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THE ARTOIS CHAMPIONSHIPSJune 11, 2007Alex BogdanovicLONDON, ENGLAND THE MODERATOR: Questions for Alex. Q. Good win. ALEX BOGDANOVIC: Yeah, no, it was a very good win. Obviously it's always going to be a tough match, first match coming in. I think he was nervous. I was nervous. But I felt like, you know, I did really well just to close it out really. Q. You proved in challengers you can do it and win titles. ALEX BOGDANOVIC: I think it's a little different. Playing challengers have helped me a lot. I'm definitely a better player than I was last year. I have improved a lot. I've won a lot of matches at the challenger level. Now it's kind of moving on to the ATP Tour, trying to win matches like this. You're going to be playing these guys week in, week out when you're top hundred. Just have to kind of get used to it. Q. It's a win in that manner, as well? ALEX BOGDANOVIC: Yeah, no, definitely I felt like, you know, it was a really nervous start. But I took an early break. He broke back. Managed to break again. From then on, I played a little bit more aggressive, which is really good. Just kind of kept the momentum going. Q. You're known as a guy that does get a bit tight at times. What have you done to combat that? ALEX BOGDANOVIC: Well, I've been working really hard on my physical. I felt like I needed to get stronger. I spent a lot of time in Tampa, in Saddlebrook. That's helped me a lot, especially in the challenger level, to kind of win matches. That was really important for me to go from one week to the other feeling good physically. Obviously my game has improved a lot as well. Q. Now obviously Peter Lundgren is having a big input. Who is doing the physical work? ALEX BOGDANOVIC: Pat Etcheberry in Saddlebrook. Q. They're both very experienced guys, aren't they? ALEX BOGDANOVIC: Yeah. I mean, Peter has helped me a lot. I mean, we started to work I think it was end of February, beginning of March. You know, we've come a long way. You know, Peter is trying to get me to just stay aggressive out there, play one point at a time, not worry what's happened before, what's going to happen ahead. Just trying to stay in the present was the most important thing for me every match I play. Q. Does he sit down and talk you through your experiences in Davis Cup when you've been in front of big crowds and that hasn't worked? Have you talked about that? ALEX BOGDANOVIC: Yeah, we've talked a lot. I've asked him a lot about Fed, Roger, Marat, when he coached them, how they dealt with the occasions. Everybody is human. Everybody went through a period like they would get nervous, like Roger did as well when he was younger. It's just finding how to deal with it. Different things kind of taught me that I could just get over that. As you get more mature, older, it does definitely help you. Q. The way you dealt with it today was completely different. Today you broke, but then were broken, broke straight back. You were serving for the match breakpoints down, but still came through. ALEX BOGDANOVIC: Yeah, I think one of the most important things he said was, Doesn't matter whether you're break down or are a break up, just to play one point at a time, think about the next point, how you're going to play, to have a plan how to do that so you're focused on that present moment. In the past, I felt like I was thinking too much ahead, thinking what's happened in the past. Obviously you allow these negative thoughts to come in, they can cause you damage. Q. Has the fact that it's been a crowd there in the past affected you? ALEX BOGDANOVIC: Yeah, I think everything, the crowd, also the negative thoughts that you think, okay, last year I did the same thing playing a match. I was serving for it; I got broken. All these thoughts come in when you're serving for the match. It's just about trying to think what you're going to do that next point, this point, rather than what the score is, whether you're serving for the match or whether it's 1-Love in the first set. Q. Presumably after a match like that, you can think of what you did to come through? ALEX BOGDANOVIC: Definitely. Q. Rely on things you've actually done? ALEX BOGDANOVIC: Definitely, what you've done, what worked on the day. Q. Jamie in the second round. ALEX BOGDANOVIC: Yeah. Q. Not played him before? ALEX BOGDANOVIC: No. I don't think we've played before, yeah. Q. Talk about that. ALEX BOGDANOVIC: Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. He's a young, up-coming player. I know Jamie pretty well. We know each other. He's a great guy. It's going to be a tough match. For him to get through his first-round match, he was a set down, it's a great thing for him. I don't know where we're going to play, Centre or Court 1. Really looking forward to it. I think it's a great opportunity for both of us. Whoever gets through maybe has a chance to play Andy Roddick. That would be a great experience. Q. He's been at Saddlebrook, as well. ALEX BOGDANOVIC: Yes. Q. You've bumped into him? ALEX BOGDANOVIC: We bump into each other. Q. Practice with each other? ALEX BOGDANOVIC: Yeah, we practice all the time. In Roehampton last week as well. We know each other pretty well (smiling). End of FastScripts |
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