US OPEN

August 21, 2003

Andy Roddick

GREG SHARKO: On behalf of the ATP and the USTA, thank for joining in today's conference call with Andy Roddick, who will be making his fourth appearance at the US Open this week. He took over the No. 1 after winning the Tennis Master's Series title in Cincinnati on Sunday. Prior to that, Andy won the Tennis Masters in Montreal and the RCA Championship in Indianapolis in the last month. Roddick comes into the US Open as the hottest player in the summer hardcourt swing, and has compiled record of 30-2 since playing under coach Brad Gilbert.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, for sure, obviously I don't think it's a great draw for either one of us. I imagine he wasn't too happy about it, either, but that's just the way it goes. First round, third round, whatever, you've still got to beat seven guys if you want to win the tournament, and I'm sure he's looking at it the same way.

ANDY RODDICK: Well, I think it's very important for me. Obviously, when your confidence is high, you feel like you can win, even if you don't play your best on that day. I couldn't have asked for a better summer so far. I just hope to continue it. This is a brand new tournament, and what's already happened really doesn't matter too much anymore. I just want to go in and try to keep my level of play up.

ANDY RODDICK: Obviously, my game centers around my serve, and I feel like if I serve really well, that's obviously the key to it. Hopefully I can return well and move well, also.

ANDY RODDICK: I think so. You know, I probably didn't go into the last two Opens to win the tournament. I probably went in to make a good run. I definitely want to try to take this title. I know that's big talk, but I feel like I've played pretty well this summer. But first and foremost, I have to deal with Henman first round. He's a very good player, and I did lose to him in Washington, so that's where my focus is right now.

ANDY RODDICK: I don't know about unsatisfactory. If I play great tennis and beat really good players, obviously, you never know, but I'd definitely be disappointed. I definitely want to try to step up to the occasion and play well.

ANDY RODDICK: Brad has been great. Obviously you never know what would have happened if he would not have come on board. I'm not big on "what if" questions. As far as something that impressed me, the first time I ever called Brad, he said, "I'd be interested in talking to you about possibly coaching me." And he said -- he was in California and I was in England at the time, and he said, "Okay. I'll be there tomorrow." For someone to just drop everything and really sound so excited on a moment's notice, that was pretty impressive to me.

ANDY RODDICK: No, not really. Obviously, if you play a lot and a lot of matches, obviously things get tired from overuse and stuff, but never really sharp pains. I always feel like I could hit a serve just as big at the end of the third set as the beginning of the first set. I take care of everything that I do, and I do the proper training, and I'm really flexible so that helps a lot, also.

ANDY RODDICK: No. It really doesn't matter to me, to be honest. That's more for people writing about it. The one time I did hit it, it came back. I'm really not interested in that, to be honest.

ANDY RODDICK: I've had really good matches, but I'd like to think it's gradual improvement. You know, the match I played against Lanford (ph) where I had 39 winners was pretty cool. I was two away from not making an error the entire match, which was pretty surprising. I think it's a mix of playing well and when I'm not feeling the greatest on the day, just winning the big points. I don't know if I've just been playing lights out and killing everybody. I think it's been more along the lines of just winning the big points and playing confidently.

ANDY RODDICK: No. We never sat down and had the big pow-wow afterwards or anything. It was more along the lines of me saying: "Thanks for coming and helping me out, I really needed you and you came for me"; and him saying: "I'm excited for the opportunity." We kind of split up for two weeks and got back together the week before Indianapolis and just started training. It's been a pretty simple relationship so far. Maybe we talked before I played Federer again, we sat down and talked a little bit, but it wasn't some big thing.

ANDY RODDICK: You know, it's been a whirlwind, kind of like last year was to the year before and so on and so forth. I think it would be easier to talk about for like the last three years. It's just been a complete whirlwind from being able to go out and grab a hot dog on the grounds of the US Open to the kind of madness that's kind of been created so far. You know, I feel like I've deserved the hype this year a little bit more so than the other years. The other years maybe people, especially in America, were kind of hoping that I would come through and do well and maybe hoping a little bit too much. But this year, I feel like I kind of deserve my place as one of the top players, and hopefully it will translate into this some good tennis.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I was pretty lucky, Pete and Andre were both playing when I kind of started to make my move, and Andre is still playing great tennis. So, it's been kind of easier for me. Now I'm at the point where I feel like I am ready.

ANDY RODDICK: I think it will be pretty much what everybody thinks. He was just one of the most graceful players of all time, one of most quietly competitive people of all time. And he's got to be one -- when I think of him, I think of him as one best pressure players of all time. It seemed like the bigger the match was, the better that he played. You know, he just did it all in his own time. He didn't really make a big fuss about things. He just made his name by winning.

ANDY RODDICK: Actually, luckily enough, we are both pretty outgoing off the court. We don't really beat around the bush too much. There really was not a lot of weirdness, even when we first got together. I kind of took his word for what it was worth and he takes mine for what it's worth, and I think that's why it's worked so well.

ANDY RODDICK: I'm not sure. You know, I'm playing just with a lot of confidence. I think I'm staying a lot calmer on the court. I think I'm better between the ears and I think my movement has been a lot better, moving really well around the court and seeing the game pretty well.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I definitely think there's some adjustments to be made, but I'm not going to go and kind of spell out for him what my strategy is going to be by telling everybody in that room. But I definitely think there are some adjustments to be made and he'll adjust, too. Maybe he's learned some things even though he won. So, it will be a good match up.

ANDY RODDICK: I enjoy it for the simple fact that it means I'm doing something right. You know, it's not really my cup of tea. It's not the most important thing to me. I'd rather win matches than anything else and that's my priority.

ANDY RODDICK: We have a very relaxed relationship. It's very simple. It's not complicated at all. He's come in and really simplified things and made things pretty clear to think about, so, that's probably it. We are just really relaxed with each other and we have a lot of fun.

ANDY RODDICK: No, I don't need to read the book. I hired the real deal.

ANDY RODDICK: I'm not sure. I think it was me and my buddy sitting around one day. We were kind of bored. I don't know what to do with myself when I'm not training and stuff, and we were just sitting around; let's do something funky, kind of crazy and we went. I enjoyed it. It's a pretty good rush. It's just a good time. I enjoy it.

ANDY RODDICK: I don't know, that's not my deal, man. I'm just trying to win matches. I'm not here for the big debate. Obviously, I think it would be a lot nicer if someone made an entry system ranking of No. 1 by winning a Grand Slam, but if they had not won a Grand Slam, that means they played a lot of good tennis elsewhere.

ANDY RODDICK: No, we haven't talked about it. It's kind of come up in passing, but he hasn't really gotten into it or told stories or anything like that.

ANDY RODDICK: I think they are individualized. While there are certain similarities, I think me at this point, and Andre at the point where Brad picked him up, are two totally different players. He was almost return dominant and I'm kind of the opposite, being serve dominant. There might be bits and pieces, but I don't think they are super comparable.

ANDY RODDICK: Oh, yeah, he's been. He went.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah. I don't think he liked it too much, judging by him keeled over on the side of the road afterwards. But he definitely did it.

ANDY RODDICK: No, I don't know if I can top that one, but maybe I'll think about it.

ANDY RODDICK: Well, I think obviously he's a huge factor. He's still No. 5 in the world and he's won Grand Slams in the world and finished in the last two years. As far as his recent form, I don't know if I would be the best person to ask. I don't know what's going on. I don't know a whole bunch of the details. I don't know Lleyton that well on a personal level, so it's not like I have a real good feel for what's going on.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, but everybody goes through peaks and valleys. I think people are hyping it up a bunch. You know, it's tough to -- Pete is the only guy I've ever seen just win everything for six years. So, who knows.

ANDY RODDICK: I won't. You know, I'm just going to -- everything is going to get put on hold until after New York, and then afterwards, hopefully I'll have a couple of things to celebrate.

ANDY RODDICK: It was a pretty cool experience, to think that just by me pressing this little button is going to send people into a frenzy all over the world. It was cool. It as a new experience and I'm always kind of up for doing different things like that.

ANDY RODDICK: No, it wasn't really nerve-wracking. They had all this intense music going on and they tried to play it up a lot, but basically it was just me pressing the little touch screen.

ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. I guess I'm still trying to figure it out. You know, I'm going to say whatever surface this US Open is played on right, now because that's the way I've got to be thinking for the next couple of weeks.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, World Team Tennis is great. It's kind of a relaxed way to get back into competitiveness after Wimbledon and the whole European circuit. I always have a blast playing down in St. Louis and they incorporate music and interaction with the crowd, so that's right up my alley.

ANDY RODDICK: I don't know if it's that easy for anybody in the world, except Serena. I don't know if you can go in saying it's yours to win or lose. It's always possible one of these guys can come in and just play a lot better than you. It's always possible. With that being said, I feel like I had the best summer out there and I'm definitely looking forward to this tournament.

ANDY RODDICK: To who?

ANDY RODDICK: For sure. I don't think it's any secret that they have been coming strong. I like the way the Americans look right now, though. With James has been picking up his game, Andre is always a favorite in any Grand Slam he enters, and Mardy coming up last week, as well, it's an exciting time.

ANDY RODDICK: What comparisons?

ANDY RODDICK: I think we both like to hit the ball hard. (Laughing). Besides that, I just think Paradorn is a great player. He shows a lot of flare on the court. He's very kind off of it. He's just doing great things for tennis.

ANDY RODDICK: I don't really know the outside perception of myself, but I can tell you that Paradorn has a lot of friends on Tour and he is very well liked.

ANDY RODDICK: I don't remember much from it. It was over too quickly. But I think a year has made a big difference. I don't know if I'd be scared if I was in that same situation. He just hit me I can like a ton of bricks and I didn't really know how to respond. I kind of panicked a little bit, and I don't know if I would panic if I was in the same situation this year.

ANDY RODDICK: Obviously, the same players are involved in Masters events and Grand Slams, but it's just on a bigger stage. It's three out of five sets.

ANDY RODDICK: Well, I thought he did a great job. He just played a solid match throughout. He hit his forehand very well. That was one thing that really surprised me was he was dominating play with his forehand. He just played a very high-level match. He deserved to win that day.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I do. He's a super nice guy. We kind of laughed when we saw each other today. I like Tim a lot.

ANDY RODDICK: He just excited me. Anything that I'm going to go through, he's already been through before, either playing and coaching. His excitement and his passion was really up there, too.

ANDY RODDICK: It's amazing. It's definitely the rowdiest tournament in the world. You get people out here that are ready to seriously cheer. You've got the New York kind of people. So it's very exciting.

ANDY RODDICK: I came to the U.S. when I was nine years old for any ninth birthday. My parents give me that treat; that was pretty cool. It was my first chance of seeing live tennis and I'll always remember that. As far as matches, I remember that I was there the year that Connors went nuts and got to the semis when he was like 67 years old -- no, I'm just playing. That was one of best times. I had so much fun watching him that year, and it was amazing.

ANDY RODDICK: It's amazing. That's prime-time. There's not much else going on around the grounds. Everybody's focus is on that much, that match, so it's awesome.

ANDY RODDICK: Well, I'll never lose my roots. I think I'm too close to my family for that. I still make my trip back to Nebraska every year, and I still love going back to Texas where I grew up, as well. I've just kind of had to mature a little bit more and get used to a little bit different style of life.

ANDY RODDICK: I feel fine. I've just been hanging out sleeping in New York last couple of days. I'm ready to go. I'm still 20 years old and I have a lot of legs left in me. I'm not worried about it. I'll take my chances.

ANDY RODDICK: That's okay. That's just one less player that's a threat, you know.

ANDY RODDICK: I'd like to see myself in the final.

ANDY RODDICK: Anybody at that point. I'll be ready to go. (Laughing).

ANDY RODDICK: I think it's a hybrid of both. I don't know if it's one or the other. I think it's just kind of both of them coming together a little bit.