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AEGON CHAMPIONSHIPSJune 21, 2015Kevin AndersonLONDON, ENGLAND A. MURRAY/K. Anderson THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. What was it like out there, Kevin? KEVIN ANDERSON: It was tough today. I didn't feel like I played my best tennis today, but I think that's a lot to do with, you know, the way Andy played. I felt he served really well. I tried to be aggressive. That was one of my sort of points of getting into the match. I just wasn't able to execute it. He covers the court so well, especially on the return of serve. There were two games where I needed to have done a bit better. It's tough grass court tennis like that. Just a couple of breaks, and then sort of match feels over. It was pretty tough out there today. Q. That was pretty high quality. Have many people played that well against you on a grass court? KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah, it was. Yeah, I kind of expected that going in. I have played him a few times now. He makes just so many balls from the back. Doesn't give you much rhythm. You know, I feel one thing that's worked really well for me this week is looking to be aggressive and coming forward. He's not giving you a whole lot of pace to deal with it, and that makes it a little bit tougher to do. I needed to have done that a little bit better today. I got called out a couple of times, and just playing that match over my head. I didn't feel like I played poorly. He just played pretty well. He was taking care of his serve games so easily and managed to create a couple of chances and took both of them. I mean, if you can do that, you're going to look pretty good in the match. Q. What do you take away from this? KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah, there is a lot. It's a little disappointing right now, but, you know, I have to take the positives. I mean, being in the finals here, it's definitely been a great week. I have played some great tennis, beaten some tough opponents along the way. Managed to get through that first match, and obviously no matter what's going on, you never know when something like that can happen. Yeah, I think there are a couple of things I needed to learn from today and improve upon. Obviously I want to put myself in this position again when I'm playing for a title and playing one of the best guys in the world. There are a couple of things I still need to do a little bit better. Q. If Andy can maintain that level of tennis, how do you see his Wimbledon chances? KEVIN ANDERSON: I mean, he always has a chance going in.  He's been there before, he's done it. I think that counts for a lot. You know, even looking at him sort of after the match, he feels like just quite at home, winning a title, and not too many guys that have been in that position before. You know, the way he was playing today, the way he was moving, serving, he's come off a terrific clay court season, which in the past has been his weaker surface and had great success there. So, you know, you have to look at him as one of the favorites this year. Q. His performance compared to when you played him at Wimbledon last year? KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah, it's tough. I didn't feel like I played great starting that match out last year. I think in the second half of that match I was sort of trying to take with me in today's match. It's maybe kind of similar in that he served well and took care of his serves and just made me play a lot of balls. I feel I played better, even though, you know, the result was same. I think there were some positives to take. At least I can see exactly what I need to ‑‑well, the areas I need to improve. Obviously it's just about trying to implement that. Q. Is his level higher than last year? KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah, I think so. I mean, I think he just feels a lot more confident. You know, it's always tough to compare. I mean, I'm playing different than I was a year ago. I can't remember exactly, but just based on today's performance, I definitely thought he played well. Q. How does his serve compare on grass compared to other surfaces? Is it more effective on grass? KEVIN ANDERSON: I think a little bit. He has a natural sort of curve on his serve, sort of that slice motion. Sort of takes on the grass a little bit more. He gets me reaching a bit more, I think. You know, if I think back to our match in Miami this year, I definitely feel like I had a bit more time. Today I was just watching the match, and I didn't really have too many looks on his serve today. Q. Looking at the stats, 73% first serves in, which I imagine you'd be pretty happy with, and yet you come out with a result like that. Is it just his ability to read serves? KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah, I mean, I think that's pretty common if you look at the stats in a lot of matches. It's pretty tough to ace him. A lot of guys come in ‑‑I think if you look at his previous matches, you know, guys who are serving well, he manages to cover well. There were times today that ‑‑ I remember that one point, especially in that second set at 15‑All, I thought I hit a great serve out wide, and he was right on it and hit a winner return up the line, which other guys just weren't doing throughout the week. You know, it's definitely one of the best parts of his game and it definitely showed today. Q. When you go into a match against Andy, do you feel unsettled kind of from the start that his weapon is sort of counteracting yours? KEVIN ANDERSON: Yeah, I mean, I guess a little bit. That's one thing going into today's match was one of my goals, just to try and expect that going in. You know, that second service game didn't help me. I played a couple loose points, and he was just making a few more balls I think. You know, I just needed to have done that better. A similar thing sort of happened in Miami. That's something I need to work on. You know, it's always tough when you're just playing somebody, especially if the other opponents, when I know I'm hitting my spots and getting much more rewarded than I was today, but as I was just saying, you kind of expect that going in that he does return so well, so it's definitely about the serve and the next ball as opposed to maybe just the serve itself. Q. You were just talking about taking positives away from here, and I appreciate it's two entirely different levels of event, but between now and Wimbledon starting, if you had to be working on aspects, what would they be? KEVIN ANDERSON: You know, I think the first thing is I'd love to say a whole bunch of stuff, but, you know, it's just trying to stay sharp. I mean, a lot of the things I feel like I'm doing well, so, you know, that's the positives to take from this week, that my level of performance, you know, was right up there. I was really happy with the way I played. It's not like I'm leaving this week feeling I'm really having to do a whole lot going into Wimbledon. You know, maybe a little bit on the return, I think, you know, always trying to be aggressive on the second‑serve return. I felt when I did that well this week, I had a lot of success. There were times when I wasn't implementing as well, so maybe that's something I will definitely look at this week. Outside of that ‑‑maybe a little bit of the movement, as well. I still think in some times, still trying to find my footing a bit. These are minor points. It's something that doesn't take a whole lot of work to get going. Actually now I'm really looking forward to the start of Wimby. Q. You mentioned today that your preparation coming into this tournament had been really good. You had been back to Florida and trained on the grass. I'm interested to know from the point of view of the surface of grass, how different is it to play on grass with temperatures like that and coming to Europe and it's been chilly? Does it make a difference? KEVIN ANDERSON: I mean, yeah, it was really hot and humid. It was really tough conditions. Coming here I definitely feel it's much easier just on your system. The grass itself, it didn't really seem to ‑‑it's tough to comment on that. The grass here is so amazing. It was much firmer here. The grass in Florida was a little bit softer. It's a little bit different. They use different grass, I'm sure, as well. I'm definitely not knowledgeable enough to sort of comment on that in too much detail. Q. I just wondered if you felt it. You talked yesterday about how you feel the serve and... KEVIN ANDERSON: No, it was different. I didn't even have grass court shoes and things. I wasn't doing too much movement. It's more just about getting your feet on the surface. There's definitely differences, but I think the biggest thing is it feels more comfortable playing in these conditions. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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