PACIFIC LIFE OPEN

March 19, 2004

Andy Roddick

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Andy.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I told him when we shook hands that next time we'll have to play a close one.

ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. He kind of just really didn't say much. I don't know. I really wasn't listening.

ANDY RODDICK: Obviously, I'm pissed off, I'm disappointed. I didn't play horribly. You know, I played pretty well. I gave myself a chance to win there in the second set. He played an amazing game to break up until I duffed that overhead in the third. But to get to Love-40, I mean, there wasn't much I could have done to prevent it. I hit a 113 serve up the T, he kind of hit it like there wasn't a whole lot behind it, came in, you know, hit a clean winner off the next one. Credit goes to him. He just toughed me out.

ANDY RODDICK: Absolutely. I don't know quite how to explain it, but he has insane control of his racquet head where he can take a 130 serve and almost just swing about that much and poke it deep. You know, that's what makes him such a good player, I guess, or one of the things that makes him such a good player.

ANDY RODDICK: There's lots. He volleys okay, in case you didn't notice that (smiling). He can hit a couple half-volley dropshot winners that aren't very annoying at all.

ANDY RODDICK: Did you like that? That's my quota for the year.

ANDY RODDICK: I think I played it more on my terms than maybe, you know, a couple of the other ones. In the second set breaker, started off with a double, pulled a forehand. If I make those, maybe it's 3-1. Such little difference. But, you know, he just took it to me in that 4-All game. I don't know, whatever, whenever I got broken. But, you know, he was just too good in that game.

ANDY RODDICK: It's tough, that first game, you know, I started with a double, missed a forehand. When you're in a hole against Tim, you know you're going to have to play at least a -- I'm not going to just have my serve to bail me out against Tim. He's going to get something in play. He's going to make you hit it. That's definitely not the way I wanted to start.

ANDY RODDICK: I thought I had a pretty good read on it. I think I was just a little out in front of it. It was weird because it wasn't quite a kick and it wasn't flat, which is kind of what he was going to, either one or the other. You know, I was a little bit out in front of it. It was probably, you know, this much difference. I just pulled it.

ANDY RODDICK: I mean, yes and no. I played Escude the round before, so that was a pretty good almost warm-up for Tim because he does play serve and volley, as well. You know, serve-and-volleyers, it's tough and then it's not tough because you don't know what to expect. I don't think he beat me with his serve and volley today. His shot that he hit great today when I was returning was he'd stay back, take the first forehand, kind of bully it to one of the corners, then come in. He wasn't going pure serve and volley all the time. I though he played that shot great today a couple times today. I thought I had him handcuffed on the baseline. He was able to do something with it, and on big points, as well.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, he's not predictable at all.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, but, you know, if you look at almost who he's lost to in the slams, they're pretty good players. Surprised me that maybe he hadn't just broken through to get one. But, you know, if it was that easy, everyone would do it, you know.

ANDY RODDICK: It was just a matter of winning the bigger points. I don't think I lost one big point at The Open. You know, I don't think he played as well. You know, our matches have been so close. I could easily just as easily be up 4-0 as down 3-1. But that's just the way the -- the nature of the beast. That's the way it goes. Luckily at The Open, kind of everything just went my way in that match, a little bit more so than the others.

ANDY RODDICK: No, it was probably just me not wanting to blame myself.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, it's -- you know, it's been a little frustrating because it surprised the heck out of me yesterday. I was watching -- I don't feel like I've played my best tennis. I feel like I'm really on the verge of playing really good ball. It's just, you know, losing matches like today, where I feel like I have a chance, maybe just not getting to that next step. So it's a little frustrating. But I'm not too worried. I mean, maybe I'm just making up for all the close matches I won last summer, I don't know. Maybe it's evening out. But it surprised me because -- I really haven't paid too much attention to the race or anything like that. I was watching yesterday. They showed the graphic that before Andre's match I was three in the race still somehow. So that was kind of -- that was nice to see, that, you know, even though I feel like I can still definitely improve upon the results that I've had so far this year, that I'm kind of still in the top little echelon.

ANDY RODDICK: That's tough to say. Maybe I've only played my best tennis once in my life. It's tough to say. But I don't know. That's a tough question.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I think so. I think anytime you can win 19 matches in a row, I think that's kind of the standard - at least for me. But, you know, at the same time that's not what I'm looking to get to. I'm looking to try to kind of get past that.

ANDY RODDICK: Because we each get to 6.

ANDY RODDICK: We are very evenly matched up, like we've talked about. You know, in two of my three losses, I've had match point against him. In the other, I lost 6-6. I'm not sure why. Obviously it's a good match-up. Besides that, I'm not really sure.

ANDY RODDICK: I love the crisis now, it's great.

ANDY RODDICK: I guess so. That must mean I'm getting good. No, I mean, I'd love to get through to a semi where you really feel like you're within striking distance of getting a title. But more importantly, I just need to pull out a couple tough wins. I feel like I'm playing a lot better now than when I came to that tournament. You know, I just got to try to keep that up, keep that going into Miami.