NASDAQ-100 OPEN

March 20, 2002

Greg Rusedski

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Greg, please.

GREG RUSEDSKI: Yeah, I was really pleased with the way I played today. I thought it was similar to the match I played with Ferrero last week in the first round. High percentage of first serve, just coming over my returns, never really letting him get a rhythm out there. Never in trouble on my service. Very happy, very pleased to win the first match.

GREG RUSEDSKI: Just mixing it up. When it's this hot, it's accuracy over pace. A high percentage is key. So, when it's hot like this, you just got to keep the percentage up and get that high kick and let the court and the ball do the work for you.

GREG RUSEDSKI: I'd assume so because they want to slow it down. That's what they did with me in Scottsdale. You know, I'd assume they'd put it down just to slow down the conditions. But I don't mind if they put me in the afternoon. I won't complain.

GREG RUSEDSKI: You never know. We could be on Court 15. I mean, I go from Center last week to Court 5 in the middle of nowhere. Everybody had the same thing last week - Federer was out there, Enqvist. That's the way tennis goes sometimes. I have a feeling playing Andre, they might want to keep it on Center.

GREG RUSEDSKI: No, I'm looking forward to it. I started to play well against Andre the last two games of the match, when I lost to him in Scottsdale. I felt things coming back a little bit for me with my tennis, you know, playing the high standard that I did in the beginning of the year. Hopefully, I can carry that on to our match on Friday and bring that standard up to where I want to. Because, you know, it would be a great chance for me and a great win if I could do that. I've beaten him in the past and played him pretty tough in most matches we've played. I look forward to it, it's a challenge. Just try to get through it.

GREG RUSEDSKI: Well, the ball kicks a lot higher. It's a slower court. When you get the heat like you do in the afternoon, then I think it rounds it all up to really make the guys fair. Maybe I'll have a word with Al, see if they put me on as the same time before. It's different. The balls are a lot slower. With the heat, that really helps. You can dig the ball in and it gets bounces, as you saw with a few of the kicks, the way they moved out there. You have to be more clever. The ones that just try to bash it through you here, it's not really going to work here.

GREG RUSEDSKI: No, I'm pleased. You know, today I won the match. I went for the right shots. When I lost to Boutter, I lost the match but went for the wrong shots. Whether you win or lose, if you're doing the positive things, that's building to the right direction. So I was happy. Went for the backhand pass cross-court, was going for my forehand up the line, trying to come in, maybe making a few too many unforced errors from the ground game. But, you know, was also a combination of giving him no rhythm as well. So, you know, that's a pleasing thing, to hit that backhand passing shot. But the backhand side is a lot stronger than it was in the past now.

GREG RUSEDSKI: Uhm...

GREG RUSEDSKI: Yeah, on the volley, to get the break. Yeah, I mean, it's a tough overrule on the far sideline. I thought it landed in, half the ball. But it was a late call, and Norm can't change that from the chair. If you're the chair umpire and it's close, you can't do anything about that. But I kept my head, didn't let it bother me. Last week maybe it would have in the wind and the storm. That was important. Because then I still managed to win the next two points to break.

GREG RUSEDSKI: Yeah, I still have a lot of opportunities. But, you know, that's where the old system kind of helps out the guys coming back up, is the bonus points. If you play Andre second round, I get as much as somebody who beats a qualifier, someone who beats that. It made it easier in the past, I think, to climb quicker than it does now. So, you know, if I'm in the situation I play Agassi, well, we're two men. And the guy who's going to play the best is going to go through. You have to win the matches.

GREG RUSEDSKI: Clay court (smiling), not too much, I don't think (laughing).

GREG RUSEDSKI: I'm not sure yet. I haven't figured out everything yet, to be honest with you. I know I need to do a lot of training. Whether I go play the tournaments, I'm definitely going to be in the gym for a month with my physical trainer, whether I'm going to play Monte-Carlo and those events. I need a patch where I can get strong for a month like I did in the beginning of the year for Australia. It's very difficult with these schedules to do that. You know, that's what I need to do, so I'm not sure. I know Tim and I are supposed to play World Team Cup, Hamburg, Rome and the French Open. But Monte-Carlo I'm not sure on yet. See how I feel.

GREG RUSEDSKI: Yeah, should be confirmed. It's good. That will be a great week where we can have both our coaches sit on the court and help us out to get ready for the French Open.