AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Date: 2008-01-16

AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 16, 2008

Andy Roddick
MELBOURNE, VICTORIA
The Moderator Questions, please.

Question Deeply entertaining match for the public. A lot of good shot making and, did you enjoy it at all or were you totally focused on it?
Andy Roddick: Both. I had fun out there tonight, and I kind of played a little bit differently out there. And, yeah, I enjoyed myself.

Question What do you think about him? I mean, you were not sure what's coming your way most of the time, right?
Andy Roddick: Well, I mean, he kind of established early he was getting in on pretty much anything he could. If he was getting one step into the court, even if he was behind the baseline, it seemed like he was charging.
So I feel -- it was pretty cold, the ball wasn't going anywhere, so I figured maybe I would let him take his chances a little bit from back there. Over the long haul I felt like I might get head.

Question Do you enjoy those scramble points?
Andy Roddick: Yeah, when I win them.

Question You seem to be willing to play a number of them.
Andy Roddick: Yeah, you know, I like having the option, and, you know, I worked pretty hard on fitness during the offseason so I feel like my legs are there right now. And so, you know, a night like tonight where, like I said, the ball wasn't moving, it was good for me to have options.

Question How much slower is it at night compared to a day match?
Andy Roddick: Well, it's not -- let's not make this just about the surface. Even the Rebound Ace was very, very weather dependent down here, because it's a little bit of a drier heat. So it's a good bit slower. I played last week when it was 42 and the ball was jumping all over the place, so the score is pretty weather dependent.

Question Mardy was saying he didn't feel it was necessarily the surface that slows it down, and it slowed the balls more than anything.
Andy Roddick: Well, I mean, I guess the simplest analogy is if you have a piece of sandpaper and it's grittier and you rub a ball on it it's going to get this way a lot faster than if I rub it on this table and it's smooth. I think that's kind of the effect the court is having on the ball.

Question So how many games do you think it takes, generally or points?
Andy Roddick: Well, I think -- I'd love to generalize, but I think if, you know, if Nadal is playing, you know, Ferrer, the ball's going to get a lot bigger than - I think a lot of it depends on how the points go.
But it's normally a welcome change when they say new balls.

Question You've got a little bit of a German week this week. Kohlschreiber is next. Have you followed his development throughout the years after you played him her last three years ago?
Andy Roddick: I've played him a couple of times. I mean, I don't know if I'm sitting at home looking up close Kohlschreiber matches, but I think I'm definitely aware of the fact that he's been steadily rising in the rankings. Each year, you know, his year-end ranking is higher.
And I'm definitely aware of his form so far this year, winning in Auckland and winning his first two matches here. So, you know, I think I'm more concerned with his recent form than the tales of Kohlschreiber since '05.

Question Nice to see Mardy back in again and playing well?
Andy Roddick: Yeah. You know, I was -- I was at lunch during one of his, I guess, when he started, and by the time I was back it was 1 and 2, and so that's nice to see.
It's nice to see. You know, with Mardy it's just a matter of him trying to sustain it for a long period of time and turning, you know, a good result here into a good result at the next tournament. But he's certainly capable.

Question Do you think there's something about this tournament that suits him especially, Andy?
Andy Roddick: I don't know. I mean, sometimes you just feel comfortable at a place.
You know, it's -- it's not coincidental when someone has a good result somewhere. You kind of see them maybe play well there over the course of their career. Something just clicks.
You know, we play on a lot of hard courts throughout the year, so I'm not sure what's so different about this.

Question He was saying that he feels like he's kind of a small town guy. Melbourne fits his personality a little bit better maybe than New York does.
Andy Roddick: Well, there you go. It's true. I mean, Mardy is -- he's the old man in the group now. He goes to bed at 9:00 and wakes up at 5:00 in the morning and he's engaged. You know, so it's Grandpa Fish.
But I could see that. I could definitely see that.

Question He said you guys were already planning the bachelor party, huh.
Andy Roddick: Yeah, that's about all I'm going to say about that (laughter.) I like his fiancée and I want to stay on her good side, I think.

Question Does Mardy get any input on the bachelor party?
Andy Roddick: Absolutely none. That's against the rules -- that's against guy code.

Question Can we discuss the whiffs now?
Andy Roddick: If you want to. It's going to be a short answer most likely.

Question Just not seeing the ball right or just one of those things or what?
Andy Roddick: I think one on the break points -- you know what sucks is when you have to talk about two whiffs as opposed to one. I just didn't want the first one to be lonely or something. I don't know (laughter.)

Question It wasn't a total whiff, the first one. Didn't make contact a little bit?
Andy Roddick: I mean, foul tip at best. At best. One more strike and I was out. The return actually I felt like he kind of drilled the return and went straight into the service line and maybe checked a little bit.
Second one I think I just sucked and went swing and a miss.

Question Is the first week of Slams now for you sort of about maintaining and trying a couple different things, not getting overly anxious, because you know that second week comes and all the good stuff has to come out?
Andy Roddick: Maybe. It's about surviving, you know. It's giving yourself a chance to play another day, you know. I've gotten through enough first weeks now where kind of where I know how to manage my way through it a little bit.
You know, the oldest saying in tennis, and the most boring to you guys is, You can't win it but you can lose it in the first week. But there's not going to be a point in time where that saying isn't true.