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U.S. OPENSeptember 5, 2007Andy RoddickNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK THE MODERATOR: Questions. Q. Do you think you could have played any better than you did, essentially in the first two sets, and start of the third as well tonight? ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I played well. I don't know about better or whatever. But I played well. Q. What do you think the keys were, in the tiebreaks, just a couple points here or there? ANDY RODDICK: I didn't make mistakes. If he hits a 140, hits the back of the line, you know, whatever. Q. Is there any qualitative difference to you losing when you play well against him and losing when you play poorly? ANDY RODDICK: Sure. I mean, I'm not walking off with any questions in my head this time. I'm not walking with my head down. I played my ass off out there tonight. I played the right way. So, you know, it helps, but that doesn't mean I can't be pissed off. Q. Does it just show how good he is? ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, he's great. Q. How hard is it coming into these press conferences and dealing with questions about Roger? ANDY RODDICK: It's not fun. Q. Is it ever hard not to feel sorry for yourself that you were born into his generation? ANDY RODDICK: No. If I feel sorry for myself I'm a real asshole. Honestly, I get to play in atmospheres like that. You know, I get a lot of opportunities. I'm very lucky. If I start feeling sorry for myself I need a serious sense of perspective. Q. Do you still think you can beat him? ANDY RODDICK: Yeah. If I didn't I wouldn't be out here. Q. Do you wonder what more you can do after playing, as you said, the best that you could? ANDY RODDICK: I didn't say that. He said that. Yeah, tonight, that way. If I play like that consistently, who knows. I think contrary to what he said, I don't think it was a piece of cake for him. You know, I thought I made him play as well as he could play. Q. Did you feel from the beginning you knew it was going to be a riveting match? ANDY RODDICK: I felt pretty good from the first ball. I had a game plan. I felt like I executed it pretty well most of the time. I just tried to keep going. Q. That "piece of cake" remark, that's what Michael said first before Roger. Do you take that personally? ANDY RODDICK: No. I just hope he didn't mean it was a piece of cake. Q. He was being sort of sarcastic about hard work, that you're an overnight sensation by working hard. ANDY RODDICK: That's okay. Is that a question? Q. It is a question, yeah. ANDY RODDICK: Well, what was your question? Are you going to ask the same thing he just asked? Q. My question still stands. Did you take it personally? ANDY RODDICK: No. I know Roger has more class than that. I was just making the point contrary to what was said out there. I didn't think it was a piece of cake. You guys can take that and run with it however you want and make something of it, but that's not the case. I'm just saying contrary to what was said, I hope it wasn't a piece of cake. It certainly didn't feel that way from my end. Q. He obviously served huge at key moments. Did you feel like, other than the one breakpoint, you had some chances? ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I was getting to deuce. The first set and a half I wasn't getting a lot of looks. The end of the second set, even the beginning of the third, I was getting there. I didn't return badly. That's what you have to try to make him do. Q. As the match got away from you in the third set, seems like you had a lot of nervous energy. Getting up early in the changeovers. ANDY RODDICK: As the match got away from me? I've been getting up early from switch-overs since 2000. I don't know if that was just for the third set. Q. Would you say this is the best you ever played against him or the best you felt leaving a match against him? ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. I played pretty well in Shanghai. I played pretty well in the Wimbledon final in '04. It's tough to choose. I mean, it's tough to say one way or the other, especially when this one's fresh in your memory. Q. When he reflexes back a 140 like you were talking about in the breaker, does it surprise you? ANDY RODDICK: No, no. I've seen it done too many times. Q. Is he getting better? ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. Q. What are your plans now? Are you going to stay in New York or go home? Next couple days? ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. I might take tomorrow off and start getting ready for Davis Cup. Q. Is it harder to take a loss when you did play so well as opposed to a match where you said, I just didn't have it tonight? ANDY RODDICK: Given the choice of losing playing well and losing playing badly, I'll take losing playing well any day of the week. Q. Did you enjoy the match, other than the end of it? ANDY RODDICK: I was having a lot of fun out there. I'd have to be completely out of touch not to realize that, you know, what the atmosphere was like out there tonight. If I don't have fun doing that, then I'm not going to have fun playing tennis. It was a treat to play out there in that atmosphere. Q. Can you try to describe what is it like to be out there in that kind of a match? ANDY RODDICK: You know, you can just feed off the energy. It's a show. You know, you're just pushing each other. It's a competitive environment. When you feel like both people are playing up to their abilities. Obviously the crowd. You walk out there, you're part of a very small percentage of people who can go out there and hear someone cheer for them, compete on that stage with that amount of hype. So I think, like I said, I'd have to be totally out of touch not to realize that and appreciate it. Q. Don't you think you've shown in the last two or three matches you can hurt him? ANDY RODDICK: I hope so. End of FastScripts |
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