WESTERN AND SOUTHERN FINANCIAL GROUP MASTERS

August 6, 2002

Andy Roddick

Q. Can you talk about the way you played today and how you felt out there?

ANDY RODDICK: Felt a little weird at first. Obviously I played six matches in Toronto. It is a tighter stadium, it's not as spread out and so I was trying to get used to that. The court is a little bit different, so I was trying to play a little conservative at first, You know, keep the ball in and make him play so I can kind of get in my rhythm and get used to the courts here.

ANDY RODDICK: No. I look at it as I am playing well right now so I have to get the wins and maybe two, three months down the road I won't be playing great. You have got to get your wins in when you feel good.

ANDY RODDICK: I was born there.

ANDY RODDICK: Not really. I don't see the comparison between football and tennis.

ANDY RODDICK: I didn't spend much time there honestly. I was four, five years old when I moved away. But I think more along the lines of mid-western values as opposed to, you know, being around, you know, more football mentality, you know, I think that helps out more in everyday life as opposed to on the court.

ANDY RODDICK: I think it's great. Obviously I feel like ATP is one of my biggest allies. They are only trying to make me better. I don't know Lleyton's point of view on things, so I don't know that side of the story, but as far as I am concerned, they are always there. If you ever need someone to talk to, you know, I am sure if I didn't feel like doing the ESPN interview one day, I could probably say, I will get you tomorrow, they will probably be totally understanding. But I am always interested in promoting the game and I am sure that's the ATP's -- it's one of their big goals also.

ANDY RODDICK: We have done a couple of things. I am really excited about it because it might offer more behind-the-scenes look at things, and off the court stuff that fans don't get to see everyday and I think that's very important to show peoples' personalities off the court. A lot of people, including myself, are lot different off the court that be they are on. Maybe open up that side of things a little bit.

ANDY RODDICK: I think tennis is one -- I mean, it's one of the greatest sports in the world, and it has a lot of room for growth. But I think, you know, the more the players give, the more they will get out of the game. That's pretty much my view on things.

ANDY RODDICK: I am just going to try to keep winning matches this summer. When I get a lot of matches in, I just want to be match-tough by the time I get there. It's a two-week tournament and I want to feel confident and knowing that I have won some matches in the summer. So there's no better preparation than actual tournaments.

ANDY RODDICK: I was pressing, almost putting too much pressure on myself over there in England and a lot of the Europeans stint, and so -- I was with my family and was very relaxed and not a soul knew who I was walking around and just hanging out and we would hit very privately and it was great, very relaxing. So I kind of made up my mind, you know, if the summer doesn't go the way you want it to you still -- just stay relaxed, approach into it, have fun, and play with your instincts, just get back to basics, basically.

ANDY RODDICK: It's something I was pressing on a lot and thinking about a lot. You kind of just have to let it happen. You can't -- you can make stuff happen to a certain extent by working hard and by preparing yourself and making sure your body is ready, but in my case, if I try to force things too much, I get upset if they don't go my way. So I am just going to bide my time. I am confident in the fact that if I put in the work and, you know, go day by day, that the results will come. Sooner or later as long as I get there some day.