AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 18, 2005

Andy Roddick

THE MODERATOR: First question, please.

ANDY RODDICK: That took a while (smiling). Do you want to ask a more specific question maybe?

ANDY RODDICK: Well, I mean, what part do you want to know about, Bud?

ANDY RODDICK: I just felt like that the relationship had run its course. I had plateaued a little bit at the end of last year and definitely needed, you know, to try to get something -- to get a fresh start. You know, I think Brad and I did a great job, and we worked very well together for a year and a half. You know, just decided it was time to go in a new direction.

ANDY RODDICK: No, no. No, not at all. I feel like it was as good of a year as you could have without it being a great one. But, you know, at the same time I felt like, you know, towards the last six months or so, I had stopped kind of improving. And that's something I definitely wanted to work on.

ANDY RODDICK: I called him, and we spoke for a while. You know, obviously he was disappointed. I mean, I was disappointed, too. It's never fun when you have, you know, a good amount of success with someone, and you part ways. But, you know, he's been good about it.

ANDY RODDICK: They got lines, nets and everything. It's good (smiling).

ANDY RODDICK: I'm fine with it. I'm never one to really notice too much. I guess that requires feel, and I don't really have that in surplus (laughter). You know, I like it. You know, Rebound Ace, it's supposed to be a little bit slower and bounce a little bit higher. Those are kind of the characteristics that you come to expect from it.

ANDY RODDICK: I don't -- I don't really remember last year too much. Sorry.

ANDY RODDICK: Well, Greg's an uncomfortable match on any surface. He's going to hit big serves, he's going to be all over the net and he's going to be very intense. So, you know, regardless of the surface, he's able to kind of enforce his game on you a little bit.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah. Obviously, he took me apart pretty good in '02 at Wimbledon. But that was a long time ago, and I've gotten him three times since then. But he's tough. You know, like I said, it's a tricky match. And I'll definitely have to, you know, try to pick it up a little bit.

ANDY RODDICK: Oh, for sure. Absolutely. You know, I think it's very beneficial.

ANDY RODDICK: More than anything, I'm happy with his work ethic. I mean, I think we put in a lot of good time together in the off-season. You know, we're obviously working on getting in a little bit more, the transition game, just kind of becoming a better athlete out there.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah.

ANDY RODDICK: You know, you can go on personality, but I was just going on chemistry. I had spent a little time with Dean at the Olympics and during the Davis Cup year, and I really liked, you know, how he went about things. You know, I kind of liked our whole chemistry together. That's one of the main reasons.

ANDY RODDICK: It feels fine. You know, it's just a little uncomfortable. I just jammed it a little bit. But it's nothing that's going to stop me from playing.

ANDY RODDICK: Very little. I mean, like I said, it's just a little uncomfortable. But it's not something that's hindering me at all.

ANDY RODDICK: Oh, I don't know. You know, obviously being in Lleyton's home country, that's not surprising. With Roger playing the way he has, he definitely deserves all the spotlight. But that's not something I'm really too concerned with right now.

ANDY RODDICK: To be honest, you know, from the inside looking out, with the exception of something like the US Open, I don't really notice it that much. You know, I'm not, you know, searching through the papers every morning to see what's been written or anything like that. You know, I kind of just try to go business as usual. You know, I think people kind of around the game notice it a little bit more than I would.

ANDY RODDICK: I hope so. I feel that way. And obviously time will tell. I mean, let's be honest, it's been a month. So, you know, if you could completely overhaul a guy who is 2 in the world in a month and make him improve a lot, then, hell, I got a great deal, didn't I (smiling)? But, you know, that's the goal.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah. I'm in the next round, so that's what we were looking for. Obviously, you know, it wasn't great tennis in the first set. But the last couple sets, I felt like I started hitting the ball a little bit better. You'd rather have momentum going that way than backwards.

ANDY RODDICK: Well, they're different. But Jim was pretty relaxed out there. I think he made it fun for the crowd and asked some interesting questions. But it was all in good fun.