the fourth?
Andy Roddick: I don't know. It's a tough one. There's a couple of names you have to look for. Obviously, Andy Murray, he knows how to play on grass. I don't think it would shock anybody if Lleyton made a run, if he was in the semis. I don't know if that would surprise anybody just because of his past success, the fact that he knows how to play on this stuff. Then you run into a bunch of guys who can beat anybody on a given day.
But I think probably those are my other two.

Question The Federer thing, obviously the guy won the thing five times, you said.
Andy Roddick: I didn't say that; it's factual information. It's not just my opinion.

Question There were questions about his ability to win it again.
Andy Roddick: To win Wimbledon?

Question My question actually was, for somebody who wins four games in the final of a Grand Slam, is it likely to linger in his mind a lot?
Andy Roddick: They're separate events. Playing the final on red clay against Nadal is not the same as playing on a grass court. It's just two entirely different things. And, if anything, it's going to piss him off to where he wants to prove everybody wrong.
Maybe if he wins it six times, people won't question him. People are sitting here saying, Can Roger win Wimbledon? Yes, he can. He's won it five times. I don't understand. I understand that it makes a good story. But I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Roger's pretty mentally strong, you know, and is capable of overcoming a defeat to win a tennis tournament.
He's still the favorite no matter how you look at it.

Question You were quoted once after a Wimbledon final saying you threw the kitchen sink at him and he chucked the bathtub at you. Do you need to throw anything bigger at him these days to win?
Andy Roddick: It's just a matter of what I can lift. You know, we'll see. I don't see the point in me talking about what I have to do to Roger at Wimbledon when we're three weeks away. I think it's getting a little ahead of ourselves.