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WIMBLEDONJune 30, 2014Kevin AndersonLONDON, ENGLAND A. MURRAY/K. Anderson THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. You certainly did yourself justice in the second half of the match. Did that break help you gather your thoughts? KEVIN ANDERSON: Oh, the a break in the second? Q. When you went off for the weather interruption and closing of the roof. KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah, I mean, definitely felt I played better in the second half of the match after the rain delay. It was the first time I played Andy on grass, and I mean, it is definitely difficult playing him. I feel my biggest strengths he definitely neutralizes it a lot better than most people who I play. I feel even starting on the return of serve, I felt like he reads it really well. You know, off the next ball when I was trying to move it around, he moves very well, and I felt a lot of the times he was going to where I was hitting the ball, which make it tough. But after the break I definitely feel like I picked up my game a bit more. I think I was a bit more relaxed. I served better, and from that it was a much closer contest than before the rain break. Q. How do you see him progressing now? KEVIN ANDERSON: I mean, it's always tough to say. I feel like he's been playing some good tennis in the last while obviously coming back from the break he had at the end of last year. But the way he was moving out there‑‑ I think he was moving great. That's a big part of his game. I think especially on the grass I think that's a big contributor to why he's had so much success on this surface. So I mean, I'm not sure. Does he play Cilic? Q. Probably Dimitrov. KEVIN ANDERSON: Dimitrov. Yeah, it's going to be‑‑ Grigor, he's up, so if he gets through, that will be a very interesting match. Going to have to play very well if he wants to beat Andy. I felt he was hitting the ball really well out there today. Q. Capable of going all the way again, do you feel? KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah, it's really impossible to say. But, I mean, he's always going to have a good chance. More than that, I really can't say unfortunately. Q. Do you think you kind of started the game a bit late? What happened in the first set when we expected a little bit more resistance? KEVIN ANDERSON: Sometimes it takes a little bit of time to feel really comfortable and adjusted to the conditions. You know, in the beginning, you know, that service game when I got broken, just played a few points that were just a little bit loose and gave him, I think Love‑40. Got back to 30‑40 and gave him the break. I think I settled better in the first set, but it's tough. You can't really afford to give a player like Andy any sort of free games. It was a game I felt like I maybe gave it away a little bit. That's tough. But I think, yeah, I mean, for me to take away the second half of the match, I mean, there are some positives there. It's always tough. Don't want to be sitting here having lost a match, but I definitely feel I learned some valuable lessons out there. Q. How intimidating was the crowd? KEVIN ANDERSON: No, it was great. I didn't feel put off by the crowd at all. It was a fantastic atmosphere. There was no‑‑ didn't feel like any unnecessary cheering. I mean, I think way back from playing in college tennis, you know, that sort of really vocal environment is something I've really come to enjoy. It was really enjoyable playing out there. Didn't feel like it was a factor against me at all. Q. You cheered him on last year; you going to cheer him on him again? KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah. Just having played him and the amount of attention it brings, I mean, I probably don't appreciate it as much as if I was him himself, but there are a lot of expectations on him. Even wining it last year, I'm sure everybody is looking at him to win it again. If there is a tournament that would be great for him to win, this would be it. I will definitely be watching the rest of the tournament with interest. Q. How would describe your first Centre Court experience? KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah, going out there, it was really enjoyable. I've waited a long time to get out there. Didn't go exactly my way today, but as I said, I still feel there are quite a few positives I can take from that. Playing out there against Andy, you know, defending champion, I think it was a pretty special experience. Q. Will we see you coming back to South Africa for the Davis Cup any time soon? KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah, I'm not sure. I haven't really looked at that in my schedule yet. That's to be decided at this point in time. Q. And how would you track your progress from now and 2011? You reached the fourth round of every major this year. Would you say you have benefited from the schedule, sort of the freer schedule? KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah, I put a lot of emphasis on giving myself the best possible schedule. It's come at a cost, and that cost has been not being able to play Davis Cup over the last few years. Just where I'm at in my career, my age, my body, staying healthy is by far the number one priority. I've learned lessons along the way, and still learned lessons from even from this year moving into next year. But I think as the years have gone, I felt like I've improved on that part of‑‑ I don't want to call it my game ‑‑ but that whole part of the structure of what it takes to keep playing at this level. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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