TELECOM ITALIA MASTERS

May 7, 2003

Andy Roddick

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

ANDY RODDICK: It was tough. I mean, the serve was fine. I mean, you kind of expect that from him. You know he's got a big serve. But I thought the way he returned and the way he played from the ground was especially impressive. He was just trying to -- was hitting every ball, literally almost trying to go for a winner. Had a plus 22 winner-to-error ratio, so that's not so bad.

ANDY RODDICK: Well, if I thought I played well enough, I wouldn't be sitting here discussing a loss. But I think -- I don't think I played great. I had a set and one break, then I played a bad game to let him get back into it. He wasn't playing that great then. Once I let him back into it, he started playing a lot better. I think it was partly my fault for letting him get back into the match. Once he did get back into the match, he just played better than I did.

ANDY RODDICK: Little bit, not too much. I mean, nothing that will affect my preparation or anything like that.

ANDY RODDICK: Not bad. I mean, I felt fine. I feel good. I don't think so.

ANDY RODDICK: No. I mean, I played him at the US Open, and I put three balls in the court and he'd spray one, you know, five feet out, you know. And, you know, he's improved. I don't know if he likes having more time on the clay or what it is, but, you know, he's definitely a better player than when I played him at the US Open last year.

ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. I just played a sloppy game, you know. I didn't make a lot of first serves that next game. He had one or two good shots, and I made a couple errors. It happens. It just wasn't the best timing for it. Then after I did that, he started playing really well.

ANDY RODDICK: Well, we play 40-something weeks a year, it's bound to happen at a tournament that all the top players go out some time. I mean, it's just part of the game. It's not so surprising. It just shows you the depth of men's tennis these days.

ANDY RODDICK: No, I mean, I felt okay. Coming in today, I thought I was hitting the ball well. You know, like I said, I just played sloppy a little bit and he took advantage. I don't have any excuses. He just played better than I did today.

ANDY RODDICK: I don't think how I did here last year has any bearing on how I'm feeling now, if that's your question. You know, a loss is a loss. You never feel particularly happy afterwards. But, you know, you accept it and you move on and you hope for the best the next week.

ANDY RODDICK: Surprised, yes. But if you're saying I don't respect my opponent's ability, I'd say no. I thought -- I was surprised at some of the shots he came up with today, and I was surprised at how he could keep it together - maybe not surprised, but impressed by the fact that he was able to do it over, you know, two and a half sets or more, play his top tennis, I think. I think that was impressive.

ANDY RODDICK: Well, what was the guy ranked that beat Andre?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, but you see that every tournament. Miami, you had a guy No. 143 beating Hewitt. You can come up with some amazing stat like that every single week. It's not an exception anymore.

ANDY RODDICK: Obviously, his serve was huge, but you go in expecting that. You know you have to deal with that. But I think what won him the match was the way he hit his return and the way he hit his ground strokes. I thought he hit them exceptional today. And I kind of blew my opportunity when I was winning in the second set.