WESTERN AND SOUTHERN FINANCIAL GROUP MASTERS
Date: 2005-08-20

WESTERN AND SOUTHERN FINANCIAL GROUP MASTERS

August 20, 2005

Andy Roddick
CINCINNATI, OHIO
The Moderator Ladies and gentlemen, Andy Roddick. Questions, please.

Question You had quite a little celebration afterward. Obviously, this is a pretty special win tonight.
Answer Yeah, I felt really good about it. You know, I didn't want to come in here and explain why I lost to Lleyton again, if we're being honest. So it felt really good. And the way I did it, too, I was being real aggressive and played the match on my terms. I didn't play really reactive. So, you know, I feel good about everything involved.

Question How many scrapes do you have here?
Answer Uhm, (looking at his scrapes)... I don't know if I can -- that's all there is. I think there's three. I can still count that high. Those two are pretty gnarly, though. They have company.

Question Those were both from the --
Answer That one, yeah, those are from my graceful fall in the first set. This one's from the second set some time.

Question You were aggressive all throughout the match. Hewitt didn't attack your serve very well. Do you think he was a little sluggish today?
Answer Sluggish? I don't know. I'd like to think it had something to do with me hitting 24 aces, you know, and hitting second serves really big. I don't know if Lleyton has ever been described as "sluggish" before. I didn't think so.

Question Have you made a conscious effort to get more pace on your second serve today?
Answer I've been doing it the whole tournament. I don't know if it's conscious. I mean, I think I'm just trying to have an overall more aggressive mindset. And, you know, against -- I think I was trying to mix up the direction a little bit more against Lleyton and not have him -- if he's sitting on a return and he knows what's going to come, then he's not going to miss it. I mean, he's just really solid. So I at least wanted him to be guessing forehand, backhand. And then, you know, the pace was a bonus; I was feeling good.

Question It seemed almost like a whole new Andy Roddick - a lot of slices you were playing, you came to the net more than 40 times and won the majority of them. Do you feel that you're developing into a completely different player?
Answer Well, I, you know -- when I was getting some grief earlier in the year for losing some close matches trying these things, I assured you guys that I was working on it and I was working hard. I wanted to be able to develop different options. Now it's coming to fruition and everybody's acting really surprised about it. I've put in a lot of work this year, you know, fitness-wise, trying to work on different aspects of my game and, you know, knowing that it would come around some time. Now I have the confidence that they're going to work in matches. And so, you know, it looks like a huge transformation, but it's definitely a process.

Question It worked quite well I think in the second round at Wimbledon, but that was rather a different match. Has it worked like it did tonight, in a big match?
Answer Yeah, I mean, I think I came in close to 30 times last night as well. You know, I don't know if I did it as extreme as I did tonight where I pretty much serve and volleyed on every serve. But, like I said, I think it's been gradually getting there.

Question You said you didn't want to come in here and explain why you lost to Lleyton again.
Answer Yeah.

Question How much is that a motivating factor for tomorrow's match?
Answer Well, it's a big motivating factor when I have people writing articles why it's a crisis that I'm 5 in the world now at the beginning of the week, Dustin (laughter). You know, it's good because it gives me something to check out at breakfast with my coffee. And, you know, it's nice. I definitely do use it as motivation.

Question But Roger in particular. I mean, you said after Wimbledon that you wanted to take more chances at him anyway, until you were 1-31 or whatever. Have you just been hoping, you know, to meet up with him in the draw as often as you can?
Answer Well, yes, and for two reasons. You know, obviously I want lots of -- I want a shot at him, you know. Maybe, you know, I can turn the momentum in the series with one win; you never know what happens. And I just want to keep trying. I want to measure myself against the best, and he's the best right now. And, two, if I'm playing him, it normally means we're pretty far along in the tournament. So that's a good thing as well.

Question You think you'll have some different things to show him tomorrow?
Answer I hope so. I mean, I've tried, you know, a vast majority of styles against him before, and he's come up with the goods. But, you know, I'm not going to spell it out for him, that's for sure.

Question The trainer wanted to put some spray on these grazes. I think you said you didn't want it. What was the reason for that?
Answer I didn't really feel a need. I mean, I figured I don't know what spray was going to do. Do you spray your cuts? I mean, it's like disinfectant, but I didn't want it to sting. I don't know. I didn't feel it. I figured I was working the towel and I figured they were making me look tough so I just - which I'm not - so I don't know. I just didn't want them to. I didn't put a whole lot of thought into it.

Question You were joking about the beginning of the week story a little bit, but do you need any motivation to just try to climb the ladder?
Answer Not really. You know, I'm plenty motivated. I'm motivated. I mean, you know, a lot of people, they don't see what goes into being a tennis player on a daily basis; they see a match here, a match there and, you know, they don't realize how tough it is to stay at the top or, you know, close to the top for coming on three or four years. I mean, it's really hard, and they don't see the work we put in. If it was that easy, then I would do it, you know. If it's as easy as doing one thing or another, then, you know, I'd do it. But like I said, it's a process, and I've been in the process this whole year of trying to become a better player even if that meant taking a couple steps back to take some steps forward. And, you know, that was tough when I was losing a couple close matches early on in the year, but I feel like and hopefully it will continue that I'm making some progress.

Question Do you have to actually be ranked No. 1 to feel like you are a No. 1 player?
Answer Yes. I don't know if anybody besides Roger can feel like they're the No. 1 player right now. Uhm, yeah, I don't -- I don't think anybody would have a real legit argument if they sat in here and said so. But a lot of times, I mean, a lot of times even if you're ranked 3 or 4, you don't feel like you're playing up to that standard. You know, so it feels good when you do, when you feel like you kind of earned your spot. I think that's a little bit similar to what you asked.

Question I was told upstairs you finished first in this US Open Series. Does that mean something to you?
Answer I think it's cool because it's an overall judge of, you know, consistency of the summer. And even when people were questioning what kind of summer I was having, to finish No. 1 in the US Open Series kind of gives some factual backup. It's nice. I think the coolest thing is it just gives people something to watch and makes you realize that it's all kind of one umbrella and what we do now kind of has a direct impact on the US Open. I think it's more important for the fans to kind of follow along than it is for us maybe.

Question What will be on your mind tonight for the match tomorrow: The momentum you've built up, or 1-9?
Answer I don't think about 1-9 to be honest. I mean, it's not much different than 1-7, to be honest (laughing). I don't know. I mean, 1-6, 1-9, 1-10, 2-9, I mean, I'm just going to try to think about how to win a tennis match. Stats are fun and they're great and they make for good reading material, but, you know, if I'm out there thinking about 1-9 trying to hit a second serve, it's not really going to help much. I don't really think about it that much.

Question They said on the intro to the broadcast tonight that they thought maybe Lleyton had gotten in your head and that was the edge he had on you. Do you feel there was anything mental, a mental hurdle?
Answer Well, it's tough. I mean, I think the only mental hurdle is respecting a player who's very, very, very good. Uhm, it was weird because a couple of times I felt like I had played a better match and lost. But I don't know if I, you know -- I'm not sitting -- I didn't lose sleep last night because I knew I was going to play him or anything like that, but I do have a lot of respect for Lleyton as a player.

Question Do you think Roger is taking a chance playing only one buildup tournament to the US Open, or do you think he knows what he's doing?
Answer (Smiling). I think it's safe to say Roger knows what he's doing. I'm not going to -- considering he's here in the final and he's, you know, kind of worked himself into it, I'm not really going to question. I mean, there's two sides. Let's say he would have come in and played a full schedule and then taken a bad loss at the Open, people would have said, "Well, maybe he played too much, he didn't take enough rest." I mean, it's easy to pick one way and go with it. But I'm not going to really fear for Roger too much at the US Open (smiling).

Question Did you watch Ginepri's match today?
Answer Yes, I did.

Question What are you thoughts on Ginepri's match? You had lost to him last month in Indianapolis. Do you think his game has improved?
Answer Well, there's no doubt. I mean, I don't know how much of it is, you know -- I said a couple days ago in here that everybody can hit forehands and backhands, but it's kind of along the same lines of what I was talking about with myself working pretty hard. He's paid his dues this year. He started working hard, he went back to the basics, and now he's starting to see the results of that. And a lot of it's between the ears, you know. You get a couple wins under your belt, the momentum starts going, and you start thinking you can do things. I mean, I thought he played a great match today. I thought he played a really, really, really good match today. I hope he can build on this and so it can become a thing that he does week in and week out and not, "Remember that hot streak Robby had last year at this time?" You know, I hope that works out. He's a good friend of mine and, you know, I think he's making a lot of people really optimistic right now with what he's doing.

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