Andy Roddick

March 9, 2007

Andy Roddick

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA

THE MODERATOR: All right. Questions, please.

Q. Recently it seems like your game, perhaps because of Jimmy's involvement, has become a little bit more diverse than it had a couple years ago. And it seems like you and another guy like Fernando Gonzalez, originally were playing a lot with more power, and now it's succeeding more with a variety. Can you speak to how the game is changing and why this is happening now?
ANDY RODDICK: I think the biggest thing that doesn't get talked about enough is you don't see a lot of slow players in the top 10, and I think that's -- that's been the adjustment. You know, starting with and Andre started moving really well late in his career. I think that's the biggest thing. You kind of have to find new ways to construct points because if it's just power, I think people are able to run balls down now and, you know, that's my best guess to it.

Q. Do you enjoy this style of play perhaps more than, you know, staying back in the baseline and slugging it out?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, I still do a fair share of that, but, you know, I'm okay either way. I just want to try to win tennis matches. That's -- I have fun when I'm winning so whatever it takes do that.

Q. What's your take on the round-robin and the future of it? James came out pretty hard against it.
ANDY RODDICK: I mean, I think it's -- I think it's -- personally, I think we've seen the last of it. You know, I don't see how you can get around, you know, pull-outs, going to a match and having to win five games and hit three dropshots to advance to the quarters and, you know, a million other things. You're going to have guys -- it just leads to too much -- there's too much left, you know, to the players, whether it's, you know, if it's a friend, you know maybe dodging a game to let another one through or whether it's -- I just think there's too many holes in it. And I think it's a good example of why you can't look at tennis and treat it as a business because there are players involved and, you know, matches are won and lost. It's not completely a show, you know. So I don't -- I think and certainly hope we've seen the last of it.

Q. Roger Federer in Australia was pretty disappointed with the challenge system, said it embarrasses players. Do you feel that way?
ANDY RODDICK: No. I don't remember the last time Roger was embarrassed on the court. No, I've always been a big supporter of the challenge system. Granted, we can look stupid sometimes, but that's in our hands, you know. If we challenge one that's really bad, then, you know, I guess we almost deserve it; right?
And I think it's good for the spectator. I think it's good for the fans. I think it ads another dimension to watching it on TV. Even when you don't challenge, they can show the Hawkeye and I see a lot of positives in it. I've always liked the rule.

Q. As that match you played against Roger Federer in the Australian Open, is that the best a guy has ever played against you?
ANDY RODDICK: Probably. You know, it's definitely up there.

Q. Specifically, I think it was early in the second set he played just an incredible game where he had like half-volley win from the baseline, cracked the backhand, and then the forehand. Do you recall that game?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I mean, it seems like it was most games to be honest. But, you know, that was two months ago, so I'm going to be done talking about that.

Q. And in practice, is the serve something that you work a good deal on or is it you sort of take it for granted now or could you talk about how much you work on your serve?
ANDY RODDICK: We work on it when it needs to. I mean, it's a fine line because, you know, you have to take into consideration how your body is feeling. You know, like just now, I finished -- you know, Australia, I had a little bit of time off, played Czech Republic, San Jose, Memphis, so the last thing time I'm going to go do is go out and hit buckets and buckets and buckets of serves on a week where you should be giving your shoulder a little bit of a rest. So but definitely, in the weeks leading up to this one, it's something you work on.

Q. And I watched you in practice yesterday, was marvelous. I was wondering that you have three coaches on-call with you. Can you talk about the different parts?
ANDY RODDICK: When has Doug Spreen been a coach?

Q. Jimmy Connors was there and two different --
ANDY RODDICK: It doesn't make him a coach.

Q. Okay. What are they responsible for?
ANDY RODDICK: What?

Q. What are they responsible for?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, John travels year round with me, you know, helps me out on tour. Jimmy's my coach. You know, he comes when he can, and Doug's, he's a physio; he's not a coach. He takes care of injuries and make sure we can get out there on a week-to-week basis.

Q. How has it been working with Jimmy?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, it's been great. So far so good.

Q. And what about mandating eight Master Series (indiscernible)? Safin and Blake don't seem to think it's going to be a great thing for the trial players if you're forced to play every single one and then might face a suspension?
ANDY RODDICK: I mean, I don't necessarily see the positive in, you know, if you lose a top -- the whole goal of it is to, what, keep your top players in the events, right? And then if they don't show up for one, you suspend them from another? I don't really see how that's keeping your top players in events. I don't know if that's common sense and I'm just missing something, or -- you know, I don't -- I don't know. We'll see how it works.

Q. How many would be fair to you, five or six? Should the guys just divide up?
ANDY RODDICK: I just don't think you can set it in stone because the injuries play a part in it. You know, from what I understand, I mean, basically the way they've said it, is they need to see -- you can't -- you can't make things black and white when there's a lot of gray areas as far as injuries and, you know, what happens. You're going to get suspended because you have a sprained ankle and, you know, they want like MRI proof or something like that?
I mean, I think that's a little bit ridiculous, and I don't know if it totally makes sense in the scheme of sports, you know. You can't take injuries out of an equation when you're playing a sport, you know. I just don't see how that's completely feasible.

Q. But I'm sure you understand the Master Series wants the top players.
ANDY RODDICK: I agree with it, as long as there's -- as long as they can understand, you know, that the rigors that take place in tennis. I like the fact that, you know, obviously, to get the support for it, you have to have the guys showing up, and I understand the premise of it. And I respect the premise of it. I just hope there's a -- you know, for example, there was no wiggle room in the round-robin. You see what I'm saying?
I just don't want to run into another problem like that and I fear that might happen.

Q. Please, will you forget finally second Grand Slam?
ANDY RODDICK: Did you say when?

Q. Will you?
ANDY RODDICK: Will I? I hope so.

Q. Finally get -- to get second Grand Slam title?
ANDY RODDICK: I tell you, when I do, I'll call you first.

Q. And obviously with Jimmy, there's obviously a different era, but is there any way you can compare his great return of serve with Agassi's which you've faced so many times, two strokes which are --
ANDY RODDICK: It would be tough for me, because I haven't -- you know, I didn't see Jimmy's firsthand, you know, playing against it. They're probably similar in the fact that there's forward movement on them; they had short swings; they make flush contact every time; they put pressure on you. But I haven't been on the other side of Jimmy's when he's been playing, so I don't know if I'd be the best person to ask.

Q. Another question to Connors, when he's joking with fans while you're practicing, does it disturb you or is it relaxing for you?
ANDY RODDICK: I like it. It's fine. It doesn't really happen that often, but, you know, I think that's another way of just him keeping practices light. It's fine.

Q. Roger, has a chance to break Guillermo Vilas' record. Can you give me your thoughts, what it must be like to try to win 46 matches in a row at this level?
ANDY RODDICK: Once again, I can't provide a lot of insight because I haven't really come close to that, so, no, I can't really tell you what it's like.

Q. Can you talk about someone actually doing that.
ANDY RODDICK: It's an amazing record. There's no doubt about it. You know, it's a record that's been around for a long time for a reason, you know. So it's pretty impressive.

Q. Can you tell us how Jimmy felt when he lost his record to Roger one week ago?
ANDY RODDICK: I mean, we haven't really talked about it. I know, that, you know, I know he has a great deal of respect for Roger and thinks a lot of him as a player, but, you know, it's not exactly like I'm starting off our conversations on the phone, "Hey, you lost your record yesterday, huh? That sucks." You know, "Oh well. Sorry."

Q. The last press conference you had in this room you said you were pissed and you weren't gonna put on your "fun face." I wonder if you found your "fun face" in the last year?
ANDY RODDICK: Fun face. Why did I say that? It's been there at times. It's a selective face.

Q. How do you keep things fun, you know, when you feel like everyone is pressuring? How do you manage to enjoy what you do?
ANDY RODDICK: I think it's a matter of perspective, you know. At the end of my worst day, yeah. At the end of my worst day, I'm still pretty lucky and still pretty fortunate and I don't think I lose sight of that.

Q. James was saying earlier a key thing he learned from Pete Sampras was having a short memory that was just critical in tennis. Is that something you deal with in?
ANDY RODDICK: I try, but when you ask questions from matches that were two months ago on a certain game and shots that were hit, it makes it a little difficult, but I try my best.

Q. It's a good game. James also said that he had a hole-in-one yesterday. I guess he was beaming all over the place. What's the best achievement outside of tennis and sports that you've had?
ANDY RODDICK: I bowled a 56 -- at the Disco bowling about six weeks ago, and then I threw a party.

Q. As long that we're talking about the Australian Open two months ago --
ANDY RODDICK: No, we're not anymore.

Q. You played a pretty good match against Safin; right?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah.

Q. Is that something to be proud? Do you remember that match pretty well?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, it was fun. I played well the whole tournament, to be honest. I just ran into a -- I just ran into a guy who played better than me that day. I mean, he played great. He outplayed me.

Q. Okay. But you said the word "fun" and that's what I was going to ask. Every time Safin comes on court, the fans know they are in for a fun match. What's the first thought that goes through a player's mind when they go through to see Safin in the next match, is it going to be fun, how do you react when you're about to play him?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, I mean, I don't know if you're, like, put on my fun face. But I think -- I don't know if players are as interested in watching him when you're playing against them as the fans are. I think you realize, you know -- I think we all have fun watching him play, but when you're on the court, you're more concerned with what he's bringing to the table, you know, between the lines and on the tennis court, which is not something you can overlook, you know.
I don't know if we're concerned with having -- with him having a great time if we're going up against him. You know, I think our priorities lie more in what's going on with the match.

Q. Is it easier to beat him, get into his head when he starts losing it?
ANDY RODDICK: I think it's easier to beat anybody if you get inside their head and they start losing it.

Q. Since the Australian Open to now, I know you've played a few events, but as far as your game is concerned, do you feel you've added any new dimensions, you feel you've added things to it?
ANDY RODDICK: I thought I was really happy about the way I played in the Czech Republic. I don't know if I played that well in San Jose or Memphis. I felt like I was maybe not hitting the ball great, but I also think you can take something positive out of that. I didn't feel like I was playing that great and moved up a spot, and, you know, still won some matches. So, you know, it's been fun, but I think the biggest thing is getting a little bit of time, getting ten days out here to really work on stuff and try to fine-tune stuff while not in the tournament.

Q. What's disco bowling?
THE MODERATOR: Do you have another tennis question? Any more questions?
ANDY RODDICK: They turn off the lights and play fun music while you bowl. It's kind of what you would guess it was.
THE MODERATOR: Any more questions?
ANDY RODDICK: Do we really --

Q. And I'm just trying to figure out how far down memory lane you're going to go Davis Cup against Tursunov, where does that rate in the greatest losses or greatest matches? What do you remember? Will you be telling your grandkids about that?
ANDY RODDICK: Don't you remember my answers that I gave then?

Q. I don't read press conferences. I only go live.
ANDY RODDICK: You said you were there, though.

Q. Not seen you since.
ANDY RODDICK: Okay. Okay. All right, then. I mean, it's definitely one of the memories that I'll share. Obviously, you can look back on tough losses like that a little more bitterly than you do your wins. I mean, I think that's normal, but, you know, it's definitely a memory that's -- that I'll always remember, you know. No, definitely not a forgettable match.

Q. Can you talk about the tie that's coming up against Spain and particular significance? Obviously, any Davis Cup tie is critical, but in light of past matches and where we are now, can you talk about that?
ANDY RODDICK: I'm pretty excited about it. You know, obviously it's a good opportunity for us. But to be honest with you, the thing I'm most excited about is there's actually some interest in it. You know, I think they've sold something like 14,000 out of 14,500 thousand seats already. Sold 11,000 in the first day or something like that. So that's nice.
You know we've been on this kind of mission for five years now. Haven't gotten it done, but yet there's still a little bit of interest there, at least in the Winston-Salem, North Carolina area, so that's exciting. And I think just with the potential match-ups that are there, you know, it's going to be some good tennis and I look forward to being a part of it.
THE MODERATOR: Last question.

Q. Did you consider coming back here to play on the grass?
ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. To be honest, I don't know. We've gotten that grass question a lot, but I don't know if that's anymore of an advantage in that tie rather than a slick hard court. I don't -- I don't know if that would have been a bigger advantage to play them on grass. I mean, he did get to the finals of Wimbledon last year, so he likes it a little bit.
THE MODERATOR: Thanks very much.
ANDY RODDICK: Thank you.

March 10, 2007

Andy Roddick

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please, anyone?

Q. What did you think of your performance out there tonight?
ANDY RODDICK: You know, I did what I needed to do. I think I probably could have hit the ball a little bit better. I could have hit the ball better on transition. I don't know if I was committing to my shots enough.
But I served well and I put my returns in the court and, you know, gave me a chance. And I played well when I had to.
The first round is always a little awkward. I thought he served really well, so that made it a little tough as well.

Q. He looks good. He's got a game but he doesn't win that much, does he? Why? What holds Lopez back from being a better player than he is?
ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. Yeah, I don't watch his matches too often, I don't think. But I thought he played pretty well tonight. I thought he served -- I thought he served up in the 70s, which made it tough. So, you know, I thought I saw the good side of him tonight. Maybe just consistency. I don't know.

Q. If you had your druthers, what one thing would you like to improve the most on?
ANDY RODDICK: Oh God, I don't know if we have that much time. I got a pick one? I'd like to be -- you know, I return -- I return well in spots and I return well for a tournament at a time, and I'd love to be more consistent as far as how well I return. I feel like when I am returning well, it even helps my service games out, you know. So I'm capable of returning well. I just need to do it on a match-to-match basis.

Q. I work for a newspaper in Santa Barbara and I was wondering if you enjoy Jimmy Connor's hospitality there, what sort of things you work on? I understand you've been there.
ANDY RODDICK: Yes, I enjoy his hospitality very much. You know, we just work on tennis. You know, I'd never been to Santa Barbara before last summer, but, you know, it's a place I enjoy going to. It's a fun little town and, you know, there could be a lot worse places to have your coach live, that's for sure.
THE MODERATOR: Anymore?
ANDY RODDICK: Oh, we were close there.

Q. How is it to be coached, for differences in your other coaches, by tennis legend, you know, the fans come asking for interviews, they watch your games even more, the practice more than some matches? What's the main difference between other coaches and being coached by a legend, tennis legend?
ANDY RODDICK: I'm not sure, you know. When we're on the court and we're talking about tennis, he doesn't ever refer to himself as a legend. He doesn't bring it up. I've said before I have to, you know, almost beg him to talk about himself or what he accomplished. So that's probably a little bit different than other coaches I've had, but it's nice.
I mean, I don't know. I'm still a fan also, so I think I understand the fans' points of view when they are coming up to him. And I've never seen so many middle-aged men get absolutely dumbfounded when he walks around the corner. I get a kick out of it, you know. Between like the 14-year-old girls and the 60-year-old men, we've got it covered. We've got all the demographics (laughter).

Q. What is the single most important thing he's done to help improve your game, do you think?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, I mean, technically, we've made a lot of changes, but I think the biggest thing was just right away, having someone who believed in me and kind of maybe knew that the player that I am was, you know, actually closer. I mean, we came out, I was kind of in the middle of a confidence crisis. I still knew I could play tennis. It was just a matter of kind of getting over the hump, and, you know, having him come in and say, you know, let's just not even think about it anymore. Let's just fix it now.
You know, it was nice to have someone of his stature kind of come in and have that confidence in me. Now whether it was false confidence or whether it was made-up confidence, I'm not sure, but it worked.

Q. As far as confidence, where do you think you were last year at this time at this tournament compared to now?
ANDY RODDICK: It was a bit of a struggle, as you guys probably remember. You know, the first six months of last year was pretty forgettable. I still -- I mean, I still somehow got through some matches, and, you know, was meeting matches most weeks, but it was never really that comfortable, you know. And, you know, I kind of had to go out there, and your guess was as good as mine as to how I was going to play.
So that's not a fun feeling, and, you know, I feel like it's a lot better. I feel like I'm in more control of what I'm doing out there right now.

Q. What are you talking about confidence level, where do you think you are compared, say, to, well, when you were at the U.S. Open -- can't remember?
ANDY RODDICK: '03. It was a long time. I can't remember either (smiling).
I feel like I'm a better player. I feel like the game has gotten better, and I've had to, you know -- I think the way that I played during the summer last year was probably some of the best tennis I've ever played, probably even better than from Cincinnati to the U.S. Open last year. I think it was better than the '03 run.
Yeah, Cincinnati, after the first round, I didn't get pushed to 5 in a set. I was pretty comfortable through most of the U.S. Open with the exception of Verdasco. I think that was a pretty high-level match, as well. But besides that I was getting through guys in straight sets pretty much every match.
If you compare the numbers, it would ring true. It's tough to compare the two. Confidence-wise I'm probably up there, but I've had to kind of overhaul it. It's a completely different game to me now than it was then. I've had to make adjustments.

Q. You may have addressed this the other day, but I wasn't here for most of the round-robin?
ANDY RODDICK: Slacking off?

Q. I was up at the dogs in Alaska?
ANDY RODDICK: What happened?

Q. Iditarod?
ANDY RODDICK: You did what? You were with the dogs?

Q. Yeah.
ANDY RODDICK: You're a dog reporter, too?

Q. I'm dogging you.
ANDY RODDICK: Come on, man. Come on, Rob. You're better than that, bro, I hope (laughter).

Q. Are you in favor of shelving the round-robin?
ANDY RODDICK: I think everybody is.

Q. At this point, without even going any further with the experimentation?
ANDY RODDICK: There's nothing to experiment with. There's too many holes in it. There's too many holes in it. I mean, you have the possibility of guys ducking matches, pulling out so other guys can go through. I mean, you have -- you know, there's just too much room for human error. There's too many holes in the rules of it, you know. I guess some people don't even know the rules of it - especially people who invent it.
So, I mean, I just don't see a lot of positives in it. Besides getting -- you know, it guarantees your guys are going to be there, you know, your top guy is going to be there for two matches. But I promise you, if they're playing that second match knowing they're not in anyways, it's not worth having them there. It's a glorified exhibition at that point.
So I guess the short answer would be no. Or, yes, I am in favor of shelving it. I personally don't think we'll ever see it again. It's got more holes than Swiss cheese, I'm telling you.

Q. Have you actively expressed that to ATP leadership?
ANDY RODDICK: I think we expressed that before it even happened. I promise you, when I got back from Australia, I tried looking at the draw from Del Rey Beach, I had no idea what I was looking at. I'm thinking, "If I don't understand it as a tennis player, I don't know how the casual tennis fan is going to understand."
I don't know what the hell an elimination round is or to get into the round-robin to play two-out-of- -- I mean, I just don't see a lot of sense in it. I mean, it's tough enough to follow when it's not in a major, much less making it like that. So, no, I'm not in support of it much.

Q. But it seems to work in Master's Cup. I know it's a smaller field, but I mean...
ANDY RODDICK: It's a lot easier to make it work when there's a year-end championship. There's a lot of pride between 10 guys. It's a lot easier to make it work when there's not 32 people or 64 people. And I think it works in the Master's Cup because it is such a unique event. It makes it a unique event. And, you know, like I said, I don't know if there's going to be as much wiggle room with the top 8 guys as far as ducking and pulling out and doing this and doing that and playing matches where you have to win a certain number of games. And if I'm being frank with you, at the Master's Cup, you win, what, 120 grand per match that you win. You know, so it's not a glorified exhibition. You're still -- I mean, if we're being honest, you're still out there playing for something, you know, at the end of the day.
So I think it's a completely different scenario than every week. I don't know if it's an every-week format.
THE MODERATOR: Anymore. Thank you very much.

March 13, 2007

Andy Roddick

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA

ANDY RODDICK: You're the only guy who picked Texas. I read it yesterday. You picked Texas.

Q. I did that thing in two minutes. I don't even remember who I picked.
ANDY RODDICK: You picked Texas. Take credit for it, please.

Q. Texas, what, in the NCAA?
ANDY RODDICK: He doesn't remember it. I do. I read it yesterday. I can show you the article.

Q. They didn't make it, did they?
ANDY RODDICK: They did not even come close to making it.

Q. Their women qualified?
ANDY RODDICK: That's awesome.

Q. Who's your Final 4 then?
ANDY RODDICK: Who's my final 4, who did I pick today? I think I'm probably gonna lose bad, but my strategy actually went with Texas to win it, which is a suspect pick probably. But we have like a 300-person pool like the ATP pool, and some guy picked Florida last year when they were three or four seed. They got through. I figured they had to take a winger to try to win that one. I think I had Texas, Kansas, Florida, and I think Ohio state.

Q. Good pick.
ANDY RODDICK: Just taking a flier on Texas.

Q. I thought they were like the Fab 5 with all the freshman, then I remembered he did it in the finals.
ANDY RODDICK: We won't see them next year, so lets enjoy this one.

Q. Did you hear the big news? Lance won.
ANDY RODDICK: Are you talking about the mushing. Sorry, I missed it. I've been focusing for the match today, so...

Q. He didn't win the pool though.
ANDY RODDICK: I forgot to go to dogwatcher.com before I came over.

Q. You played awfully well tonight.
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I played well. I thought he played really well in the first set, seemed like he was just taking even good returns, kind of winging them for winners every place, and, you know, I don't think that's as easy to do in a tiebreaker as it is in just a regular service game.
So I was able to get through the breaker and kind of use the momentum. The second set, I thought was my best tennis of the week, so far.

Q. When you get that break and you're serving that well, in your mind, do you think this match is over?
ANDY RODDICK: No. No. I mean, you always guard against it. You know, you always, you get down Love-15, anything could happen. You miss a first serve, all of a sudden he's got a look. So you kind of really have to, really have to bear down there.
Tonight, I did. Even in the last game, I think the only free point I got on my serve might have been the last point. So, you know, I definitely don't take it for granted there. Even if I have been serving well, it only takes one bad game.

Q. Do you approach each tiebreaker differently depending on who you're playing, talking the breakers in general?
ANDY RODDICK: I mean, I think there's definitely a general mentality. I mean, obviously the strategy changes with who you're playing as far as how you construct points and what you're looking to do. But basically, you know, you're trying to make first serves and make returns. You're trying to make them play on their serve. Like I said, it's a lot harder to hit great shots just easily when you have the kind -- there's a certain amount of tension in the tiebreaker, it's a lot harder to play well there.
So if I'm hitting my first serves in and they're kind of feeling that, they're going to have to play well on their serves. All of a sudden, I put a couple returns in the court, it makes it that much harder for them.

Q. I know this is a business trip, but did you have any time this week, did you run into former President Bush?
ANDY RODDICK: No, I haven't.

Q. Okay. I was just curious. He was in Eisenhower. He was ill the other day.
ANDY RODDICK: No, I haven't seen him.

Q. So Ljubicic, ten times you've got the edge on him record-wise. He's played pretty tough. Talk about that?
ANDY RODDICK: It will be a tough one. Obviously, it's just going to be a matter of who can get some chances to break. You know, he's going to serve well. I think this court is pretty good for him, because he likes to get a little bit of height on his ground strokes, loop them up there. Second serve kind of bounces off the court. So this should be a decent court for him.
That being said, I feel like I'm serving pretty well, too, so, you know, it's just a matter of who creates chances, takes them, you know. It's gonna come down to that.

Q. As far as Richard goes, what do you think separates him from the very top?
ANDY RODDICK: Not much. I mean, I think tonight he played great up until -- and then maybe I just played the big points a little bit better. You know, he hadn't really missed any balls at all for the whole set. And then, you know, missed a couple forehands badly in the tiebreaker, you know, out of -- it was pretty unexpected, you know.
So I was okay with that, you know (smiling). But, you know, something was a little bit different in the breaker, I think.

Q. When you travel a few weeks without Jimmy then he comes back and joins you, is it a little bit of reacquaintance that goes on for a period of time?
ANDY RODDICK: There is really not really too much of a reacquaintance. It's nice. It's like a rejuvenation. It's always fun because he brings, you know, that intensity every time. But, you know, the first day we'll together, we'll make sure to really hang out a lot, and, you know, catch a long dinner together, and kind of just, not only catch up on the tennis stuff, just kind of talk a little bit and kind of get that, kind of like what you're talking about, get it out of the way so we can get down to some business.

Q. I mean, there are people like you, you don't see them for years, you get back together instantly. It's like you haven't missed a beat. Other people you see all the time, you sort of have to warm up, but it sounds like you're somewhere in the middle there?
ANDY RODDICK: No, I mean, we're -- you know, we're fine. We can get -- when we're on the phone, we can get a conversation done in two and a half minutes. We kind of understand each other. We're both pretty straightforward and pretty frank. And, you know, there's not a lot of, you know, talking in circles with us. We're both pretty direct, so that makes it easy. And, you know, I think -- I mean, I can speak for myself, I'm always excited when I haven't seen him for a while to kind of just hang out a little bit.

Q. Has he introduced you to Segura? Have you had any talks with Segura about tennis?
ANDY RODDICK: I haven't, I haven't really talked tennis with Segura. I know Jimmy talks about him a lot and he has a lot of respect for him, but I personally haven't talked much tennis with him.
THE MODERATOR: Thanks.

March 15, 2007

Andy Roddick

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. That first set was pretty good tennis. Did you think it was good tennis? It was good to watch?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I thought the second set was pretty good, too, but, you know, we were both taking care of our serves pretty well. And then, you know, the breakers, we had some pretty good points in each of them. Luckily, I was able to win a couple of the longer points there in the breakers.

Q. So you've served incredibly well four matches, no break points and volleying, too especially tonight.
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I mean, I don't know if you ever count on that. When you're on one of those things, you always feel like the next game could be the one where you get broken. So I think the biggest thing, I'm hitting my first forehand pretty well after my serves. I've been kind of using that shot real well, and I think that's more of the reason why, 'cause I didn't serve amazing tonight. I think I was in the fifties for my first serves in first set, didn't have many aces. I think it's that first ball I've been hitting well.

Q. Just talk more about the second set tie breakers. Four match points, but he played some pretty good points there, too.
ANDY RODDICK: Was that four?

Q. The four points he won it on, yeah?
ANDY RODDICK: You know, I had a -- you know, I had a couple pretty good looks at match points, and especially that volley. I drove it into the ground a little bit too much and he kind of -- I don't know. He had a continental grip while he was falling over the thing. I was thinking ,"Oh, no, don't" -- "Let's not do this."
But, you know, I was excited because I was playing the way I wanted to in the breakers. I kept going forward. I won some points. I lost some points. I hit a new little chip short one, that won me a couple points. I was happy with that.
You know, I thought all in all, I gave myself a chance to win and eventually was able to do it.

Q. How long have you had that chip short one?
ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. I was trying to hit it in practice, some last week, and hit some really, really bad ones. But, you know, you kind of got to throw it into the fire if you want to try to improve a little bit.

Q. Andy, something about the passing shots, do you have to alter your game plan at all playing a person like him?
ANDY RODDICK: No, I just -- have to make sure he doesn't like them hitting them off the deep approach shot when I hit them really hard. I can't let him get away with just -- you know, if you tell me if he's going to hit balls on the service line and I'm going to stay and just rally with him, or I get the chance to really take a crank and go to the net, I can tell you right now which one I'm going to have more success with.
So I understand that he passes well, and I understand that he moves real well, but, you know, that being said, I have to move forward and I think I have to play aggressive against him.

Q. Do you feel he invites other guys to take the initiative, see what they can do and then just responds, or do you think there's more force coming from his side?
ANDY RODDICK: There's both. There's both. I mean, if you leave one short, he can jump on it and he kind of whips the angles off the court. I think that's probably the difference between him and a lot of guys who kind of play the high heavy stuff, is that he can attack. You leave one short, he's going to rip a forehand, and he can hit his backhand real well, too.
Obviously, one of the strengths is retrieving. But he bullies around his fair share of points, as well.

Q. Aside from his big serve, he's very pragmatic on the court.
ANDY RODDICK: Pragmatic?

Q. He's taking the time. He's different than other players. Is that challenging also and more difficult to play a player like that, takes long time between the points and balls?
ANDY RODDICK: No, not -- I mean, it is what it is. You go in expecting it, you know. You know, if anything, you think that he's -- he kind of puts a physical hurt on someone. I think that's what made Agassi so tough is that he'd put such a physical hurt on you during the point and he'd be ready to play again right away. He wouldn't let you kind of catch up.
So if he's trying to put someone in the grinder, and he's sitting there letting you kind of regain your breath for 40 seconds, that's a good thing, as far as I see it.

Q. Andy, is this a brand-new match? You haven't played the guy in over two years now.
ANDY RODDICK: It's weird, because we played once, you know, in '04, when he wasn't really the Nadal that we know now at the U.S. Open. I won pretty convincingly. And then, you know, we played on clay at the Davis Cup, so I don't know if -- I don't know if you can take much stock from either one of those, considering the match-up that we have here.

Q. So how important is it to hit very good, deep, and smart approach shots against him, because he catches up to the ball pretty well?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, you have to. You have to. You know, you have to -- you have to get in there and, you know, you kind of -- I'm going have to -- like I said, I've been hitting that forehand ball pretty well from the middle of the court, short balls this week. So I'm going to have to continue do that and be ready to volley. I might have to hit a couple more, a couple more volleys and close in a little bit.

Q. Are you going to unravel the secrets of left-handers from Jimmy or --
ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. I'm sure he has some pointers for me. I hope so, anyways.

Q. Andy, when you were returning his serve, is it important just to get it back or do you need to do something a little bit more with it?
ANDY RODDICK: I mean, you've got to make him play. You know, if he's getting cheapies off of his serve, then that's a bad thing. But you can't really -- at the same time, you don't want to leave it hanging in the middle of a court because then he's got this one that he's going to get you with. So probably both.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

March 17, 2007

Andy Roddick

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Was that a question of him playing perfect or you not establishing what you wanted to establish?
ANDY RODDICK: Probably both. I thought he played real well. I mean, when I watched him the last six months or so, he kind of, I'd been playing a little bit more defensive and leaving balls short sometimes, and today he came out and played super-aggressive, got great depth. I never felt comfortable. I felt like his ball was really jumping out there. So I wasn't getting good swings on it. Combine that with me on my own service games, it makes for an uphill battle.

Q. So you talk about coming in the other night about making aggressive shots, moving in. When he's hitting without the top spin, it's tough to get in?
ANDY RODDICK: Especially on this court, the ball really takes off and, you know, I just felt like I was kind of -- I was kind of fighting it off some points. Then if I did get a look I got so excited, I maybe rushed it a little bit.
You know, so I think a lot of the credit goes to him, though. I thought he returned well. I thought he served really well today and kind of had me on heel step.

Q. You almost seemed to get over ran sometimes. You know, Australia was a tough match. It seemed like you were overeager, you were dying to get at these guys, and some how, it throws you off a little bit?
ANDY RODDICK: I don't know about that. I don't feel that way, so I guess I can't comment further on it.

Q. You've had a couple really tough matches with Fernando Verdasco, another Spanish left-hander. Do you think it's the left-handed baseline game that maybe is challenging for you?
ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. I've gotten Verdasco a lot more than he's gotten me. But my record against lefties in my career is actually pretty good. You know, I think it has more to do with just the kind of ball that he was hitting out there today rather than being lefty, righty. He was picking balls off both sides today, so, you know, I don't know if that's as key as him just playing well today.

Q. How tough is it to close points out at the net against him 'cause he passes unbelievably well?
ANDY RODDICK: A couple times he picked a couple off his shoes running in the forehand and hit them. I mean, just crushed them up the line. It wasn't even like he was hitting set passes. I mean, I had him running, I had him kind of below the net where I wanted him, and he was almost hitting them flat and hard up the line.
When he hits passes like that, it makes it real difficult. He's tough, because, I mean, it's no secret he moves well, and when he's kind of adding playing aggressively and clicking and hitting the ball confidently as well as his defense, it's -- you know it's why he's become the player that he's become.

Q. Is it surprising that he played so aggressively today, were you playing --
ANDY RODDICK: I didn't -- no. I mean, I've watched a couple matches throughout the week, and he's obviously gotten better as he's going along.
Over the last six months, I feel like guys have been getting hits in on him, kind of hit one, two balls maybe, get a short one. He's had trouble with a couple of big hitters, and today, he was -- you know he wasn't only hitting like his hook forehand to the backhand, but the shot that he was killing me with, he was just cracking it up the line, from his forehand, you know, kind of going this way and almost, you know, just hitting up the line. I haven't seen that one a lot from him lately. So it did surprise me a little bit, yeah.

Q. Playing like that, could he beat Federer?
ANDY RODDICK: This is a good surface for him to do it, you know. Obviously it's tough, you know. But I think if he plays like that, he definitely gives himself a shot. He must have played similar to that last year in Dubai if he beat him on hard. You know, but he's beaten him before, so I don't see why not.

Q. If you were to play him again, say, next week, would you imagine having to do something different or doing what you did today better?
ANDY RODDICK: I mean, we were talking about it, Jimmy and I just now, and we said, you know, we're going to have to go back and look at this match and really kind of think about what we would try to do a little bit differently. You know, you can say you want to go with this stuff, but with him playing the way he was, I got outplayed, start to finish, that's the bottom line.
He out played me today. His ball was jumping. It was tough for me to really get much on my ground strokes because of that. I definitely have to play better. The things that I did well this whole week was serve and that first forehand. I played two really bad games with those two shots. So I'd have to clean up those to give myself a better shot.

Q. A little bit more of a touch game in there. Did that mess up his rhythm at all or mess you up more than him?
ANDY RODDICK: I mean, I hit a couple slices deep and he kind of crushed them today. But I don't know if that my best play against him is dropshots and finesse. I mean, he seemed like he was coming out and swinging from the hips today. I don't know.
I personally don't feel like that would have been the play today, but what do I know, I got my butt kicked, so, you know, maybe you're onto something.

Q. Back to his serve, what you mentioned a little bit, is it spin and placement or is he hitting a little harder than you expected it his serve?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, I mean both. I thought he mixed it up well, but he was hitting flat up the T on the add side today, which you don't see a lot. You normally expect the can opener and then he's going to take the big one. He was doing that. He must have hit the line six or seven times where I didn't a play on it so, credit to him. He served well today.

Q. Your game seems to be changing right in front of our eyes, basically over the months as you're incorporating different things and trying new things. Is that -- I mean, so is that match like a barometer for how you're coming along? Does it make you wonder about what direction you need to take now?
ANDY RODDICK: No. I look at it as -- you know, I kind of try to look at it as a process. If you're telling me, you know, I was two points away from dropping out of the top 20 if I lose that first match in Cincinnati, and now I'm 3 in the world. I'm losing -- the guys I've lost to this year, Murray, Haas, Federer, Nadal - that's right, right - there's progress being made. It's a matter of stepping it up to that next level. I've gotten back to where I feel like I belong, you know, kind of in the spectrum of the game. And now it's just a matter of finding that next level and improving that much more.
And that's it's easier said than done. But I'm going the right way. I'm, you know, even the weeks where I don't feel like I'm hitting the ball great, I'm still getting deep in the tournament. I'm giving myself a shot. I just have to keep plugging away. It happened real fast at first. It's a matter of trying to maintain that and getting better. You know, I'm going to keep plugging.

Q. We don't know who's going to play in the final, but who would you give more chance, if he plays well like this, maybe Djokovic or Murray in the final?
ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. If he plays like that, I think it's tough for either one, to be honest. You know, I know him and Murray had a tough one in Australia, but I think a lot of it depends on how Rafa plays.

Q. Did you watch Murray last night?
ANDY RODDICK: I did.

Q. What did you think?
ANDY RODDICK: I mean, I don't know. It was good TV. You know, I had a Holyfield fight on ESPN Classic that I had to turn off to watch Murray and Haas. So it was -- I didn't know what the hell was going on at any time during that whole match. I was thoroughly confused.

Q. Is that part of his secret, to thoroughly confuse people?
ANDY RODDICK: Confuse and conquer?

Q. Is that an element to his game? Is it part of his game to confuse your position and then to beat you?
ANDY RODDICK: I guess. I don't know if you -- I mean, I don't know, Neal, you think he goes into -- in the matches saying, "I'm really gonna confuse this guy, and then once I'm down a set and roll around for a while, I'm gonna come out and kick his ass"? You think that's a planned attack (laughter)?

Q. That aside, part of his strategy is to bamboozle the opposition, something that he does?
ANDY RODDICK: I love your words.

Q. He does it better than anybody else?
ANDY RODDICK: Let's not get carried away with "better than anybody else." I mean that's --

Q. Better than 75 percent of the players?
ANDY RODDICK: At least 75 percent, for sure. I'll give you that. But, no, he does -- the way he's able to kind of mix it up and, you know, you kind of have trouble getting a read on how he -- he is able to play different ways. You feel like he's about to die, then he's running like crazy, and then it's, you know -- and so he's tough.
I mean, he's tough. He doesn't go away and he has a lot of shots to -- he definitely makes you think out there. It's a chess match with him.

Q. So what were you thinking when he was sitting there having his ankle worked on for seven, eight, nine minutes?
ANDY RODDICK: I was actually at dinner thinking, "I hope my steak gets here soon. I'm hungry." And then I said -- I remember I was waiting for my food and I was over at the bar watching the TV, while we were waiting for our food, these guys were sitting behind, they were saying, "Oh, he's out for four months."
I said, "I think he'll be running around in about 15 or 20 here." And I won, yeah (smiling).

Q. Is that annoying?
ANDY RODDICK: Sorry?

Q. As an opponent, is that annoying?
ANDY RODDICK: No. I mean, you look at the replay, he definitely tweaked his ankle a little bit. A lot of times you don't know how bad it is at first. There's that shooting pain. There's a matter of if you can walk it off or not. Sometimes you can five minutes later and sometimes you can't. I mean, I'm sure it didn't feel good today, but, you know, you like to give the guy the benefit of the doubt there.

Q. Can you give me an update on your charitable foundation? Is there anything happening this year? What's the final total, because the book, you know, is up to your mom, I assume?
ANDY RODDICK: Yep. No, we've got a couple events later in the year already. We actually have some exciting people come. I'm not able to say yet, but very soon we'll have -- we have a good lineup this year at a couple of events, so I'm excited about that.

Q. Andy, in terms of Davis Cup, it will be a fresh new day there, 14, 15,000 screaming Americans. You'll be wearing the red, white, and blue, so to speak. Is that a fresh start and can you comment on that?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, it's a fresh start. I'm not going to carry this over, whatever, a month, three weeks from now or whatever it is. And hopefully, the court will be a little bit different. Hopefully the ball will stay a little bit down. If I drive through the ball, it will go through the court a little bit more. It's a different time, you know. It's why you play tennis. You come to prove yourself on a weekly basis. I'm going to have to do it there a little bit better than I did this week. It's as simple as that.

Q. Back to today's match.
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah.

Q. Was there any point you thought --
ANDY RODDICK: That's no fun.

Q. Party pooper. I'm sorry.
ANDY RODDICK: I was having fun for the first time.

Q. Was there any point where you thought you could turn it around or did it go by so fast you really felt like you couldn't get it if you wanted?
ANDY RODDICK: I really screwed it up in the first game, second set, because I was starting to play -- I played a bad game in the first set. I played a really bad game at the start of the second set. He kind of -- when someone's confident, you kind of give him charity on top of it, it really doesn't help the situation. And, you know, from there, I felt like I was really playing catch-up. Because in the first set, besides that, I probably hit double, and I missed a forehand.
But besides that, I actually didn't hit the ball that badly, and I played just a horrible game the first game of the second set. You know, it was -- I made it real tough on myself there after that. You know, I felt like he did a good job of putting the clamps down after that.

Q. Do you feel like you're able to shake it off, though? I mean, sometimes it looks like you get yourself going just a little bit and can you pull back any time before it disintegrates totally?
ANDY RODDICK: What was that question? Sorry, I didn't --

Q. It looks sometimes like you get a little excited about the couple mistakes you make. I wonder if that takes you over the edge and that game is gone?
ANDY RODDICK: I love these questions 'cause if I use it like the other night and I'm excited and go, it's like, oh, you've got this good positive energy going the last couple of months, if I -- I'm expressive on court. I always have been. It's the way I play. It works for me. I actually didn't -- I yelled late in the second set, but besides that, nothing was broken today. I didn't drop my racket at all. You know, I don't know if that was the case today.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much.

Q. Which Holyfield fight was it?
ANDY RODDICK: Who was it? It was against Mercer. It was the first, the come-back fight. I didn't see it, though, because I had Days of Our Lives going on the other channel.
Thanks.