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AEGON CHAMPIONSHIPSJune 20, 2015Kevin AndersonLONDON, ENGLAND K. ANDERSON/G. Simon THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. You were saying courtside you haven't done anything different to your serve, but do you have levels where you're more intense on it than others? Does it vary during the course of a match or from one tournament to another? KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah. I mean, I definitely felt I have been serving great this week. I am working hard on my serve always. I generally am serving pretty well. I think I have definitely been able to feel like maybe at a higher level this week. I think at this point it's more just about the rhythm and the way it feels. I really feel it's been clicking the last few matches. You know, it's not something that a coach or somebody can maybe look at and see any difference from where I was serving two weeks ago. But just the way it feels, even though it feels the same, obviously the rhythm must be quite good right now. Q. I think after the last match Gilles was saying against Raonic he couldn't get a racquet on his serve. He had a bit of guesswork but eventually sort of managed to turn the tide. You didn't really give him a chance to do that today, did you? KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah, he was guessing right almost at the beginning of the match. For me, I was trying not to look at that too much, just really tried to keep hitting my spots which I was able to throughout. I feel especially on the deuce side he was moving a little bit more wide. Went up the T a bit more. He's a great returner. Sort of joking aside, he calls himself the return genius. He knows his way around the return courts. So I think I can take a little bit more extra confidence in the way I was able to take care of my serve games today. Q. If you've got someone who is so good at that element on the other side, then do you have to be careful not to try almost and become bluff/double bluff and almost try and move away from what you know will work for you? KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah, that's the sort of game that's going on out there. You know, if somebody is serving to me and serving really well, try and tempt, at least give the server something to think about. I think there were couple of times he was on it, and I came up with good shots afterwards. But, you know, it's tough. Just the way I think things ended up today was one of the things where I think a lot of times he was just guessing wrong. Q. What difference do the conditions make to your serve in particular on grass, more overcast today compared to when it's been warmer and sunnier other days? KEVIN ANDERSON: Generally speaking, on other surfaces, I much prefer playing in the warmer conditions. The ball bounces up a bit more. Grass seems to have a bit of a different effect. The ball stays a bit lower and shoots through the court more. I kind of felt that today. Especially if I was going after my serve, it really seemed to be going through a lot, and the same for Gilles' as well. When he was hitting, it was pretty tough to get back. You can't get the ball to bounce up as much, but I think it really helps especially the first serve. Q. It's 30 years since Kevin Curren got to the Wimbledon final. How much of an inspiration was he when you were growing up? How much did you know him? KEVIN ANDERSON: I was pretty young. I obviously know who he is. You know, I sort of grew up watching Wayne Ferreira a lot more. I remembered him winning the title here a few years back. But Kevin, I think I was a little young to remember him when he was playing. Q. In terms of his influence on South African tennis... KEVIN ANDERSON: I think it's still a little tough for me to comment on that. Definitely Wayne was the influence when I was growing up. I remember going and watching him play a few times. But, you know, it's kind of tough for me to just comment on Kevin's influence on tennis. I'm sure it must have been a lot, though. Q. How big of a match is tomorrow for you just in terms of your career, a 500 final? KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah, it's going to be a big match. I'm really looking forward to it. It's a tournament I remember watching at a very young age. I didn't really understand how the tour worked. Everybody knew Queen's, though, is the week before Wimbledon and you had the best players in the world playing it. To be in the finals myself feels great, and, you know, it's going to be a very big match for me tomorrow. Q. If it is Andy Murray, how difficult is it going to be to beat him? He's in pretty good form. KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah, he is. He's proved himself time and time again to be one of the best players in the last decade, really. The way he moves, the way he returns, especially on the grass, he's, you know, obviously put up some amazing results. I played him a few times, beat him the once, but he has gotten the better of me quite a few times. You know, it's tough, because I feel like he gives me the opportunity to play a little bit, but he just counter‑punches so well. He just gets so many balls back. If it is him, obviously not sure yet, but I definitely have my work cut out for me. Q. If it is Viktor, because it could very well be tomorrow, what are your thoughts on playing him? KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah, if it is, you don't necessarily think of grass being one of his better surfaces when you first look at his game, but if you look at his results, he's had some very good grass results. Obviously making the finals last week. Beating Isner yesterday. I thought that was a great match. He must have returned very well. He had a whole bunch of break points. So, you know, if it is him, I'm going to have to play well. I played him a littler early this year in Acapulco where the conditions were a little slower. I think the quicker surface helps some aspects of his game. He has a great serve, he returns well, he's quite crafty. All those bode well for good grass court tennis. Q. What do you remember about that match with Andy last year at Wimbledon? KEVIN ANDERSON: Well, the biggest thing was playing on Centre Court for the first time, obviously one of the biggest venues in tennis. I remember clearly coming off after a rain delay. I lost the first set, down a double break in the second. And even though I lost that set, lost the next one in a breaker, I definitely played much better in that second half of the match. If it is him, I will definitely take what I learned from the second half of the match if I play him tomorrow. Q. The skies out there don't look great at the moment. If the worse happens and it couldn't be completed today, would that have any bearing on the final? Give you any kind of edge? KEVIN ANDERSON: I mean, it's tough to say. I think a lot of us work incredibly hard all the time. I think the level of fitness is very high. I think Andy might have‑‑ it happened to him recently in Munich. I think we had to come back and play the semis and finals on the same day. He played a really ‑‑I can't remember the details. I remember him definitely coming out though. Yeah, just for me it's a little strange not knowing who you're playing still and waiting around, but, you know, I can't really let that affect my preparations. I will sort of treat it like a normal match. Q. With the weather forecast as it was today, did anyone mention to you the possibility that the two semis would be played on different courts? KEVIN ANDERSON: No, not at all. You know, the schedule came out quite late last night. I had heard that maybe Andy was playing first, but I think there might have been some ATP rules in terms of breaks. But when I was told I was playing first, that's all I sort of knew about it. Q. A few of the guys this week on grass have seemed to have been picking up some injuries. You mentioned fitness. How are you feeling at the moment? How are you bearing up? KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah, I'm feeling good. I have had some niggles in previous years. I think the balls are a little bit heavier on the grass. I have had my shoulder ‑‑ I had to pull out of Queen's a couple years ago because of that. This year has been great. I think having that extra week and spending home in Florida, was able to practice on grass for the week there, I think that made a bit of a difference. I think, you know, for me it's been fortunate. I have taken a couple of tumbles, but I have been able to ‑‑nothing has been, you know, nothing too bad. Q. Where did you train on grass in Florida? KEVIN ANDERSON: I was actually very lucky. I was able to get up to Jack Nicklaus' house. He's got three courts up in Jupiter. It's only 30 minutes away from me. That was pretty special, as well. He was out there watching the practices in the beginning, so, you know, I was pretty lucky with that. Q. How did that come about? KEVIN ANDERSON: Well, my coach back home, Jay Bosworth, he's been living there for ages, and he made some calls. And, you know, the tennis community is always so small. You know, when somebody has three grass courts, most people know about it (laughter). Fortunately Jack was kind enough to let us hit there. I think he's let other pros come out before. I know Ivan Lendl did it will way back with Jay, as well. I think it was a nice few days up there. Q. Jack didn't ask to have a hit with you or anything? KEVIN ANDERSON: No. I thought he was going to get out there. But each time ‑‑we chatted a little bit, but he didn't bring out the racquet. Q. Obviously he's someone who was pretty much a trailblazer in his sport. People who have that winning mentality, can that be something that can be transferable across sports? KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah. I mean, any time you speak to someone ‑‑obviously he's one of the greats of the game. I try to just listen to what he has to say. You know, I was able to chat with him a little bit. I mean, we were in the middle of the practice. I think he didn't want to interrupt too much. But, you know, any time ‑‑I think any sport, there are just so many similarities, especially from the mental side of things. Q. (Question about serving and having a hit with Jack.) KEVIN ANDERSON: I think I might have had to if I was going to be invited back. Q. What's your favorite Jack Nicholson film? KEVIN ANDERSON: Jack Nicholson? Q. Or Jack Nicklaus. KEVIN ANDERSON: I don't know. Is he in any films? FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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