DAVIS CUP FINALS, USA vs. SPAIN

December 3, 2004

Patrick McEnroe

Andy Roddick

ANDY RODDICK: No.

ANDY RODDICK: No.

ANDY RODDICK: No.

ANDY RODDICK: Obviously, emotionally I'm pretty down. You know, I wanted to get one for the team. Physically, I feel okay. You know, it was cold out there, which made it tough because your muscles would tighten up pretty easily. But, you know, I think my biggest problem was Nadal. He played very well today.

ANDY RODDICK: Because of what?

ANDY RODDICK: I thought you said Martians. No, it was tactics. You know, I had to do something to try to win points. You know, I felt like, you know, I stuck to the game plan and I volleyed pretty well today. You know, I just ran into someone who played too well.

ANDY RODDICK: He played well. You know, it's very impressive. You know, every once in a while people come along and they're big-match players. He apparently looks like he's on -- or he is a big-match player. He's come through. This is the third time this year he's stepped up in singles and played well. I think you either have it or you don't, regardless of age. You know, maybe it helps him in a way.

ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. I haven't really thought about my schedule too much right now.

ANDY RODDICK: Just last year. The years before that, I played a pretty full schedule.

ANDY RODDICK: My grandchildren?

ANDY RODDICK: Bud, we're looking way ahead, aren't we? I don't even have a girlfriend and already I have grandchildren.

ANDY RODDICK: That it was crazy. You know, it was unlike anything I've experienced before.

ANDY RODDICK: No. I mean, I still had chances after that in the breaker. But obviously that was going to swing the momentum either way - and fast. You know, you were playing those two points for the next two sets. So, you know, obviously they were pretty crucial. I just missed that one, so that was big.

ANDY RODDICK: That's an irrelevant question. I've played him on a fast court before. You probably saw it.

ANDY RODDICK: I'm going to skip that one. I'm not going to go there.

ANDY RODDICK: No. You know, they supported. They did everything in their power to support their player.

ANDY RODDICK: As far as effort?

ANDY RODDICK: I mean, like you said, I leave everything out there, and I take a lot of pride in that. You know, I just ran into a guy today that, like I said, was too good. I couldn't have tried any harder. You know, I couldn't have -- I gave it everything I had. It just wasn't enough on the day.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah. I mean, when you're out there, obviously you try to just go on to the next point. You know, it's after the fact that you can think about it a little bit. But, yeah, I mean, you have to be ready to play 6-All in a breaker, you know, 25, 50 seconds later. So, you know, you try to get over it as fast as you can and move on.

ANDY RODDICK: Well, obviously when you play at home, it's an advantage. You know, that's a no-brainer. You know, they tried as hard as they could to support their player. It's nothing more than that. I forgot the first question.

ANDY RODDICK: Obviously, it makes a huge difference when someone's left-handed versus right-handed.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah. We brought a left-handed practice partner over on purpose, you know, knowing that this could be an option. So we did everything in our power. Captain picked the practice partners with that in mind. I don't know if we could have done anything more to help me.

ANDY RODDICK: It doesn't matter because I'm not the one making the decisions. I think they're each unique. They're both special in their own way. You know, I think -- I don't think you can try to make everything the same. I think that's what makes tennis unique, is that you're playing on different surfaces in front of different crowds every week. You know, it's different. I like that about tennis.

ANDY RODDICK: I don't understand. "Good price to pay"?

ANDY RODDICK: Oh, I don't know. I'm not involved, you know, with the money and where it goes. I'm just a tennis player. I don't make those decisions.

PATRICK McENROE: All the guys or the guys that are playing tomorrow?

PATRICK McENROE: I don't really need to tell them anything. We know our backs are against the wall. But we're going to come out and we're going to fight for every point like we did today. I mean, we're going to come out and hopefully play a great doubles match. And Sunday will be a new day. I mean, there's not a whole -- there's no big mystery of what we need to do. You know, we're going to come out swinging tomorrow like we did today.

PATRICK McENROE: I certainly am, yeah. You got to win three last time I checked.

ANDY RODDICK: No, it's good to have a day off, I think. You know, it's tough playing in conditions like this, playing three out of five back to back to back. I think you have to have a day in between to rest, mentally rest, physically rest. Yeah, I don't think it would be smart to play the singles back to back.

ANDY RODDICK: It was warm?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, you can't do much about that (smiling). If I could control the weather, I'd have a lot more fun. You know, he had to play in the same thing I did last I checked. You know, his side of the court wasn't warm. So you just got to roll with it.

PATRICK McENROE: There's a lot in that question, a lot more than a question. You know, our guys know what they have to do. We've been together for a while. The Bryan boys have been in every situation, they've been two up, they've been 1-1 a couple of times. Now we're 0-2. You know, we came here knowing the difficulty and knowing the challenge. We're still going to relish the opportunity. We've still got an opportunity to make history, you know, to come out and play our best. I mean, I'm extremely proud of the way Andy played today, the way he competed, which he always does. But more importantly, you know, the tactics that he used and the improvement that he showed in playing that style. So to me that bodes very, very well for him, and therefore for us - you know, not just for us this weekend, but for the future. I'm extremely proud of what he was able to do today. It was a hell of a match.

ANDY RODDICK: There's a guy right now that's a pretty good No. 1 player in the world in tennis. I think he could become possibly one of the best clay-courters in the world. You know, he showed a lot out there today. I tried everything and he played very well. So it's no secret that he has a very, very bright future.