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DAVIS CUP QUARTERFINALSApril 7, 2006Dean GoldfineAndy RoddickCHILE vs. USA , RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIFORNIA THE MODERATOR: First question, please. Q. Right after match point, you seemed really pumped up. What was going through your head? ANDY RODDICK: I was just excited that I could have James' back today, like he had mine in San Diego. You know, when he went down, I really wanted to go out there and get it for him. I mean, he covered my butt in San Diego and really saved the tie. Hopefully the match today will do the same for us. Q. Patrick has really sort of built the whole team on team chemistry. Didn't you do the same thing in Belgium? ANDY RODDICK: Yes. Q. What is that all about? Is that integral to the whole game plan? ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. I think we just all want to win this thing so badly that, like I said earlier in the week, if we get three wins, I don't think we really care who wins and who loses. It's all about just picking someone else up if they have a little bit of a tough day. You know, we seem to be taking turns doing that. But that's the nature of Davis Cup. Q. Comments from both of you on the perseverance of the two Chileans. They would not go away in either match. ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I said that -- I've been saying that all week. I mean, one thing they're not lacking is effort and heart, especially when they're playing for their country. I mean, what I witnessed at the Olympics was unbelievable by Fernando and especially by Massu. Today especially Fernando. You know, they're really -- they get really inspired to play for their flag and they give it their all, as it should be in Davis Cup. DEAN GOLDFINE: Exactly. The thing about these guys, you know, they're going to leave it out on the court. They're not going to let anything else -- they're going to give it everything they've got out there. They also do an amazing job. I mean, you know that first match today with James and Fernando, you know, James had Fernando down. Fernando was a couple points away from losing a couple of times and came up with some big shots. That's the thing about these guys, they do a great job of competing and they're able to go for their shots, go for broke when the chips are against them. Q. Andy, kind of a scary moment when you went down on the court. Could you talk about what happened, how you were feeling? ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, once the sun went behind the mountains, you saw him bite it, too once. It's like a putting green. It's the same thing. The dew comes a little bit, it gets a little bit more slippery. They had told us at 6-5 in the third that this was going to be it. If we needed to finish tomorrow, that was going to be the case. You know, that happens on grass sometimes. You feel a quick little something in your hip and knee, and you hope that's it when you stand up on it. I stood up, and it hurt a little, but I knew it was going to be fine because it wasn't a sharp like cutting pain. You know, so it's always scary. It's going to happen on grass. You're feet are going to slide out. You're kind of going to jam your hips and your knees a little bit. I'm just lucky it wasn't worse. Q. Do you think maybe you're not going to go for a shot when that happens? ANDY RODDICK: No, I'm stupid enough to go for all of 'em. I just tweaked my knee a little bit. I think you get more scared just by the fall, like I said, your first step up. It kind of was stiff for a couple points, but then it worked itself out. I didn't make many first serves the next game jumping off that knee. Right now it feels okay, so I'm not worried about Sunday. Q. Are you surprised how well and comfortable the Chileans were on the grass today? ANDY RODDICK: No. Fernando got to the quarters of Wimbledon last year. I don't know if he took Roger to two tiebreakers, but he definitely took him to one. Nicolas has done pretty well on grass before. This one, you're able to stay back on. It's in good shape. Like I said, the way they compete, they should be able to play on any surface. Q. (No microphone.) ANDY RODDICK: I thought when it was hot early on when I was playing, I was pretty much torching my serves. You could see the cooler it got, if you looked at the radar gun, it slowed down a little bit more. I don't know what dead grass feels like, I guess. I guess that requires feel. I'm sorry I can't be more insightful. Q. Could you go back to your comment about you wanted to win this so much. Can you try to put in words what winning the whole thing would be after a good stretch of trying to win? ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. I don't know what it would be like. We've been to the edge before. I can only imagine. I don't know if I have felt anything like it 'cause it would be the most amazing experience selfishly. But then to share it with people you generally respect and love, you know, it would probably just add that much more to it. I don't know. Hopefully I'll be able to tell you sometime. Q. Dean, how do you assess this match now? Are you satisfied to get just one point today? DEAN GOLDFINE: Well, optimistically I would have liked to have had two today, but we'll take one, especially when you lose the first one. You know, obviously tomorrow we have the best doubles team in the world going for us. I think we have a good shot there, then we need to try to get one out of the two on Sunday. I like the position that we're in. With that being said, again, these guys, you know, they're going to come out tomorrow and they're going to be ripping the ball, they're going to come back out Sunday and do some more of the same. They're not going to stop until it's over. We have to be ready to go tomorrow. Again, just stay aggressive and take the play to these guys, not let them dictate what's going on out there. Q. Fernando suggested maybe he won't play doubles. ANDY RODDICK: I'll believe that when I see it. DEAN GOLDFINE: I think if you look at the last tie, Romania tried that. They were 1-All the first day, tried to save Pavel. It backfired against them. ANDY RODDICK: They have to sweep singles. DEAN GOLDFINE: Then they have to sweep singles. I guess it just depends if they feel they realistically feel they have a chance to win the doubles tomorrow, I guess that's what it comes down to, that and how Fernando is feeling when he gets up in the morning. If he feels like he's not going to be a hundred percent out there, then he might say, "Hey, I can't go." I don't expect that. Like I said, these guys seem to find ways when you think they can't go any more. They're like the Energizer Bunny, they just keep going and going and going and going. I think they're both going to be out there. Q. Can you talk about being in the hot seat out there? Can you talk about whether the Chileans may have stretched the rules a little bit in the first match? DEAN GOLDFINE: Well, it was a nice initiation for me. I thought I was going to get through there relatively unscathed the first match. James was up two sets and a break, had 15-40 to go up two breaks. I think if that happens, then the match it over. But, again, these guys fight till the bitter end. Fernando did a good job hanging in there, continuing to put pressure on James. Yeah, I was kind of thrown right into the furnace right away. Hey, this is what it's all about. ANDY RODDICK: Why are you answering so long? We need to go and get some dinner. DEAN GOLDFINE: Most people say I answer too short (laughter). I love competition, so that's what it's all about. ANDY RODDICK: You've already used like three full pages of your quotes. DEAN GOLDFINE: I'm trying to give them something to write about. What was the second part of the question (laughter)? This could be the only time I ever get to do this, so you got to let me get my money's worth. ANDY RODDICK: That may be the only time I get to get some dinner (laughter). DEAN GOLDFINE: We felt they took some advantage. It looked like to us like Fernando was cramping there, so they were rubbing his leg. When I asked for an explanation, they said he said he had a strained muscle, which to me if he had a strained muscle, then it probably would have gotten worse during the match instead of better. I didn't quite agree with that. Yeah, I thought they took advantage of things a little bit. Q. Dean, another chance for you to answer a question. Did you have a coaching highlight of the day, something you can tell Patrick, "I did that, maybe you couldn't have done that"? DEAN GOLDFINE: No, no. As you probably noticed, I mean, I just tried to stay somewhat calm out there. I'm a believer that less is better. If things are going well, which obviously for most of Andy's match they were, I'm just going to try not to mess things up. James obviously started off that way, needed a little bit of encouragement there during the match. ANDY RODDICK: Getting a little long (laughter). DEAN GOLDFINE: Just being out here, experiencing this whole thing, the Davis Cup, being out there on the court, is something that I'll never forget. Q. Dean, what did you tell James after the match? DEAN GOLDFINE: I just told him to keep his head up, he did everything he possibly could do out there. He, again, fought to the bitter end. As a coach, I think it's all you can expect from your players, that they go out there and give 110% mentally and physically. You know, I thought that James did that. You know, if they do that, then I'm satisfied. Q. Did you have a chance to talk to him, Andy? ANDY RODDICK: Yeah. Saw him real quick when I was warming up. Gave him a quick hug, and he said, kick his - leg. That was it. Q. In both of your experiences, do you ever feel at a disadvantage playing a country like Chile? These guys are the focal point of their country on this day, an emotional bit of pumping up for them. Do you ever feel like you're fighting a huge tidal wave of that emotion you can't overcome? ANDY RODDICK: No, because we're equal except for the interest we generate here in America as far as it goes. As far as passion and emotional lift, that's what you have your teammates for, that's what you have your staff for. It's obviously the biggest story down there. I wish it was that way here. As far as needing attention to feel an emotional lift for Davis Cup, I don't think our team needs that at all. DEAN GOLDFINE: Yeah, I think he answered that great. I'm not going to say anything. ANDY RODDICK: Thank God (laughter). I'm answering all questions now. DEAN GOLDFINE: I'm going to say one thing. What Andy said, it would be nice if there was that interest here in this country. But, yeah, definitely, I mean, these guys are self-motivated. They want to win badly enough for themselves and for their teammates. Q. You seem quite comfortable together up on the stage. ANDY RODDICK: I guess that's what happens when you spent the amount of time we spent together. We're really, really close personal friends. That doesn't change, regardless of what our professional relationship is. There's no reason why we wouldn't be. DEAN GOLDFINE: Good answer. ANDY RODDICK: Thanks.
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