US OPEN

September 7, 2003

Andy Roddick

THE MODERATOR: First question for Andy, please.

ANDY RODDICK: No more, "What's it feel like to be the future of American tennis" crap! No more.

ANDY RODDICK: It feels good. That feels very good.

ANDY RODDICK: I don't think you could have written a script any better, you know. Starting it off with Pete's retirement, Chang is gone. All that. It's just -- it was just too good.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I... I came here so much when I was younger. I still don't believe that I've won the US Open. It's so farfetched for me. I just -- I mean, I've watched so many, like, Grand Slam finals when people win and their reaction. I mean, there was just a million thoughts going through my head.

ANDY RODDICK: No, but it gave me the opportunity to come out and play today's match. I was one point away from, you know, from being at home right now. So, you know, it just gave me another chance.

ANDY RODDICK: That was huge. I mean, I wasn't happy when I saw the draw, you know. I'd had a great summer, but he was the only person I'd lost to, you know. So I knew that was huge. I knew I was playing good enough tennis to make a run here, but I also knew that there was a chance that I could go home after the first round. So that was big for me.

ANDY RODDICK: I don't know if one win can carry you through a tournament.

ANDY RODDICK: Not focused, just really calm. You know, if anything, it's kind of -- I've kind of like stepped back. Once I'm on the court, I'm calm, focused. Away from the court, I just try to treat it like a normal day. I didn't really lock myself in my room or anything out of the ordinary like that. I just kind of lived my life.

ANDY RODDICK: Where are you?

ANDY RODDICK: Sorry.

ANDY RODDICK: I didn't watch it. The volume was up, so I could hear some of it. I didn't really want to be thinking about anything else besides what was at hand.

ANDY RODDICK: Thankfully. It didn't give me a chance to get tight. I don't know. I mean, I decided to go with my best serves. You know, I hadn't really been doing that the whole day. I kind of tried to mix it up a little bit. I just decided,"You know what, I got to make first serves and try to do it." Before I knew it, it was over. I just wanted to go as fast as possible so I didn't have to think about it.

ANDY RODDICK: No, I still don't. I can't believe I'm sitting here doing a press conference as the US Open champion. I mean, it's just -- I can't imagine my name and US Open champion together. It's more than I could ever dream of.

ANDY RODDICK: I wanted to get to the people that I loved and share what I was feeling at that time with them. You know, I had brothers fly in this weekend from all over the place, and, you know, all types of friends come, drive 10 hours to see me play. I definitely wanted to share it with them.

ANDY RODDICK: Probably when I had breakpoints in the third set 'cause I knew there was a good chance that if I got the break that I was gonna win. So especially the one game where I had it earlier in the set, I didn't hit the ball very, very well. I was just kind of hoping he would miss. Then the next game, I kind of calmed down and decided to hit through the ball a little bit more.

ANDY RODDICK: I mean "amazing." I really don't... Like I said, I'll probably have a better explanation for what just took place in a couple of days. But I'm in absolute disbelief right now, you know. I'm kind of shocked.

ANDY RODDICK: It's come a long way. I think I've improved in pretty much every aspect, every aspect of the game. You know, like I said, I don't remember too much from that match last year 'cause it was over before it started (smiling). You know, he definitely took it to me, you know, schooled me.

ANDY RODDICK: I said, "I just won the US Open. I just won the US Open." (Laughter).

ANDY RODDICK: My mom said, "You just won the US Open. You just won the US Open."

ANDY RODDICK: It was great. You know, she called me a couple days ago and said, "I have a flight booked for the red eye on Saturday night. Is that okay or am I gonna jinx something?" I'm kind of like that. I was like, "Oh, you can come. You just can't sit in the box." (Laughter.)

ANDY RODDICK: Yes. Obviously, like I said, the hardest thing is the fear of the unknown. You know, I didn't know how I was gonna feel going in. I didn't know what was gonna happen. You know, I... But I'm baffled by how calm I felt out there, how easy. I almost didn't feel anything. I was just kind of going through the motions. I didn't really -- I don't know. I didn't feel anything out there.

ANDY RODDICK: No, you know. I don't play for others. I don't play for what people might say or what people will say. I play for myself. I play for the people that I love and that share in the joy that I get out of it. But, you know, you can't be scared of what's gonna be written about you or what's gonna be said. I could come here, lose first round next year, and people would say, "I was lucky, I was that." Bottom line is I'm a pretty good player and I just won a Grand Slam.

ANDY RODDICK: Definitely. You know, I think especially here, with the crowd support that I got, I'm playing for everybody there, you know. They're living and dying each point with me. So I definitely felt that a little bit.

ANDY RODDICK: Nope. (Laughter.) If I had to do it again, I hope it would go the same way.

ANDY RODDICK: I think you never want -- as an athlete, I don't know if you'll ever hear an athlete say, "I can never do better than that." I played a hell of a match today. But I'll never say I can't do it again.

ANDY RODDICK: Well, obviously. He's No. 1 in the world. But I think in the first set I played really well. I took it to him. I was very aggressive. The part that surprised me was the second-set tiebreaker. He made a couple errors that maybe he wouldn't normally make. That was the part that surprised me a little bit. I don't think he played so well in the first set but I think a lot of it had to do with I was pretty aggressive today. I thought a lead was big today considering we both have played a lot.

ANDY RODDICK: Did it occur to me? What happened on matchpoint?

ANDY RODDICK: I did?

ANDY RODDICK: Okay, not really. I was getting goose bumps, but, you know, I wasn't -- I would have taken a let cord winner for sure there.

ANDY RODDICK: I don't think so. I just think I take the ultimate satisfaction in it. When it started raining and people said, "It's the survival of the fittest," I said, "oh, God. That's not good, is it?"

ANDY RODDICK: I guess. I don't know if I'm the fittest, but, yeah, sure.

ANDY RODDICK: Not that I can remember. I know I used to have a rebound net, which is this net. It has springs. If you hit it, it comes back to you. I used to have that in my garage in Texas when I lived there. I would spend ours out there. My mom would ask, "What did you do today?" I'd say, "I beat Lendl, Becker, Edberg. They didn't put up much of a fight. But Pete and Andre were a little tough, but I took them out, no problem."

ANDY RODDICK: It was huge. I think we have a great camaraderie. We have -- you know, we just click. You know, he knows what to say to me, when to say it. He makes things simple for me, which helps a lot.

ANDY RODDICK: Obviously, I can say maybe. But I think it takes -- it definitely takes more than once, one time doing that to start thinking that way. There have been lots of players that are a lot better than me. I'm just happy to get one, then I'll think about the future when it comes up.

ANDY RODDICK: I was -- moved there when I was 3. So probably 7, 8, 9.

ANDY RODDICK: Attitude? Attitude? I don't have an attitude (laughter).

ANDY RODDICK: Demeanor, I didn't say anything.

ANDY RODDICK: Sorry. I don't even know what the question was (laughter).

ANDY RODDICK: I hope so. I'm always up for good things in tennis. If my winning promotes the sport and makes it bigger and better, then awesome. I'm all for it.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, for sure. You know, you can definitely give a New York crowd a little bit and they're gonna give you a lot in return. So I definitely agree with that.

ANDY RODDICK: Oh, I'm already ahead of you (laughter). That's so old news.

ANDY RODDICK: Tarik, yes, I definitely thought about him. I guess they did an interview instead of a speech. I was definitely gonna thank Tarik if I did have a speech. Brad's getting a lot of credit right now, as he should. But Tarik was with me for four years. He knows, you know, he knows me about as well as anybody. He took me from, you know, a kid who was just content to maybe get a college scholarship somewhere, just go, he taught me -- maybe the first one with a serious face to say, "You can be a professional tennis player. You can be really good at this game." You know, so it kind of feels empty not having him here. Hopefully, I'll see him soon enough.

ANDY RODDICK: Schedule for the rest of the year? I don't know. I'm not gonna think about it. I know we got Davis Cup coming up soon, so I'm gonna try and run and get some focus going there in the next week or so.

ANDY RODDICK: I think so. You know, like I said, I'm focused on what I have to do to win on the day. Obviously, against Juan Carlos, if he's back and putting the ball in play, then it's an even game. But if I'm forcing him to maybe, you know, hit a passing shot from up here, 10 feet behind the baseline, I have a little bit of a better chance. So, you know, I think -- I'm not gonna become a serve and volleyer, but if it's something that I have to do that will help me win on the day, then I'll do it.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, but he's Tiger Woods.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, well, I'll live in the moment. It's about a half hour afterwards.

ANDY RODDICK: I'm not gonna come say I'm gonna be the best thing since sliced bread. I just want to keep playing, working hard, and try to improve. Who knows what the future will hold? I'm just gonna try my best and we'll see what happens.

ANDY RODDICK: Yes, I was doing it a lot in the Masters Series events earlier this summer. A lot of guys choose to stand back on my serve. I think that's a good play. When they're standing back.

ANDY RODDICK: I don't know, but it's certainly shaping up to be a really good group, huh, with Roger winning and Juan Carlos winning, now him becoming 1. We're all kind of close. I think it's gonna make for a real exciting group. I'm just kind of pumped to be part of it.

ANDY RODDICK: I definitely think so. You know, when you see your friends doing something really well, you're extremely happy for them. But at the same time, you want to go do it yourself. You know, I think we've already seen that with the guys pushing each other up the rankings last year and this year. You know, if James wouldn't have made his move last year, who knows if Mardy and Taylor -- who knows. I think if we're constantly pushing each other, it's only good.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I don't see eight different winners winning the next eight Slams, for sure. I don't think so.

ANDY RODDICK: Yep (smiling). I'm not gonna do anything for the next couple days.

ANDY RODDICK: No, I knew I was going to. You know, I don't know what kind of person it takes, to see someone achieve their ultimate dream or their ultimate goal and to have them show some emotion and be like, "What's that all about?" I don't think I ever sat there -- I thought I just really appreciated it and was happy for the people.