|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
U.S. OPENAugust 29, 2007Alun JonesNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK THE MODERATOR: Questions. Q. Where have you been the last few years? ALUN JONES: I'm an Aussie grinder. I've been out there, but just not at this level. Been playing the challenger circuit. You know, just recently been putting some good performances in. Q. How exciting was it to be on the big stage? ALUN JONES: Great. First time out there on a big court anyway, pretty much. It was a great experience. Enjoyed every minute of it. Q. Obviously you have a career-high ranking. Optimistic about going even further? ALUN JONES: My goal is top hundred. I'm heading the right direction now. Take a lot of positives out of today. Try to keep going forward. Q. What will you take from the match today? ALUN JONES: Just the fact that I matched it with Nadal, 2 in the world, for probably an hour and a half, two hours out there. That's a big positive. Q. Did you sense that he was hurting? ALUN JONES: Yeah, I saw that. I went at his forehand a lot today. I mean, that was the tactics going into it. I did notice he wasn't getting down low for his forehand on his leg, so tried to go at it even more. Q. What do you think lost it for you? ALUN JONES: Just the fact I'm not used to playing the big stage at this level against guys like that. You know, I think mentally I just went up and down a little bit. Had chances in the third set to go two sets to one up. Had a break. Gave it back on an easy game. Just moments like that. Q. You seemed to fade out at the start of the third set. Were you just distracted by the fact the crowd got behind you? ALUN JONES: Yeah, I guess. Yeah, just another moment. There were quite a few moments in the match where I thought I went off a little bit. I mean, that happens, I guess. I managed to get it back, put myself in a good position for the third set. Q. Did you understand that line call the 11th game of the third set where you challenged, ball was ruled out, second serve? ALUN JONES: Yeah, I understood it. I think twice I missed -- I think I did that twice where maybe I called for the - what do you call it - Hawk-Eye, then missed the second serve. Yeah, distracted a little bit by that. Q. Do you think his knee injury will limit him from doing very well here or do you think he can get to a final? ALUN JONES: Hard to say. I'm not sure what it is, what's wrong with him. Looks like tendinitis to me. I guess you can play through that. Just have to take care of it. You know, first round in a major, top guy, that's when they can lose I guess. They start getting better form deep into the tournament. That's when they're extremely tough to beat. Q. A lot of interest in you in Australia today. Can you give us a history of when you came to Australia from South Africa, where you've been living? ALUN JONES: Everyone says that about South Africa. I left when I was one years old. I've been in Canberra ever since. My parents are Welsh. They were in South Africa six years working, had three kids there. We all moved to Australia. Q. Seen the movie Wimbledon. What is the extent of your acting career? ALUN JONES: No, never done anything else. That was it. That was just by chance. They wanted some pros into the movie to make it look a bit more realistic. I played a small part. Q. Was that enjoyable? ALUN JONES: Yeah, it was different. It was enjoyable. I don't think acting's going to be part of my life in the future. Q. There was some suggestion on the TV commentary because the earlier match had finished early and they couldn't find you because they didn't know what you looked like. Is that true? ALUN JONES: No. I mean, I think they knew what I looked like. I hope they did. I was up in the gym. I was getting ready upstairs. I wasn't in the changing rooms. Q. Do you get any sort of banter in the locker room about your Wimbledon movie appearance? ALUN JONES: Every now and then I do. Someone says, I saw you last night in the movie. Not too much. Q. No one calls you Tom? ALUN JONES: Yeah, they do (laughter). A little bit, yeah. That came out a few years ago now, so it's dying off, thank God. Q. Any players in particular that call you Tom that we would know? ALUN JONES: Players go through stages, as well. Sometimes they bring it out again, everyone has a laugh. Not too much anymore. Q. How long were you on screen? ALUN JONES: Not too long. I played a part where I lost in the quarterfinals to the main actor. I was on screen for maybe a minute. Q. In the match today, is it all a letdown to play a top player when he's not at his best? ALUN JONES: Is it a letdown? Q. Yes. ALUN JONES: I would prefer if he was on one leg. I would have had a better chance to beat him. Q. You talked about the loose service game at 4-3. Were you just sitting there thinking ahead? ALUN JONES: I feel a little bit -- yeah, at 4-3 I thought, if I get this set I got a good chance of winning. But it's always a tough side to hold. It was against the wind. I think we both had trouble holding serve on that side throughout the match. Q. Did you do much better than you expected today? ALUN JONES: Yeah, you know, I went into the match thinking I've got a good chance if I play well. Stick to the tactics and -- to win the match? Got to the stage in the third set where I got close. I backed off a little bit, I think. Q. You faded in the Aussie Open. ALUN JONES: I faded a little bit. I was two sets to love up. Yeah, physically my fitness sort of let me down a little bit. I felt pretty good out here today. I've been working on that throughout the year. I felt pretty good. Had no cramps or anything like that. Yeah, it's been working well. Q. At what point in your career did you contemplate retirement? Did you stay away from the game for a few years? ALUN JONES: I had a full year off the game. I've been playing for about two and a half years again now. Two and a half years ago I had a full year off the game. Q. Why did you leave the game and why did you come back? ALUN JONES: I left the game because I wasn't going in the right direction pretty much. Had a full year off. I did a lot of coaching in that year. I realized a few things while I was coaching, what I did wrong. I learnt from that. Put it together. Starting to get up there and hopefully get the top hundred. Q. Who were you coaching? How difficult was it being on the sidelines in tennis? ALUN JONES: It was good for a while. As I said, I started realizing things about myself. I thought, you know, I got to give it one more shot. Been going for two and a half years again now. I think I'm getting better and better. Q. Where from here? ALUN JONES: Back home in Canberra for two and a half weeks. Leaving straightaway. Leaving probably tomorrow or the next day. I'm heading over to Davis Cup in Serbia as a hitting partner for the team. Q. Did you coach in Canberra? ALUN JONES: Yeah. Q. At a club? ALUN JONES: The main tennis center in Canberra. Coached a lot of juniors, the leading juniors in my hometown. Q. What year was that? ALUN JONES: Like pretty much two and a half years ago. So I did it pretty much a full year. Q. Were you contemplating being out of tennis all together? ALUN JONES: When I stopped, I stopped to quit pretty much. Came back, and it's been great. It's been better. Q. What were you going to do? ALUN JONES: I tried a few things. Q. Like what? ALUN JONES: I worked for my father. He owns a construction company. I worked behind a shovel for about three months (laughter). Then I took an IT course for about three months. Didn't enjoy that either. So then I went into tennis coaching, which I really enjoyed. I can easily do that in a few years' time. Q. Was it a speaking part in the movie? ALUN JONES: No. I was playing an English guy. Thank God it wasn't a speaking part (laughter). Q. You said you're one of three children. ALUN JONES: Youngest. Q. Anyone from your family here with you today? ALUN JONES: Actually, my parents are here. They're on their way over to Europe actually. They're going to watch the rugby World Cup over in France. Q. They were in the stands. ALUN JONES: David and Sue. Q. Is that the best crowd response you've had in your career? ALUN JONES: That's typical here in New York. They go for the underdog. I've only been on the Margaret Court in Australia a couple times. It's nowhere near the size of this. I've had good support back in Australia. When I've been away from Australia I've never experienced anything like this. Q. This was your eighth match on a tour level. ALUN JONES: Could be right, yeah. Sounds about right. Q. How long do you give yourself? You're 27 in a sport where 30 is ancient. Do you look at Wayne Arthurs? ALUN JONES: I'm looking at Wayne Arthurs right now (smiling). A lot of people do play their best tennis from 26 to 29. I think I am at the moment. If I can play the tour level, top hundred level, I could play that for another seven years if I can get there. Q. Does Wayne Arthurs serve as an inspiration? ALUN JONES: A lot of Australians are peaking late. Peter Luczak just broke into the top hundred this year. He's 28. A few of us guys still around. Q. When you're looking at Nadal on the other side of the net, knowing what you know of him, how limited did he seem to you today? ALUN JONES: Well, you know, I found out Wednesday I was playing Nadal. I was pretty nervous all week thinking about it. As soon as I got out there I felt pretty comfortable in the moment. Didn't really faze me at all, which is good, which is positive. Yeah, I thought I put in a pretty good performance. Q. Surprised to find yourself leading 4-1 in that set? ALUN JONES: That's what I was hoping, to get off to a good start, get off to an early break. That's another moment where I could have won the first set, maybe been two sets to love up. But, you know, I mean -- Q. There wasn't a moment at that score line you thought, What am I doing here? ALUN JONES: That's what I was hoping for. I got to that stage. Yeah, maybe I was a little bit surprised up 4-1 against Nadal. That's what my goal was, to get off to a good start. Q. If you could change something about the match, what would you change? ALUN JONES: Just I guess that 4-3 game. Serving into the wind. I lost my serve to love. Just to put in a big performance there, knowing I could have been serving for the third set with the wind. Q. How did you find out you were playing Rafa? Did somebody text you? ALUN JONES: I found out -- I was just about to go on court to train. I saw it on the Internet. One of my friends told me that. Q. What did you say? Was it printable? ALUN JONES: I can't repeat what I said (laughter). Q. How long have you been with the AIS? ALUN JONES: Just this year. First year. We've got four coaches with the men's team. We pretty much have a coach every week, a trainer as well. It's been perfect this year. Great support. Q. Did he seem like the "real Nadal" out there? ALUN JONES: I've watched him a lot on TV. Yeah, not really. I don't think he was at a hundred percent. Only heard the grunt a few times (smiling). No, I don't think he was at a hundred percent out there. Pretty sure you'll find that out soon. Q. What do you mean by that? You think he won't go as far as he could otherwise? ALUN JONES: No, I think you'll find out soon. Q. When he talks? ALUN JONES: When he tells you about it. Q. Do you have any sort of goals short-term, how to get to the top hundred? ALUN JONES: I have to make 150 points by the end of the year, which is -- I've got quite a few tournaments to do that. After Davis Cup, I'm playing four to six weeks in Europe. I think it's indoor hard. Three weeks back in Australia. I've got quite a few tournaments to try to achieve that. Q. Is that a good surface for you? ALUN JONES: Yeah, anything kind of quick is a good surface for me, somewhere where I can hold my serve. I had some decent results on grass just after Wimbledon and also on a quick surface in Segovia, Spain. Q. You mentioned you were behind a shovel for three months. What project was that? A big Caterpillar or a real shovel? ALUN JONES: Real shovel (laughter). I was just digging a lot of holes. That's what I was doing. Q. For what project? ALUN JONES: Just for my dad. What was he doing? At some dams actually. Q. Was he wearing a Welsh jumper at the World Cup? ALUN JONES: No, definitely Australia. I think my parents will, too. Q. I meant your dad. ALUN JONES: My dad, yeah, definitely Australia. End of FastScripts |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|