PACIFIC LIFE OPEN

March 13, 2003

Andy Roddick

MODERATOR: Questions.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, it's great. Five out of eight in the quarterfinals, not too bad. I don't know when the last time that happened was, especially without Pete or Andre.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I thought I played great return games in the first set. I had lots of chances. He just came up with the goods. Second and third set, I really wasn't in my groove. I got a pretty decent look on match point in the third. He played well. He served pretty well, high percentage.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, a lot of things went my way in the tiebreaker. The shots I was trying to hit just fell in. I was able to serve pretty big. I just got through it.

ANDY RODDICK: Yes.

ANDY RODDICK: My coach and I discussed it. You know, we came to the conclusion that if I'm going to lose a match, let's lose it on my terms, because the guy is hitting winners, hitting passing shots, you're forcing him, he comes up with the goods. It's a lot easier for me to take tennis like that.

ANDY RODDICK: It's a lot of fun. It's definitely more fun when you're the aggressor and you're the one pressing the issue.

ANDY RODDICK: Well, Sebastien has great hands. You know, he's quick enough to kind of react. Those are two things. I thought he was doing a great job of putting them high and deep, giving himself a chance to get back in the court. No, I was definitely impressed.

ANDY RODDICK: I just played the tiebreakers better. I mean, that's what it comes down to. Every point's big in a tiebreaker. I think just because I got schooled in the second set, that kind of dipped the scales there.

ANDY RODDICK: I think so. I think every time you play someone, if you've played them before, you think back to the last time you played them. It just happened to be I played him at Davis Cup last time.

ANDY RODDICK: No. I mean, with the exception of having played someone before and learning a couple things, I really didn't dwell on that too much or think about it.

ANDY RODDICK: I'm very surprised. I mean, I didn't play much with the wrist, then I started up again, then I didn't play much coming into the tournament. I'm surprised, to be honest. I didn't know how far I was going to get. If you would have told me quarters before the week started, I would have been pretty happy with that.

ANDY RODDICK: The wrist is fine. Ankle is so-so. But we're taping it, putting a brace on it. It's just a matter of getting through it.

ANDY RODDICK: I hope so.

ANDY RODDICK: Very carefully (smiling). I don't know. I try to be aggressive more so. I think a guy by the name of Pete Sampras - you guys might have heard of him before - he always said, "I try to be the most aggressive person in a tiebreaker. If I lose it, that's fine, because I was the one trying to make things happen."

ANDY RODDICK: I did. That's all right. He'll win a couple more matches, then I'll hit him up.

ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. He's in debt. I'm going to hit him up all in one week. He's having a good week. He's making a couple bucks this weekend. Miami, he's mine (smiling). Be sure to remind him of that.