WESTERN AND SOUTHERN FINANCIAL GROUP MASTERS
Date: 2005-08-17

WESTERN AND SOUTHERN FINANCIAL GROUP MASTERS

August 17, 2005

Andy Roddick
CINCINNATI, OHIO
The Moderator Questions, please.

Question Ferrero I thought played very, very well in the first and second set. Third set, it was all you. He was serving great.
Answer Yeah.

Question What do you think was the difference?
Answer Well, I made up my mind. You know, I didn't feel like I was hitting the ball that badly, but I just wasn't able to get any -- it kind of reminded me a little bit of the match I played with Andre last year here where I felt like I was putting the ball in play and he was just taking the first ball and dictating. So I started being more aggressive on every shot. It was either gonna be really bad and end quickly, or it was gonna get me back in the match. Fortunately, I was able to kind of get my forehand going. That was probably the biggest shot for me at the end of the second set and into the third.

Question At the beginning of the third, is that really when you started to really feel it, gain control of the match?
Answer I started feeling a little bit like maybe 4-5 in the second, 5-All, I felt like I was at least playing better games and making him work hard on his serves. He was having to come up with good shots to beat me as opposed to, you know, a serve and then one-ball putaways. So I felt like the momentum, I felt like if I could get to the second set that it would be anybody's ballgame. Then obviously an early break in the third set is crucial in any match.

Question He thought a crucial point was when he had the breakpoint, the ball hit the net and trickled over. You ended up winning that game.
Answer Yeah, that was lucky. I mean, there's no doubt about it. But let's not forget the 15-30 point where I hit a ball off the baseline and they called it out in the first set. That would have given me 15-40. So, I mean, you can go on and on and on about points that would have made a huge difference, but I was extremely, extremely fortunate on that one.

Question Early on it seemed like he couldn't miss. You guys were playing really close. You had to raise your game.
Answer I'm glad it looked like that, too. That's what it felt like. Yeah, I definitely felt like he was throwing his best stuff at me for a while and I was kind of just hanging on with my serve, hanging on with my serve. And then, like I said, I started hitting my forehand a lot better. At least it was keeping -- he wasn't dictating as much as he was. Then he started thinking about it a little bit more, I think. But if I wouldn't have raised my game tonight, I would have been going home.

Question Did you expect such a tough match? Obviously, he's been No. 1 and won the French, I think. Did you expect this from him?
Answer Yeah, I mean, this is a rematch of our US Open final. So, you know, any time you play someone who's a former No. 1, I don't think he's had his best stuff recently, you know, in the recent past, but he's capable of playing great tennis. I mean, you don't get to No. 1 in the world by accident. So, you know, I definitely expected a tough one out there.

Question What do you think the difference is between his form then when you played him and now?
Answer Not a lot tonight. I don't think there was a lot between it tonight. He actually probably played better tonight than he did when we played in the US Open final and that was after beating, you know, a series of guys like Hewitt and Agassi. So, you know, I'm not sure. I'm not going to pretend that I watch him enough to give you a concrete answer. You know, I can only tell you about what I faced, and I thought he was very good out there tonight. I was lucky to get out of that one.

Question You mentioned that if you hadn't raised your game you would have been going home in what would be the second round. When you're out there facing that situation, does the thought enter your mind that you would lose early for the second week in a row?
Answer Yeah. I mean, that's factual information, you know. Obviously, I don't want to lose. But I'm not out there playing, you know, to not have bad results, you know. That's not the way I think. I could have lost here and still gone on and had a very good Open. You know, it wouldn't have been ideal preparation, but it's going to happen. You're going to have a couple bad weeks. I mean, I'm lucky, I haven't had two bad weeks in a row on anything but clay for a long time. So, you know, I'm pretty fortunate in that aspect. But I'm sure it's gonna happen some time. I mean, it's part of sports. But I don't think that's the way you can think when you're out there.

Question How are the new clothes working out?
Answer They're fine. They stay on - well, sometimes. You know, they have pockets and sleeves and everything, so it's good. It's a good partnership.

Question Can you talk about the difference in the courts between Montreal and here.
Answer I don't know if I was in Montreal long enough to make that comparison. Honestly, I don't have -- I don't know if I have a good gauge for it because I came from Washington where I was grooved in. And I've said before, I don't know if it's so much the courts, you know, concrete is concrete, but the balls are different. It's a totally different company making them between Washington, these two Masters Series events, and then we go back to the original ball at the US Open. So I think that's the biggest difference for me. It was a tough adjustment. But I came -- I got here Wednesday and was able to get used to the conditions, so that was a big help I think.

Question Are you in the process of picking your shoe company right now?
Answer I've actually worn Babolats for the last two days.

Question And you're sticking with them?
Answer Yeah, I've -- yeah.

Question Up next is Juan Ignacio Chela. What are your thoughts on that?
Answer It's tough. He makes you earn points. He's been a solid player. He plays, you know -- he's almost had better results on hard courts than clay courts the last couple years. We actually just played in Washington and I was able to kind of sneak through in three sets. We've had some tough, tough matches before so I'm expecting a tough one. It's a match that I'm going to have to go out and win, you know; he's not going to give me anything.

Question Before the Open would you rather be tested, or do you like waltzing through?
Answer Tested and winning and waltzing and winning is the same thing for me. You know, I just want to get through and I want to get some matches in; that's the most important thing for me. Either -- this is the biggest double-edged sword question ever because if you're waltzing, you say, "No, it's great, I feel like I'm playing well." And then if you get through a tough one, you're like, "It's great, I think I needed that." Either way, we're just gonna lie about something (laughing).

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