THE STELLA ARTOIS CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 6, 2005

Greg Rusedski

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

GREG RUSEDSKI: Yeah, it was good today. I was pleased with the way I played today. I thought my serve speed was good and the accuracy was pretty good. You know, it was a good match to get the first grass court season underway really.

GREG RUSEDSKI: Yeah, the serve was good today. I was hitting the first and second. I think my first was probably averaging about 135, 140, so I was quite happy with that. The second was about -- probably about 115. So I was pretty pleased with those two areas.

GREG RUSEDSKI: Yeah, I've just been working on the serve to be more aggressive on it and to hit it and just be more positive with it. So, you know, that's the way I have to play. The way the guys return these days and the way you have those baseliners, you've just got to be really aggressive.

GREG RUSEDSKI: Yeah, no, I definitely mix it up when we practice. But Josh is a good kid. I thought he played very well today. I thought -- he's got a good serve. He's got good potential for the future. So, hopefully, if he plays like that week in, week out, he's got a good shot to do well, hopefully. I think it was a good experience for him. He's a nice kid. I hope things go well for him, because he's got a good future.

GREG RUSEDSKI: Well, I think I'm always excited when grass court season comes. I think if we look at -- I would have liked to have won more matches this year, but I've had some tough draws. And, you know, I had matchpoints with Tim in Dubai. I lost to him twice this year. Set point in Hamburg. I lost twice to Federer, twice to Roddick, once to Joachim Johansson. So during the season where I'm supposed to play well, I just couldn't crack those matches that I needed to get to two, three, four matches a week. You know, clay court is kind of a little bit of a lottery sort of time for me, so I'm not that disappointed. Last week I had a match where I played one match on grass, which was good, and lost to the guy who won the tournament 6 and 6. So, you know, these things happen. Now it's Queen's and Wimbledon, so looking forward to it. Just every match you win, the more confident you get.

GREG RUSEDSKI: I think it's just too early at the moment. I think the serve, I was happy with. The volleys, I think I missed one volley today. Served pretty well. Never was aggressive with it, could have been a little bit better. I was aggressive enough on the second, chipping and charging, but I'm going to go practice and work on a few areas of my game I want a little bit better for the next coming match.

GREG RUSEDSKI: Well, I think it's a lot better than last year. I think, you know, this year I'm seeded 14th for the Championship compared to where I was last year of 100-and-something. So the rankings moved up to 38 or 39 now, so that's a big positive for me. I think, you know -- I just want to win matches and try to play the top guys to see where I am. That's where you really find out where your level is. So the next match, whether it's Bjorkman or Tursunov, will be a good match, and hopefully I can get through that one and play the guys who are higher than them as well. So each match I take and each match I play, the more confidence you get. The guy who usually plays well here at Queen's, gets to the semis or finals or wins this event, has usually a fantastic Wimbledon. So, you know, hopefully I can win some matches here and just keep on enjoying it and kind of go for broke with my game, the way I play. And if I do that, then I have a chance.

GREG RUSEDSKI: No, not this year. I decided I was going to stay in London and I was going to play the Stoke Park Exhibition. I think Joachim Johansson is playing, Andy Roddick, myself, and a few other guys. So you're guaranteed two, three matches in London, and you can get to the Wimbledon practice courts a little bit sooner. It's a little bit different game plan because I just look at The Championships - if you want to do well there, you can't take the risk. If you win Nottingham, you could still play on the Monday. I just decided to change it up a little for the schedule.

GREG RUSEDSKI: Well, I think I want to just go out and enjoy my tennis and just really try to get that confidence back and just get that hunger and the body language the way it should be. If I do that, then anything can happen. But I'm not going to put the pressure on myself. There's only one guy who wins Wimbledon. We've had Sampras there for how many years, now we have Federer there. I mean, you had Hewitt as well, who's been playing very well. So you've got a lot of guys there, and there's only one guy at the end of the day who wins it. I'm just going to go out there, I'm going to swing away, I'm going to play loose, and see what happens. If it goes well, great. But I'm going to give myself the best chance.

GREG RUSEDSKI: Well, it depends how I play here. If I play well here, I'll have a chance to get in the 32, because I'm 38 right now. You sometimes get pullouts of some of the Spanish guys. Let's keep our fingers crossed that they're scared of the grass (smiling). So maybe I could sneak in. But if I don't, then you got to play well enough to win those matches. And, you know, you either hope for a fortunate draw; if you catch them, it's better to catch them earlier than later.

GREG RUSEDSKI: Yeah, I mean, there will be a lot of guys who will be in there who will be very, very dangerous who won't be seeded. I mean, Arthurs is always dangerous on grass. On his day, you're gonna have Mirnyi, who can serve and volley very well, can be dangerous. Karlovic, who beat Hewitt, the defending champion, in the first round. So there's a lot of guys. Philippoussis, you never know what's going to happen with him. I mean, he got to the finals one year out of nowhere. So that's what makes grass exciting. There's no real quantity that predicts, and that's why we play it and that's why it makes tennis such a good game.

GREG RUSEDSKI: Well, he's already gotten to the third round, I think, when he was 17, which is impressive in itself. I haven't hit on the Wimbledon grass yet to see what the bounce of the court is doing. But I tell you what, he's not going to be easy out there on the grass because the way he moves is phenomenal, and his attitude, I mean, he just has a presence and a desire and a hunger. He reminds me of Hewitt when he first came out, and a little bit more. But he's got a little bit more extreme grips than Lleyton does, and Lleyton's done it. So I wouldn't say he's going to win the tournament, but I'm sure he's going to be a guy who's going to do reasonably well.

GREG RUSEDSKI: Well, I think -- I've known Roger for such a long time now. I'm kind of like part of the furniture of the locker room now, I've been there 15 years. So I think it's just exciting to be at the Championships now, just with Wimbledon coming up. Roger is a very nice guy, I think probably the favorite out of all the players, as the world No. 1s have ever been. I mean, he's so happy-go-lucky, and an easy guy to get along with it. He's a great player, there's no question about it. But it's just the excitement of Wimbledon itself, I think. There's so much history there. It doesn't really matter whether Federer is showing up or, I don't know, my aunt or uncle playing the tournament, I'd still be excited about it. It's just such a wonderful event and a wonderful time of the year for tennis.