US OPEN

September 3, 2002

Andy Roddick

MODERATOR: Questions, please.

ANDY RODDICK: I don't really remember it too well because it was all reaction. It wasn't like I was in control of anything out there. I was just really reacting to what he was doing. I think it helped turn things around. Definitely, I think that was one of the turning points out there tonight.

ANDY RODDICK: No, I planned to hit a between-the-leg shot, run down a ball, run into the crowd. That was all in the works from the beginning (smiling).

ANDY RODDICK: It did. It did. You know, I was feeling the crowd tonight. They pumped me up so much. I don't know. It was just totally spontaneous. There's not really an explanation for it.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, my foot was hurting. But adrenaline's an amazing thing. You know, I was definitely feeding off of it tonight.

ANDY RODDICK: At first it was tough. I kind of hobbled towards the first ball a little bit. You know, the crowd grew more and more. They were giving me everything, so I have to give my all.

ANDY RODDICK: It's okay. It's inflamed. There's a certain area that's pretty sensitive. But, you know, luckily they have a great staff here. Tomorrow I'll be able to hang out all day and get treatment on it all day. Hopefully it will be good by Thursday.

ANDY RODDICK: I had a similar thing in Hong Kong last year with this foot. I got up from a switch-over with Alex yesterday in the third set, it kind of bit at me a little bit. That's when I first noticed it. Treated it last night, today. Fortunately, I was able to get through.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, you know, it's fun when parts of the crowd are going at each other. That's what tennis is about. That's what sports is about. You know, you cheer for your guy or your team, whatever. You know, I can appreciate both sides of it, definitely.

ANDY RODDICK: I saw it from a weird angle in the USA studio. I didn't get too good of a look at it. Maybe I will later.

ANDY RODDICK: That was fine with me. If he's not putting balls away to taunt me, then that's his deal. I highly doubt he was thinking that.

ANDY RODDICK: I'm excited about the prospect of playing Pete in the quarterfinals. I mean, it would be a dream come true for me. Quarterfinal, US Open. I'm assuming it will be a nighttime match. That's what you play for. That's what you put in the work for, is matches like that.

ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. I've served well when I've played him. You know, I've been lucky enough to get a break or two here and there.

ANDY RODDICK: Between me and him?

ANDY RODDICK: Obviously, he comes to the net more. I'll bang from the baseline a little bit more. We both serve well. You know, that's pretty much it. He comes forward a lot more. I'm feeling good from the baseline at the moment.

ANDY RODDICK: It's whoever takes their chances returning. There's not going to be a lot of breaks if we play each other, whoever takes those chances.

ANDY RODDICK: Yes. You know, down a set and a break, he was definitely getting the better of me at that time. There wasn't a lot of flow to the match from my end. Fortunately, I was able to turn that around a little bit.

ANDY RODDICK: You know, I'm not really scared of it right now. You know, if I had to play tomorrow afternoon, then it might be a little more concerning. You know, I should have all day tomorrow, all night tomorrow, then the day on Thursday also. I'm confident that I'll be ready to go.

ANDY RODDICK: No. It's a match between two players. It's a quarterfinal match. We're from the same country, from kind of generations that are overlapping. Obviously, it's going to make for a nice story.

ANDY RODDICK: I'm excited. I grew up idolizing him. I have a great deal of respect for Pete and what he's done. I don't think anybody here doesn't respect what he's done. It will be a very, very special moment for me out there. But, you know, having said that, I want to go out there and I want to play some ball.

ANDY RODDICK: Andre, Lleyton are probably looking the best right now. I think they're pretty on schedule for their showdown.

ANDY RODDICK: It's totally in the moment. It's tough to explain sometimes just the feeling that the crowd gives you sometimes, just the intensity in the air of the moment. I feed off that. I enjoy it when the crowd's into it and they're enjoying the tennis. It just lifts me up.

ANDY RODDICK: It crossed my mind, more out of fear about the injury. But when Doug Spreen came on the court and I asked him what the deal was, he said, "You're not risking anything serious here, it's just going to be painful." At that point I knew I wouldn't stop.

ANDY RODDICK: Yes, totally different feel. Last year, you know, it's like, "Oh, wow, Andy made the quarterfinals." This year, "Here are the reasons why he didn't make the quarterfinal," yada yada yada. Two different scenarios.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, me. It's definitely two different years. I'm used to it more. It's not the wild ride that it was last year. I'm coming in here. I know there's a job to do. I'm not just kind of free-wheeling. Last year it was just a zone. I came out and banged balls all around. Luckily for me they went in that week. This year, I'm still not a polished player, but I'm better in that aspect.

ANDY RODDICK: I'd say that's true for both of us. I can definitely relate to what he's saying.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah. You know, it was tough. But it's forgotten. There's nothing I can do about it now. I've answered millions of questions about it. If that same situation were to happen again, I wouldn't react the same way. That's the bottom line. I regret it, wish it would have been different. But it happened, it was the way it was. I'm not going to worry about it. It's over. It's done.

ANDY RODDICK: We trained -- not trained, but we were at the same academy for a couple years growing up.

ANDY RODDICK: We would hit together. Honestly, I'm not going to come up with set scores. I honestly don't remember. She probably would have beaten me back then, I'm sure.