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NASDAQ-100 OPENMarch 23, 2006Greg RusedskiMIAMI, FLORIDA THE MODERATOR: Questions. Q. That was unexpectedly quick, straightforward? GREG RUSEDSKI: Yeah, I think it was like just getting used to the conditions. I think both of us struggled a little bit in the beginning with the wind, you know. I don't remember starting a match with five double-faults in my career. So, I decided I'll put some spin on the ball and put the kick in. Then just started playing from the back and from about 3-1 I felt I played really, really solid and was really pleased with it. Q. How long do you think it's been since you've been so consistent? You barely made an unforced error, great off the ground, strong. Everything was clicking. GREG RUSEDSKI: Yeah, I think it's just concentration and focus. I've been putting in the hard work and, you know, you just wait for it to turn the corner. I mean, last week in Indian Wells it was a tough match against Wawrinka, he's obviously playing well. The conditions didn't really favor me, being very cold. The courts, the balls slowing up. So here, even though it's really hot, you still get a little bit out of it, which is a big help. It's been a while, I think - maybe last year since I played a good match like that. Q. Better than your performances in Montreal? GREG RUSEDSKI: Too early to say, but it's a good start. I've never beaten Youzhny, so it's always good to beat someone you've never beaten before. There's another match coming up against Chela. Hopefully, I can continue that standard and move on in the tournament. Q. You served particularly well. GREG RUSEDSKI: Yeah, I mixed it up well, which was good. You have to be a little clever here because the wind. I mean, I think last year when I lost to Thomas Johansson I really didn't mix it up enough. You can't really just stay one-dimensional now where you can say, "Okay, I'm going to serve and volley, and chip and charge every ball". Nowadays, it's more baseline tennis, and you have to really pick your spots and when you're going to come in. It's not my sort of tennis, but I'm having to adapt to the way the game is played now. If you don't, then it's pretty tough. Q. You set out to enjoy your tennis more. Is that happening? GREG RUSEDSKI: Well, I think today helps, definitely. The last few weeks, it's not always enjoyable when you lose. I can't remember the last time I lost, what was it, I think about three matches in a row. So it's good to get on a winning start. Historically, the best I have take done here is the fourth round, so it hasn't been one of my best tournaments but I think I'm coming into form hopefully for the Davis Cup coming up in Glasgow. Q. On that note, Greg, Jeremy gave us the team yesterday. Obviously, he said that Alex didn't feel as though he was mentally prepared to play. I mean, what's your reading of that situation? GREG RUSEDSKI: Well, it's disappointing, I think, for everybody on the team because he's got a lot of potential, a lot of talent. You've got to put yourself out there. You know, you got to say, "Okay, here I am, whether I win or lose, if I give 100%, that's all the team wants of someone out there." Having won three challengers, you'd expect the confidence was good and he's feeling well and he's talking, I read in the papers, that I'm ready, inspired by what Andy is doing, I'm ready to compete with him. I think for him, he should have come on the team and been part of it. But, you know, he makes his decisions, which I don't know if myself and Andy would make, but he's got to figure it out. Obviously, I'm disappointed and I think Andy is disappointed and probably Jeremy because he couldn't have tried harder to convince him to come out and be part of the team. I wish him well, but I'm just very surprised by his decision not to want to be part of the team. Q. He said if he was scarred by the defeat in Israel and the pressure is huge. Is the pressure that great? Is it that different? GREG RUSEDSKI: I think there's pressure wherever you're playing in this game. You either thrive on it or you don't. If you don't, you know, Davis Cup, for me in the past, yes, it's a lot harder to play, than, say, Grand Slams or tournaments, the expectation is obviously higher. But if you can get through that stage, it gives you a lot of confidence. I remember in '97 when we beat the Ukraine away on clay, I had one of my best years because that gave me such confidence for the rest of the year and it just gives you self belief. Sometimes you have to fight your way through these things you don't like to do in life. You know, not meaning you don't like to play Davis Cup, but putting yourself in a situation where you feel tense and really uptight on the court and nervous and everything. If you can win just one match there or two matches doing that, then it just really opens up your career. That's the difference between, you know, a guy who's like Nadal or Hewitt, yes, they're nervous but they find a way to deal with it. That's why they're great players. That's what Alex has to learn, he has to learn, he has to say, "Okay, I'm going to put myself out there." If he gave 100%, nobody would care if he lost 6-0, 6-0, 6-0, just as long as he gave 100% and was there for every ball. I hope he changes his mind in the future, but that, to me, is not a positive step. Q. You were a bit of a big brother to him this time last year. GREG RUSEDSKI: Yeah, yeah. Q. Would you go out of your way to have this conversation with him? GREG RUSEDSKI: Yeah, I will. I'll definitely have a chat when I get back after this week. I'll probably practice with him. You know, I think Mike Rafael, the guy he's working with, has done a good job. He won three challengers. He's beaten Seppi, Calatrava. He's beaten some very accomplished players so he's got the ability. Having spoken to Jeremy, Jeremy told him if Mike being there makes you feel comfortable, he can be there, be part of the team, whatever you need. I don't think Jeremy could have done more to encourage the young man. So, if this is his decision, you know, it's interesting one for me. I don't think myself I'd make that decision, nor would Andy. I wish him well, but I wish he'd be part of the team because he's one of the guys who's a prospect. If we had more prospects, then we wouldn't be talking about this right now. Q. The longer he leaves it, the bigger the void, the worrying void is going to be? GREG RUSEDSKI: Well, it's a totally different situation, say, from, Tim retiring. He did his service, he's 31 years old, he couldn't have given more to Davis Cup, you know. Being 21 and having that attitude is a little bit -- I can't comprehend it, you know. I don't know. Q. Quite a bit of criticism for the way that match developed. Was there anything else that happened there that might have scared him in any way? GREG RUSEDSKI: I think everybody just talked to him about the situation and, you know, just tried to tell him, "Did you feel like you gave 100% out there? Did you feel like you did your best? " Just try to draw things on it, look at yourself in the mirror. Every day you have to look at yourself in the mirror and say, "Today was I a brat on the court, did I behave properly," and you have to look the reflection of who you are as a person and be honest with yourself. You have to take all those situations and just say, "Okay, I let myself down today, I didn't do the right things, but, okay, there's another match to learn, let me learn from this situation." That's what you have to take as a tennis player. The ones who do that well are the great players. Federer, how many times did he lose on clay? Something like 18 in a row. Now you see him on clay and you don't want to see him. Nobody basically beats him, except for Rafael Nadal. He learns. That's what makes these players so outstanding that are at the top of the game; they learn from situations. Q. Are you kind of really relishing this point in your career? There are a lot of people who would be looking at the horizon and saying it's coming too quickly for them. You seem to be very relaxed, whether it's fatherhood or something else or whatever. Your whole demeanor is tremendously upbeat. GREG RUSEDSKI: Well, I'm trying to enjoy it, you know. I think I've done my dues, I've had my hard times hopefully, and they're in the past. I've had ups and downs in my career. Now I'm just trying to make the most of my tennis I possibly can and enjoy it. It's going to come to a close sooner than you like, but that's life. Life, everything comes so quickly, and you don't realize until it passes you by. I think it's just learning from these things and just enjoying every time you win. You know, '97, '98, '99, I was expected to win every match and get through it. Now it's a different thing. I'm playing younger kids, I'm playing conditions that aren't ideal for me, having to play baseline tennis, mix things up. It's just a different game, and trying to get the most out of it. Q. Not wishing to spoil the lovely atmosphere at the moment, but after this and the Davis Cup comes your favorite part of the year. GREG RUSEDSKI: Well, I heard Dunlop is making some great, quick balls for me (laughing). That might be a positive, because they're sending me two crates to try them out. I spoke to Ljubicic and he told me the balls are real quick. Q. You're not going to do an "Agassi"? GREG RUSEDSKI: I'm going to play a few events and see how it goes. Obviously, my focus is going to be primarily on the grass and the American hard court season. I think that's where the focus of depending on how many events I'm going to play on the clay is going to come, you know. I have to be realistic. I'm never going to win the French Open. I'm never going to win Hamburg. I'm never going to win Rome. I'm never going to win Monte-Carlo. I'd be kidding myself. I mean, I'd love to win one match in Monte-Carlo. I'm 0-5 there, that's basically my goal (laughing). It's a little bit different nowadays than before. The only two players I beat there was Bye (laughter). Q. You mentioned earlier in the year about the baby changing things. Is it still important, does it still hurt when you lose? GREG RUSEDSKI: Well, I think it always still hurts when you lose. I think it's different now, because you go home or, like, Scarlett is here with me for the first week on this tour, which is nice. That's lovely to be able to wake up in the morning and see her, and come home from the match, whether you win or lose. That changes your perception. But if it doesn't hurt, then it doesn't mean anything to you. So when you wake up and you lose a match on court and you come off and there's not a little bit of frustration there, anger for losing, then, you know it's really time to say "That's it, it's time to maybe go play some senior tennis or a few exhibitions or something else." Q. Does the baby keep you awake at night? GREG RUSEDSKI: I'm very lucky. Lucy has been extremely supportive letting me get my sleep. But when I'm at home, I get a few sleepless nights. But I'm very lucky in that respect. Q. Incentive to keep playing, isn't it? GREG RUSEDSKI: Not really. I don't think that's the incentive. If I fall out of love with the game, or I find it too difficult, I'm going to be 33 this year, I mean, I didn't think I'd still be around at 33. If you told me when I was 24, 25, I'd still be here at 32, nearly 33, I'd say I don't think so. So I'm just trying to enjoy it and get the most out of it now. Q. You said you'd see how it goes on clay. What are the first tournaments you plan to play? GREG RUSEDSKI: I've just entered all the ones I have to play. I haven't entered anything extra. So it's Monte-Carlo and Rome and Hamburg so, you know, what's supposed to be played. Q. What do you think of HawkEye? GREG RUSEDSKI: I think it's great. I think we did in the Super Set Tennis, the one at Wembley Arena. I think it was two years ago. 'Cause all of a sudden, if you're right, you're right; if you're wrong, you're wrong, and then you just get on with tennis. I think the crowd kind of likes it because it brings another atmosphere to the game where all of a sudden if the player gets it right and the umpire gets it wrong, the crowd can get into it a little bit. If the player gets it wrong, then the umpire has justification and the match just moves on. I think it's a good thing. I like the idea of HawkEye being there.
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