WIMBLEDON

June 30, 2003

Andy Roddick

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Andy Roddick, please.

ANDY RODDICK: Which one?

ANDY RODDICK: I hit a serve, and it did what? He missed it?

ANDY RODDICK: I don't remember, to be honest. I was hitting a lot of second serves that game. The part I do remember, maybe a little bit in the second set and early in the third, I wasn't making many first serves for about a four-game stretch. You know, so a lot of second serves to remember.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, you know, came in. Brad's philosophy is if you want to win a Grand Slam, you've got to win seven matches. You've got to knock people down as they come, regardless, anytime, you've got to win seven matches. That's kind of the approach that I've taken. Win three sets every other day, do that seven times.

ANDY RODDICK: I came in more today?

ANDY RODDICK: Well, early on, I mean, he was hitting the ball very big from the baseline. And he kind of got into a groove there for a little while, so I thought I wanted to try to do something to mix it up. You know, the other matches I had kind of been controlling the points from the baseline, kind of doing what I wanted. But he's a big, strong guy. Even when I try to bully him to one of the corners, he can still come up with good shots of his own. It's definitely something I tried to do the more the match went on.

ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. Ask me in six days.

ANDY RODDICK: I just tried to, you know, concentrate on the things -- I'm trying not to miss-hit it in the net, at least give it a chance to go in. Luckily enough, you know, my second serve's big enough, it's not a total crisis. I try to get it back on. I'm not trying to fix things technically. I think maybe ball placement or ball toss or something. You know, you just kind of try little things until you get in your groove again.

ANDY RODDICK: Not really. When I take off of it, I miss more. Maybe during those games I wasn't going for it enough.

ANDY RODDICK: He definitely could have taken the match over had he gotten one of those breaks. A little bit to do with me, a little bit to do with him. I held. And he didn't play a very good game later on in the third set. I got a break then. I mean, he was missing balls. I didn't do much to break him there. You know, I didn't mind it.

ANDY RODDICK: He?

ANDY RODDICK: I don't think so. Didn't seem like it from my end. He had a couple days to rest. I'm sure he didn't do too much strenuous activity this weekend. He had a two-day weekend. You know, he's in such good shape, I doubt it.

ANDY RODDICK: Slight edge in the fact they're still out there playing and I'm through. That could change in less than an hour. You know, I don't think so. I mean, people talk about, you know, Tim's expectations and all that. But this is the tournament he's done his best at throughout his career as far as Grand Slams go. I don't know if it helps him or hurts him or what. By far, he's performed best at Grand Slams here at this tournament.

ANDY RODDICK: See, I've never been the man in the US. There's always been a couple guys named Pete and Andre. So I really wouldn't know.

ANDY RODDICK: I've always played better in the States. Last couple weeks, I've started playing pretty well in Europe. But for the most part, you know, I've done better in the States.

ANDY RODDICK: There are eight guys still in it at the end of the day. I'm just one of them. I'm just going to try to win three sets in two days. That's the game plan; I'm sticking to it.

ANDY RODDICK: He's a good player. Won matches for years and years and years and years. Good volleys. He's going to try to be all over the net. He's not going to want to stay back too much. Good returns. Takes them really early. Kind of different from what I've seen so far. You know, I lost to him last year on grass. I'm definitely looking to get a win here.

ANDY RODDICK: I got an e-mail from Tarik this morning. You know, he said, "Good job. Keep going. Try to take it all the way." We have plans to go to dinner when I get back. My friendship with Tarik will never be gone.

ANDY RODDICK: Nottingham.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah.

ANDY RODDICK: For sure. The first time I played him was before he had his big rise into the Top 15 in the world. I played him last year kind of when he was on his hot streak, winning tournaments at the end of the year. I played him in Paris and lost. Obviously, it's different because it's a different court surface. You know, a little different surroundings. Here at Centre Court at Wimbledon here. All these different things.

ANDY RODDICK: Yes, the next one, Jonas Bjorkman. He's my biggest threat right now because he's the guy I got to play next.

ANDY RODDICK: Little weird, huh?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, for sure. You know, I don't know. I haven't really thought about it. I don't think it's going to be too much of a factor. I'm just here playing my tournament. I'm not really worried about the way anybody else is going.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I mean, as long as you have a serve like his, you're going to be in matches. Maybe a little bit of the match toughness is tough to get back when you first come back. In a tiebreaker, it's a point here or there. He's been playing pretty much all year healthy. You know, he's had his time to get it back. Before his injuries, he was always a Top 15 player. He won tournaments and beat big names. You know, it's not too much of a surprise. He's always had the game.