DAVIS CUP SEMIFINALS: USA v SWEDEN
Date: 2007-09-21

DAVIS CUP SEMIFINALS: USA v SWEDEN

September 21, 2007

Andy Roddick
GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN
The Moderator Questions, please.

Question Would you like to pick up that surface and bring it home with you?
Andy Roddick: I don't know if I was that comfortable out there. You know, fortunately against Pim-Pim it doesn't really matter if it's a medium-paced hard court or a fast hard court, it's going to be very, very fast either way when you're matched up against him.
I think we've enjoyed -- we have haven't minded the surface too much since we've been here.

Question Considering Pim-Pim hadn't played a match in eight months, were you surprised at how well he played out there?
Andy Roddick: No. I think last year in the Stockholm Open I don't think he played for over a year and beat Nadal in straight sets and got to the semis. So I was definitely aware of that.
And, you know, his style of play I don't think is one that needs repetition. Doesn't need a lot of matches to be effective or imposing.

Question When you could get to the balls you were returning them very well. Did you feel like you had a good read on his serve, at least from the beginning?
Andy Roddick: No. It's tough to read his serve. You know, but I felt as the match went on I got better and better on second serves at least. His first serve you're kind of leaning one way and hoping that you get there.
But I think it was telling in the tiebreakers. I was able to kind of get some balls in play, and that helped.

Question What about when he had to move again, was his mobility where you thought it might be or was he a little bit rusty?
Andy Roddick: No, he was going okay. You know, I hit a couple of decent forehands inside out and he was able to get there and chip them back. I don't know if -- I probably looked slow at times out there today maybe also. I think that's just part of court and part of the matchup.
When he was hitting the ball hard, I mean, you're just kind of -- he had one return winner in the third set and it landed about two feet from me and I didn't move. It's tough to judge is movement in a matchup like that.

Question You've put your team in a great position. You have the first match on Sunday against Thomas who you just took care of at the Open. Seem to have them right where you want them.
Andy Roddick: Well, don't forget, they always have the option of putting Jonas in as well. We'll see. I'd just love more than anything not to have that be relevant.

Question How would you rate your service performance today?
Andy Roddick: It was pretty good. I don't know what the final numbers were, but there were a lot of aces and the percentages were high and I stayed out of trouble, which I think was the biggest -- the most important stat was I didn't lose a point on serve in either one of the breakers which is not easy to do. If you do that you're not going to lose the tiebreakers.

Question Sometimes during the match it seemed like you were so comfortable out there on the surface. Is it difficult to play on?
Andy Roddick: No. I think the surface is okay. I don't think you ever totally ever get comfortable against Pim-Pim just because you can go four or five games without hitting a second shot.
So then when all of a sudden on a big point you're expected to hit a second shot it's always a little bit uncomfortable. I think it has more to do with the matchup than the surface.

Question Was the lighting a problem at all? It seemed like, especially from where we were sitting, the right-hand side there were more errors going that way.
Andy Roddick: I didn't notice it. The lights seemed fine. I haven't noticed it all week.

Question There was a discussion with the chair at one point in the third set. What was that about?
Andy Roddick: Nothing. We I just looked felt like -- I at my teammates and we felt like we had a raw deal on a return at 15-All. You know, 15-30 and 30-15 is a big difference when you're trying to hang on and get a win.
My team a pretty convinced that we had a bad call, so that happens. You know, I'm not really good at letting those go, so we had a conversation.

Question In a match with so many aces and short points, what does your captain say to you during breaks? Good job? Keep it up.
Andy Roddick: Yeah, I think the biggest focus is just to keep holding serve and putting the onus on the other guy, especially when you get up a set or so. Just make it as difficult as you can.
If you're kind of playing for par every time and he makes a bogey then you're ahead much. That's kind of the way I went into the match today. I felt like I did a really good job of controlling the pace of the match with my serve also.

Question It's been a while since the U.S. has won the Davis Cup. This year presents a pretty good opportunity with a strong team: Bryan Brothers, you, James. Were you at all nervous today?
Andy Roddick: I felt great out there. Normally I come on the pretty jittery in Davis Cup matches. At the Open I felt fine for all the matches and I'm normally pretty jittery there. Today I felt really relaxed.
I'm not going to question it or think about it too much, because it's a lot more fun playing that way than doing the alternative.

Question It seems like you picked up where you left off at the Open in terms of just being really efficient. Is that a fair term for how you're playing?
Andy Roddick: I don't know. I feel like I'm -- I played really well at the Open. You know, I had some really good matches, and then I even thought the match I had against Roger was a really, really good one.
I didn't look back and say, What if I would have done this or this differently, I just kind of laid it out there. It's kind of continued over.
Even this week in practice I've been hitting the ball great and a little bit more aggressively and pretty relaxed. So I'm sure that wouldn't have happened had I not played well at the Open.

Question Not trying to look too far ahead, but are the summer Olympics next year on your radar?
Andy Roddick: It's not something that I've really thought about. I normally put together my schedule at the end of the year. You know, it's going to be interesting. You know, you're in the middle of the summer hard court season and then to go to Beijing and come back is a big ask of all the tennis players.
Right now I think my intention is to play. But I have to sit down with Jimmy and kind of go through the pros and cons of it.

Question Speaking of big asks, there's been a lot of calls for the from of the Davis Cup going to maybe once every two years. Where do you stand on that?
Andy Roddick: To be honest with you, it's the most boring conversation that we have now because we've been talking about it for ten years and nothings's been done. I just really don't even see the point of talking about it anymore.
And to be fair, you could probably find my opinions on a lot topics that have to do with Davis Cup in the past. I'm sure and they probably haven't changed much.
Question As you said yourself you felt kind of relaxed out there today. It also seemed like Pim-Pim was. You looked very fit out there. Have you done something, some physical work?
Andy Roddick: I really actually didn't do much after the Open. Golf is getting me into shape, and we know that's not the case. You know, not really.
I think over the last two years or so I've really maintained a healthier diet, but I think that's just the way my tastes have adapted more so than making a conscious effort at it. But I don't know if there's anything a lot different than I normally do.