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WIMBLEDON

June 28, 2007

Wayne Arthurs

LONDON, ENGLAND

Q. How would you describe match point?
WAYNE ARTHURS: One of the better shots I've hit in my life. I don't actually remember it. I don't even remember hitting the shot. I don't actually remember the lead-up to it. Probably once in a lifetime sort of shot, but I did actually try and hit it where it went, believe it or not.

Q. Were you getting pretty tight sort of seeing the line come up?
WAYNE ARTHURS: Not really, actually, no. I was actually a lot more in control probably today than I was the other day. And very relaxed on my serve. I don't know whether I served a double fault today at all, which is a pretty good going.
I don't know how many aces I served. But, yeah, to win it in such a manner after hitting the shot before, which is probably one of the worst shots I've ever hit.

Q. What happened there?
WAYNE ARTHURS: It came down, and a little gust of wind, I think -- I really tried to slice it out to his backhand side and the wind gusted right on the edge. Whether it killed the cameraman, I didn't see it.

Q. Did you hit someone in the head?
WAYNE ARTHURS: I don't know. It went very fast.

Q. You're sticking to the wind story and that's it?
WAYNE ARTHURS: Sticking to the wind story. No nerves at all in that shot (laughter).

Q. Did you feel that Robredo was getting a little upset in the breaker with the all the Australian fans and all?
WAYNE ARTHURS: I don't know. I know he gets very frustrated with the way I play. He'll be one of the guys kicking me out the door. I don't think he likes the way I play and I don't think he'll miss me at all.

Q. How is your body holding up?
WAYNE ARTHURS: Pretty well, actually. I was pretty stiff yesterday. I got a lot of work on my body yesterday afternoon, a little pill called Voltarin helps pretty well when you're over 35.

Q. What's that do?
WAYNE ARTHURS: It's an anti-inflammatory. It dulls the pain a little bit.

Q. I was reading about obviously your Australian Open when you had your injection and it didn't work.
WAYNE ARTHURS: Yeah.

Q. What are you doing this time to make sure you can keep on going, Voltarin?
WAYNE ARTHURS: A little bit, but I actually did the same thing in qualifying to the other hip, and it wasn't as bad. Luckily I had four or five days to recover from that, and, touch wood, I've been pretty lucky with my body.

Q. It's a hip flexor, is it?
WAYNE ARTHURS: It was, yeah.

Q. How does it feel to be kind of one of the geriatrics of Wimbledon?
WAYNE ARTHURS: I came off the court, and there's a couple of Aussie guys in the locker room who manage the locker. I was standing out the front here and they had a wheelchair with my name on the back (laughter).

Q. But did you get it in, into it?
WAYNE ARTHURS: I didn't, no. Maybe a few more matches down the track I will.

Q. They might have to get another one for Jonas if he comes through.
WAYNE ARTHURS: Yeah, I don't think we're allowed to play before Monday because the over 35s doesn't start until next week.

Q. What other bits of your body are hurting after this stretch?
WAYNE ARTHURS: Nothing, really. I get stiff around the hips and that sort of thing from the grass. My shoulder is pretty good. I had a bit of an AC problem coming in, but that also has cleared up, as well. Body-wise I'm doing pretty well.

Q. If he gets in, you know Jonas pretty well, how would that be playing him here?
WAYNE ARTHURS: We've got a bit of history. We've played I think six or seven times, and it's pretty even. We've played on grass, hard court, pretty much every surface.
Yeah, it's -- I mean, you look at the draw and there's us, there's Tim Henman battling away. Looks like he may win in five sets. Over 30s are doing pretty well, so it's a testament to probably our bodies that we've been able to last for so long.

Q. What's your relationship with him? Do you know him pretty well?
WAYNE ARTHURS: Pretty well, yeah. We've had a few run-ins in the past. He hit me pretty hard in the nether regions in Davis Cup probably three or four years ago, and a few on-court incidents, but off the court we're fine.

Q. He's got Todd in his corner now, hasn't he?
WAYNE ARTHURS: He has, yeah. I'm going to have to do something about that.

Q. What was your motivation? It's all very well heading up a farewell tour, but having qualified, that's more than --
WAYNE ARTHURS: It is, yeah. It is a slump, but my motivation was to play here one more time, and that was motivation enough, even though it was out of Roehampton and not on the main site.

Q. What was your first time here, as a junior?
WAYNE ARTHURS: No, I didn't come as a junior. I was a pretty bad junior actually. I was still at school when all the junior tournaments were on. My first year was, I believe '92 or '93. I can't remember actually.
That was just doubles, not singles. My first singles was '99, so it's nine in a row now.

Q. What expectations did you set for yourself coming over here?
WAYNE ARTHURS: To qualify really. My main ambition was to qualify. And then the draw, I saw the draw, and I gave myself a pretty good chance first to win that match on Tuesday, and then I actually felt probably more confident today of winning than I did the first round.

Q. So where are they now, those expectations?
WAYNE ARTHURS: Just enjoying it, I really am. I haven't even thought about the next round yet. I've been able to relax a little bit more today than I had done in the previous matches, and hopefully I can relax even more in the next match.

Q. Take us through a sort of typical day in the Wayne Arthurs Tour. Apart from playing, what are you up to elsewhere like in between matches?
WAYNE ARTHURS: In between matches, well, my daughter is not here at the moment, but I usually get home and she's just got to that age where I come in the door and she'll run around the corner with a massive smile on her face, which is sensational. And then pretty much at home I play with her.
We eat at home because it's easier to eat at home than it is to go out. Not much difference tennis-wise and preparing than it has been in the past.

Q. Have you and Caroline a little flat somewhere?
WAYNE ARTHURS: We have, yeah. We're staying down in Wimbledon town. It has a couple of rooms.

Q. Because you've been coming for so long do you have a routine of your favorite places and the things you like to do?
WAYNE ARTHURS: Yeah, I have, but it's changed with my daughter. We don't go out to dinner at all. We go to Sainsbury's or Marks & Spencer's, get a meal, go home, sit and probably watch the end of Wimbledon every night.
Usually Tim is what we're watching every night (laughter). Yeah, it's very simple, it really is. My life is pretty simple.

Q. Have you thought about life after tennis yet, what you're going to do?
WAYNE ARTHURS: A little bit. I've been in talks with people at Tennis Australia about various aspects of what I'd like to get into and what they want to do with me. I've got a few other projects, as well, at home.
I'm not in any rush to go back into it traveling-wise. I want to put back into tennis what it's given me, and I think that's an obligation when you have been a decent player to put back into the sport.

Q. Will you require any type of hip operations or anything do you think?
WAYNE ARTHURS: I don't think so, no.

Q. You said it's not that bad?
WAYNE ARTHURS: Oh, no. It's not even remotely that bad. It was a strain, that incident at the Australian Open, and the local anæsthetic hit my femoral nerve and rendered me useless basically. I recovered from the hip problem within two weeks.

Q. Give it time, Wayne.
WAYNE ARTHURS: Yeah, I know, a plastic hip in the cupboard somewhere.

Q. What happened there, having that sort of disappointing ending in Australia? Did that make you more determined coming here?
WAYNE ARTHURS: It did, yeah, actually. I was probably close to calling it a day in Australia. It's just the circumstances weren't right for me. And coming back here was -- always been my favorite tournament, and it's been a good decision.

Q. Is there anything that can possibly happen in the next week here that would get you to change your mind?
WAYNE ARTHURS: I've been thinking about that a little bit. It's possible at my present ranking; I'm 200. I mean, if I get to the qualifies I'm straight back in the top 100. That would probably be the only determining factor.

Q. You'd seriously consider it?
WAYNE ARTHURS: I would consider it, yes. That's the main reason -- well, one of the reasons why I've retired. It's hard to go around a full circle, and that's where I'm at at the moment.
I've had the apprenticeship probably four, five, six years, longer than most, at that Challenger and 200, 300 level. To go around the full circle, I can't do that again.

Q. Is Caroline aware you're having these thoughts?
WAYNE ARTHURS: Is this going to air (laughter)?
I'll say no more (laughter).

Q. What do you think will be going through your mind, and what will you be looking for when you watch a replay of match point today?
WAYNE ARTHURS: Everyone in the locker room actually said, "Wow, what a great shot ," to me. I'll actually get another chance to look at it. It's probably, yeah, a pretty special way to win the match like that, beating a top ten player.

Q. What's the odds of doing that again?
WAYNE ARTHURS: You tell me.

Q. I don't know, I want to ask you.
WAYNE ARTHURS: I don't know. I shouldn't have left the volley in the first place.

Q. The 30-something era of your life, what are the abilities that you see falling away, things that you were able to do at 20?
WAYNE ARTHURS: I said it in the pressroom just the other day that your weaknesses and strengths, the gap between the weaknesses and the strengths, become wider. And my weakness has always been my returning. That's probably dropped off a little bit.
My serve is always going to be there. It's been a very natural part of my game, and it's always going to be at that level. Obviously as I get older it'll get slower. But your weaknesses tend to show up even more as you get older.
Your desperation -- you want to win so bad at the end of your career because it is the end of your career that it's hard to get yourself to do the things that you know you should be doing, and those are the two things that I struggled with so far. I was much better today, and hopefully it's going to be even better the next match.

Q. Is that what was happening in the shot before, the first match point, a little bit?
WAYNE ARTHURS: No, that was a complete mishit. I can do that on any given day, I reckon. But it was pretty windy out there today. I'm going to stick with that story.

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