U.S. OPEN
Date: 2007-09-01

U.S. OPEN

September 1, 2007

Andy Roddick
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
The Moderator Questions, please.

Question Best match since? Most efficient match since?
Andy Roddick: I don't know. I played pretty well against Baghdatis in Montréal also. Just the way I was playing was nice. I came off the court happy.

Question What did Jimmy say to you?
Andy Roddick: He said, That's one way to shut me up.

Question It appears you're going to play Berdych in the next round, although it's still up for grabs. Not much recent experience with him. Four-setter on clay. What is your take on him?
Andy Roddick: Well, we play kind of similar. I think we both serve big and hit a pretty big ball from the baseline. If that's the case, it's going to come down to a couple points here and there, who converts their chances on the other guy's serve.

Question Pretty emphatic statement of intent today, it seemed.
Andy Roddick: I was looking when I woke up this morning to have an emphatic statement of intent (smiling).

Question And you did.
Andy Roddick: Yeah, no. Felt good. I wanted to go out and hit the ball and be aggressive, get ahold of my forehand, if I could. I felt like I did that today.

Question Windy day.
Andy Roddick: The wind is always tough out there. It blows. You feel it on the ball even more so than when you're just walking around. You know, I guess by just taking swings, it kind of takes that out of play a little bit.

Question Do you ever watch video of your win here to try to inspire yourself, that emotion you had in the tournament?
Andy Roddick: I've seen it, but I haven't seen it recently. Pretty much when I'm in the locker room before I go on, they show it, pretty much every time.

Question How does it make you feel when you see it now?
Andy Roddick: Good.

Question Does it seem like a long time ago? Fresh?
Andy Roddick: No, it's a little bit ago. It's definitely not fresh. Most things that are four years old aren't fresh.
But, uhm, you know, I don't know. It's nice to see it, but at the same time it makes you want it again.

Question You carried the attention of American men's tennis for so long. Is it at all different today to have a lot of the attention be on John or to just be able to go out and play a match and not have that scrutiny as much?
Andy Roddick: Well, it's still there. Isner and Young, they're going to be feel-good stories for this tournament. The difference between that pressure and the pressure I have is they lose and it's okay, you know (smiling).
But it's nice, you know. It keeps these rooms empty for me during the week (laughter), which I don't mind (laughter).

Question Is there enough of a curiosity factor that you'll watch the Federer match after here?
Andy Roddick: Yeah. I was watching it a little bit before I came in. Yeah.

Question What did you think? I think it was 5-5 when you walked in here.
Andy Roddick: Yeah, I mean, it's pretty much par for the course. Isner, you know, he's the kind of guy that can go out and play the same match pretty much against every person with that serve, not unlike Karlovic.
He'll go 6-6 against somebody, win or lose. It's kind of a little bit of a coin flip. I think Isner is probably a little bit better after the serve, but Karlovic might serve a little bit bigger, if that's possible.
You know, there's no pressure on John right now. I mean, he's just going to go out and wing it. I'm excited to see how he handles it.

Question There's been a little spate of five-set matches recently. Now you've had an abandonment, a pretty breezy match today. How do you feel physically?
Andy Roddick: Yeah, I feel fine. I didn't spend a lot of time on court this week. That's one less thing to worry about.

Question Did you watch James the other night at 12:30 or whatever?
Andy Roddick: I did.

Question What did you think of that match, what it meant for him?
Andy Roddick: I thought it was great. As a friend, I just wanted him to get through that one so bad. I didn't want him -- I sent him a text afterwards. It was fun to watch. I thought he played well the whole way, too. I mean, Fabrice was playing -- the tennis was unbelievable to watch.
I think James had one tight game that he had to work through. It definitely wasn't like he was giving the match. I mean, James, I thought he played well. That could end up being a big win for him.

Question What did you end up doing for your birthday?
Andy Roddick: Just went to dinner. Had my mom tell embarrassing stories. That was about it.

Question What do you think of Appalachian State beating Michigan?
Andy Roddick: Unbelievable. You come in, you're watching it, whatever, 31-27. Of course, the guy from Michigan reels off like, what, a 50-yarder. You're like, okay, well. Next thing you look, you get the score. I mean, that's unreal.
It's tough for Michigan, though. You know they're a good team. I guess their season's kind of in limbo. Maybe they can ruin Ohio State's season now. That's goal.

Question A situation where Tim decided to retire from tennis this week. He said yesterday that he felt when he played Tsonga, it was symptomatic of the way the game has gone. Someone who can just go out and hit huge shots, which is why he feels he can no longer contend. Is it a shame in your mind that someone like that, who has the game he has, feels he can't contribute to tennis anymore? In his way, it's become a one-dimensional kind of game.
Andy Roddick: Well, you know, it's weird, though, because I don't know if I completely agree with that. I can see in Tim's eyes right now it may seem that way. A lot of the guys you see doing well and up at the top, you know, aren't huge servers, first-ball hitters.
I think it actually went the opposite -- not the opposite way of what Tim is saying. I feel in the late '90s everybody predicted everyone was going to play like Sampras and Ivanisevic, kind of could that thing. Kind of went the opposite way towards movement.
I can see -- I think there's a lot more depth as far as the power game goes. You're going to get a guy 80 and 90 in the world who can just rip the cover off the ball, where maybe that wasn't the case when Tim started.

Question Sad to see him go?
Andy Roddick: Yeah. Tim's one of the good guys. You enjoy it. He went about everything with a lot of class. I was still waiting for him to snap on all of you one time. I feel like he should call a press conference and do it once.
You know, I don't think you're going to find someone who doesn't have a lot of respect for Tim.

Question Do you have any other emotions when you see that 2003 video?
Andy Roddick: Yeah, there's a lot of emotions. You know, I don't know how it would be beneficial to talk about it. It's a good moment for me, but at the same time you just want it again.

Question Seeing it 15 times, is it almost embarrassing?
Andy Roddick: Yeah, I spend all damn day on CBS crying (laughter).