OLYMPIC TENNIS TOURNAMENT

August 18, 2004

Taylor Dent

TAYLOR DENT: I mean, if that was the case, you know, I'd feel a little disappointed. But I'm sure that Mardy's going to have good success today. He's up a break I think already. First set may be over, I'm not sure. But the Bryan brothers are playing later, as well. I'm pretty confident they'll come through. So, you know, it's a shame that Andy lost, and some of the girls lost. But, you know, that's the nature of the sport. You know, hopefully the rest of us who are still in can hang around and, you know, fight for some of those medals.

TAYLOR DENT: No, a great win for me. I lost to him Wimbledon first round last year, two Wimbledons ago. It was a great win. 4-4, very tough match. Very mentally tough match for me because both the breaks I had I got early in the sets, so I kind of had to just dig deep and fight to hold onto my serve throughout the rest of the set.

TAYLOR DENT: I actually felt like I started playing well in Cincinnati two weeks ago. I lost to Robredo who got to the semis. After the match I said, "Wow, I didn't play too bad. If I can maybe just improve a little bit on that, then I'll start to, you know, have a shot at some of these big boys out here."

TAYLOR DENT: Well, as far as strategy and coaching, not very often. I play these guys on a regular basis. So, you know, telling me how they play is kind of like, you know, telling the Pope about the Catholic religion. So not so much about that, but I talk to him every day. We just see what's going on. Same as mom, I talk to her just as much. You know, just shoot the breeze, as they say.

TAYLOR DENT: Again, I don't really look ahead in the draw, so I'm not sure who I play. Do you want to break the news to me?

TAYLOR DENT: They haven't played yet?

TAYLOR DENT: Like I said, Robredo will probably be the favorite in that match. And I lost to him in Cincinnati. But I feel like I'm playing a little bit better now. So that's going to be a tough one. You know, my job out here is to, you know, play each match and then get ready for the next one if I happen to win. So, you know, as far as kind of relishing that win, it's done. It's a done deal. I savored it for five minutes after the match, now I'm just trying to mentally prepare myself for the next one.

TAYLOR DENT: That's right. Semifinalists aren't guaranteed medals. You know, again, there's nothing I can do about that. If I go out there and I win tomorrow and lose in the semis, I'm going to go out there and fight to the death to get one of those medals - hopefully the gold if I can. At the end of the day, I'm out there doing my job. If my opponent does his job better than I'm doing mine, then he's going to have it.

TAYLOR DENT: I actually compare it a lot to Davis Cup. I think you get the unique scenario here where the fans are very one-sided. If their boy is down, you know, like today, there was a lot of Croatian supporters in the stands. If I would miss like an easy volley or hit a double-fault, you'd hear all these cheers, "Come on, come on, Lub." You wouldn't hear that normally in a regular tournament match. It brings the Davis Cup atmosphere, which is really awesome. I really like it.