TMS - INDIAN WELLS

March 13, 2001

Greg Rusedski

MODERATOR: Questions for Greg.

GREG RUSEDSKI: I thought I played really poorly today. There's no question about it.

GREG RUSEDSKI: The first few games, I think we both started off a little bit nervous. I think the first three games he served, he didn't really serve that well. I got a lot of second serves. I didn't make any of the returns, which is very, very difficult to do. Then I started my first game serving well. Second game, from 30-All, I hit two double-faults. You know, that was basically the first set. I had one breakpoint. Hit a good kick second serve on me. From there on in, he got confident. He actually did start serving well from there, I have to say. I think in the beginning, the key was really the beginning of the match. Then I hit another double-fault, 30-All first game, he hit a great running forehand passing shot. That's too good. Little key areas there where I made a few mistakes. It's just going to be a learning curve this match here. You know, I think my preparation wasn't the best. I think to get used to the conditions in the desert, I think I need to get here probably four or five days before the tournament because I really struggled with the kick, the bounce, the way he served, the way he did things out there. You know, it was good in one respect because Bradley did some filming and he saw some things we need to work on my return on. I haven't played a guy who serves with that heavy a kick, managed to get that much explosiveness out of the ball. Obviously, I'm disappointed. But I feel the first few games, first probably four, five games were the key to the match today.

GREG RUSEDSKI: I think just tough conditions. I've played well here in the past. I think Sampras and guys like that, they've struggled with the altitude. Even though they've won the tournament here before, I've played well here, getting to the finals, I think it's difficult. There's a lot of strange scores, like Love-3 with Santoro, then Dent beating Ferreira 3-0. These things can happen. If you don't get the feel of this ball in the desert, you can get some ugly tennis, bad matches. I don't think there's been that good-looking tennis so far this tournament. I watched a little bit of Sampras and Prinosil. There wasn't really beautiful tennis to be watched there. I think it's something where next year I'm going to plan my schedule differently where I'll have a week off or play in Scottsdale where the altitude is similar to this week.

GREG RUSEDSKI: It was a bit difficult because I didn't think I was getting in this week. I thought I was going to Delray, a week of training, then here. I have to give credit to Pat. He did play well from the moment he got the break. He did not let me in on the serve. But I felt I didn't allow myself to really have a chance out there. But the good thing is I have Brad here, I have my team here. We're going back to the drawing board, probably head down to Florida. You know, he was happy technically with the way the serve looked, even though I hit those double-faults. He wasn't pleased with a few of the returns and what I was doing on them. It's tough when you only make three or four returns in two sets to really bring any competition up there. Pat is a great athlete, a good competitor. He turned up his game. Once he got that little edge, the break in the second, he played very well.

GREG RUSEDSKI: I don't think the balls are heavy. I think the balls are fine. I think it's just getting used to conditions. The court is a little different this year, a little stickier. The ball is going to explode up. I think Rafter has a good chance to do well, or the guys who can kick in their serves heavy and hit heavy topspin. With the scratchy new courts, the balls are flying. The guys that can control it better will do well.

GREG RUSEDSKI: Yeah, definitely. I sat down with Bradley after the match. Tonight we're going to sit down at dinner and go through all the video. It's just a technical thing with the returns. I'm doing a return on a kick serve what I should be doing with a low return. You know, that's a good thing. It's a good thing that we saw this; it's a bad thing that I lost. You know, there's areas to work on. I was a little flat out there. Out of my matches I've played this year, I'd have to say this is not one of my best ones. You're bound to have a match like this. We're going to work on the returns. You know, I didn't get to hit too many passing shots or anything else out there, did I?

GREG RUSEDSKI: Yeah, he played very well. I've got to give him credit. He came out and did what he had to do. The first four or five games were very important. Double-faulted twice and gave me some second serves. I never took advantage of them. That's the thing, I was doing a posture with the low serve where I was getting myself low instead of keeping my body high for the high ones. Brad showed me what I did technically wrong. In that sort of match, you know it's going to come down to who takes one or two points. If I'm not putting any pressure on his serve, he's going to be able to flick a few more things. He's a great athlete. That's what he did.

GREG RUSEDSKI: I think it's very important. I think the serve is important, but the return's just as important. If you break, it makes it easier. It's like Rafter had three breakpoints at 30-40, took three of them. I was 0-for-3 saving them. I had one breakpoint, I didn't take any. I didn't play too many good returns. All credit due. It is very important.

GREG RUSEDSKI: I expected to do a lot better than today, definitely. I thought I had a really good chance to win, to be honest with you. You know, I didn't do what I had to out there today. You know, it's a learning process. Everything's been going so, so well since the beginning of the year, you're going to have a few bumps. This is one of the little bumps. I'm going to probably go down to Florida earlier, get in the gym, get on the return of serve and be ready for the tournament in Miami. That's being a tennis player. It's tough playing out here sometimes. It's only one week.

GREG RUSEDSKI: In the long run, not at all, exactly. Exactly the point. These are the tournaments you still want to play well at. You know, I think if you look at everybody who has played in the early-round matches, everybody is struggling. Corretja struggled and managed to get through from a losing position. Philippoussis is struggling out there now, even though he won the title. It's not easy out there.

GREG RUSEDSKI: It was great. It had been a year and a half or a year and three months since I won a tournament. I had an injury season in 2000. It was great to beat Andre in the finals. Every time I played Sampras and Agassi in a final, I can say I've won. That's a nice thing. I've got to look at my year in this respect. I've won 15 matches, only lost six. If I can continue at this rate, I've got a good chance to continue to play well.

GREG RUSEDSKI: One time each, and won every time.

GREG RUSEDSKI: I don't know if it's the desert air or the altitude, but the ball just flies. You expect it to be on you a certain height, and it goes away from you another maybe two, three inches, which makes a huge difference. If you catch it late, it's gone. That's what I mean by altitude. I don't know if it's above sea level or whatever, but it just feels that way.

GREG RUSEDSKI: It's dry, flies pretty fast through the air.