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WIMBLEDONJune 27, 2006Greg RusedskiWIMBLEDON, ENGLAND THE MODERATOR: First question for Greg, please. Q. That was very efficient out there, you have to say that. GREG RUSEDSKI: Yeah, no, I thought he played well. You know, obviously he served very well. Never really got a chance on his serve today whatsoever. I have to give credit to him for playing well. I was a little bit disappointed in my performance today as well. I mean, I'm not saying even if I would have played better, I might not have won, but I just would have liked to have made a better account of myself today. Q. How fit were you after what happened at Queen's? GREG RUSEDSKI: Well, it wasn't the best preparation going into Wimbledon this year, obviously. I would have loved to have a few matches under my belt. I seem to have not had that luck I'd like to have so far. You know, I needed the matches. It made a difference today obviously. You know, what can I say? I'm not going to make any excuses. Q. Did that affect the confidence going into the match? GREG RUSEDSKI: Well, I think any sort of confidence going into that, you need matches, and that's the key. And this year I haven't had as many matches as I'd like. So that doesn't help. But, you know, I think for two sets, Marat served fantastically well. You know, I have to give credit to him. But if I could have had a few matches at Queen's or a few matches at Nottingham, it would have definitely benefited me here. Q. Just before the final game of the match, you looked quite puzzled, looking in space in front of you. GREG RUSEDSKI: Hmm. I was just trying to get something to work, trying to figure it out, but nothing was happening for me today unfortunately. It's just one of those days where you go on the court, and unfortunately this happens to you in tennis. For me it's obviously disappointing it happened here for me. So, you know, I have no excuses. You know, I just wish, as I said, I played at least better. Had I won or I lost, I wouldn't have minded. But, no, that's the way it goes. Q. You were in two minds before Wimbledon as to whether this might be your last one. Does this clear things up in your mind for you? GREG RUSEDSKI: I haven't made any decision on that yet. I'd be silly to make a rash decision this very moment. Q. Would it be fair to say, you've had a history of injuries, if they were to return... GREG RUSEDSKI: I've just had niggles and nags, just a little bit of bad luck. Queen's was just bad luck. That's all there was to that one. It's trying to find the motivation day in, day out. I think that's the hardest thing, the older you get, always having to fight back. You have to go look back and see how much you want to come back and how much you have left in the tank, because you can only do it so many times in your life. I think I've had more comebacks than most tennis players, maybe bar Mr. Agassi (smiling). Q. When you see Andre making the big decision, does it then come to your mind, What about me? GREG RUSEDSKI: No, I didn't think that. I didn't announce my retirement (laughter). Q. Thinking about when that might come. It's a hard one to make, isn't it? GREG RUSEDSKI: I think it's hard for any tennis player or any athlete to make that decision. I think the older you get, you have those thought processes going in your mind, especially once you pass the age of 30. I think any tennis player here has that thought who's reached that sort of age on the tennis circuit. Q. What about the North American circuit now? GREG RUSEDSKI: Well, I can't even think about it. I'm just obviously very disappointed right now. I was entered to play in Newport. You know, I'm just going to, you know, go back, not make any decisions today, and have a few days off, then contemplate what I'm going to do. Q. Has Wimbledon been good to you? Obviously you got to the final in '97 of the US. Do you think you ever really fulfilled your potential? GREG RUSEDSKI: I've had some chances, but I never managed take them in the further rounds. I got to the quarterfinals here in '97, a few fourth rounds. I've lost to some great champions. But, you know, I've always given it my best shot. I think '98 was probably my best year when I got my injury when I was seeded fourth for the championship. You need a little bit of luck and you also have to make your own luck. Either one of the two I haven't managed to do as well as I can, but I've always given it my best. Q. Today we saw Andy Murray was on Centre Court. It was almost like changing of the guard, if you like. You're still the British No. 1, and there he is with the crowd well behind him. GREG RUSEDSKI: I think that's only normal. I mean, he's an exciting new prospect. He's, what, 19 years old now. He's had a fantastic win at San Jose this year. Last year had a good run at Wimbledon. I think that's only normal. In any sport, the young and up-and-coming new players always bring that excitement to the game. You know, I wish him well, and I wished him well this championship. May they continue. All the players from Bloomfield, who won today to, you know, Jamie Baker is up two breaks or one break in the third set right now, so I wish all the British players well. Q. Will you take an interest in watching their matches over the week? GREG RUSEDSKI: I'll probably have a sneaky peek to see who's keeping on going. It's always good to have British players doing well. Hopefully we'll have a lot more today. I think we've had a lot more victories today than we've had losses, so that's a positive for the sport here. Q. Does that make your disappointment more acute? GREG RUSEDSKI: No, I don't think it makes my disappointment more acute because, you know, I look at myself, the way I want to perform, what I did today, which is the most disappointing, is I didn't perform the way I'd like. You can accept losses and accept, you know, losing to a better player. And Marat was the better player on the court today, no question. But, you know, you just want to play to a certain standard. Like last year I lost to Joachim Johansson. I played to a quite a high standard. I was pleased with that. Even though I didn't get through, I thought I made a good account of myself. That's where you have to sit down tomorrow and the next few days and try to figure things out. Q. You clearly had to pull out of Nottingham after Queen's. How much after that was your preparation compromised? When were you able to get back on the court? GREG RUSEDSKI: I got on the hard court on the Wednesday of Queen's because I wasn't allowed on grass because of the movement being slippery. Then, you know, I was working four, five hours a day, whether it was in the gym, with treatment and everything. It wasn't ideal. For me, that's obviously disappointing. What I was looking forward to, because I felt like I turned the corner and actually started playing well at Queen's, and for that to happen is disappointing. With me, I'm a player who needs matches under my belt to play well. I'm not the sort who kind of shows up, takes a week off before the Grand Slam and actually plays well. Historically I've never done well at a Slam when I've actually taken the week off before. Q. When were you able to go full out on the practice grass courts? GREG RUSEDSKI: Well, I'd gotten on the grass I think on the Sunday at Queen's, slowly building it up. So full steam on the grass probably about Thursday before The Championships. I played I think three sets of practice match. You know, I'm not going to make excuses with that. Q. You were hoping your daughter would bring you good luck. Was she here today? GREG RUSEDSKI: She came down here today, so she saw her first Wimbledon. That was nice. At least she didn't -- she doesn't understand it yet, which is a good thing (smiling).
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