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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 14, 2008

Jamie Baker

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. What did you make of the match? Give him a good run for his money?
JAMIE BAKER: Yeah, I did. I was a bit disappointed with the way I started. I thought I played a little bit sort of cagey, which is always kind of difficult when you're playing someone that has as big a serve as that and you know your service games are so important.
But, I mean, on the whole, I kept a guy 20 in the world on the court three-and-a-half hours. I don't think the difference of 200 ranking spots kind of showed that much. There's definitely a lot of positives I can take.

Q. You seemed to get quite edgy out there at times. Can you talk about that?
JAMIE BAKER: Yeah. I mean, there was a good atmosphere. Good lot of support for both of us actually.
It was quite windy, which kind of probably made it a little bit edgy, because both of us didn't want to give anything away once we got into the rallies. You know, for me, when I got into the rallies on his serve, I knew I wanted to make the most of those.
Then similarly, on my serve, I didn't want to waste them. So, yeah, kind of understandable.

Q. When you dropped the serve to lose those sets, did he up his game or are you disappointed with the way you played?
JAMIE BAKER: I think a little bit of both. In those games -- I was obviously targeting his backhand a lot. His topspin backhand is definitely a weakness in his game. But his slice, rather than kind of being a block like it was for most of the set ended up having just a little bit more fizz on it.
Then I think I would say I was just a little bit tight with a few shots, just little things like being half a step short to the ball. Especially when it's windy, that can cost you one or two points. It gets away pretty quickly. It was only one break and the set was gone.
I thought it was going to happen in the third set again, but luckily I managed to hold onto that. Yeah, I'd say a bit of both. His shots had a little bit more on that and me just being a little bit tight.

Q. You must have been pleased with the way you handled his serve, generally.
JAMIE BAKER: His serve?

Q. Yes.
JAMIE BAKER: Yeah, I did. That's the thing about a five-set match. It's long. You do get a chance to kind of try and not guess but just get a feel for where they're going. I started taking his second serves a lot earlier, which actually made a big difference to me. I even sort of came into the net quite a lot off it. And in those conditions, because it was windy and his serve getting up so high because of how tall he is, it was better for me to take it earlier, because the longer I was waiting for it, the more it was moving, yeah.

Q. Were you happy with the behavior of the crowd?
JAMIE BAKER: Yeah. I mean, I'd rather have a good atmosphere than have nobody there at all, like it was all good fun. They were just a little bit noisy sometimes when I was serving, but apart from that, it was okay.

Q. Was it intimidating or frustrating or both playing against a guy whose serve digs him out of trouble time and time again?
JAMIE BAKER: I mean, it is frustrating. But the way I look at it and was looking at it is that's his game. That's how he's looking to damage players.
So for me to become frustrated -- basically, the more frustrated I am, then the more his game is working. So it's something that I have to try to combat.
Really, if he hits his first serve as accurately and as fast as he tries to every time, then there's not many people that can get much on it. But the task that I set myself was, right, any time he was slightly -- he was not quite as accurate, any time I had a second serve, then I was going to be ready to take advantage of it. And if I was kind of moping around, frustrated by how many aces he served or how many times he served his way out of trouble, then I wouldn't be in a good position to take advantage of those opportunities.

Q. You're somebody that always seems more than willing to learn. What have you learned from today and this whole experience?
JAMIE BAKER: Good question. Uhm, the biggest thing for me I think is to do with belief of where I can play my tennis. I think I showed today where I think my ranking belongs. It's not where it is just now. If it was, I wouldn't be able to keep somebody on the court that long that was the 20th best player in the world.
So I'd say that would be the biggest thing. Of course, there's loads of things, especially today to do with tactics and, as I say, I didn't quite start as well as I would have liked. I'll take time to review all that and see how I can take that forward. But, as I say, the main thing for me is that it was never -- because of the way I played in the first three matches, I was never in doubt that I would be able to be competitive during that match, especially with the nature of his game, because I'm a baseliner and he's got a big serve. Any time we got into a rally, I'd fancy my chances to win most of those points.
But to really have the belief that I can actually trouble somebody who's ranked as highly as that means that I just want to get into those tournaments where I'm playing those kind of players as much as I can, week in, week out, instead of in the challengers, to get a bit more money in my pocket as well (laughter).

Q. Do you think if you got into the top hundred you'd stay up there?
JAMIE BAKER: I think the way the game works, the way everything is kind of shaped up, once you get into that top hundred, you kind of lock the door and throw away the key, the way the points and everything is structured. I think it's a lot easier to stay within those rankings than to actually get there at the start.
I mean, I've beaten, I don't know, three or four top hundred players. As I say, I'm troubling that guy today. There's no reason why I wouldn't be able to do that. I'm always willing to learn. I think I'm quite a fast learner.

Q. How do you think your game has come in the last three months?
JAMIE BAKER: Hugely. As I've shown in the last four matches I've played, my level hasn't dropped during any of them really. So I think I brought my overall average up. And that's the key. It's like how can I bring my average level up? It's only a few days in the year that you'll actually think you're playing unbelievably well and not having to really think about it. But it's those days, it's like, Okay, on my bad days, how good actually am I as a player? If I bring that up, then I'll start being in business.

Q. Was there a bit of ill feeling at the end there?
JAMIE BAKER: Well, I don't know. I don't know the way the rules work. But the eight-minute delay at the end of the third set was just ridiculous. I don't know -- I just don't see that to be part of tennis. With my other match, the last round of qualifying, you know, that was definitely an injury time-out.
I have no problem with people going to the bathroom. If it's a best-of-five set match, as much as we're drinking, it's going to be almost inhuman not to need a toilet for that length of time. But, I mean, I had to go after one set. I mean, I happily would hold my hands up if I took as long as he did, which I don't think I did. If he genuinely did get there and come back in as quick a time a possible, I think the tournament has to do something, put a portable toilet near the court or something. Because that's not part of the game. I mean, where does it say in the rules we have a seven- or eight-minute delay after a set?
It just changes the whole feel. The atmosphere of the court goes dead. I lose my momentum. He starts playing again, and I play a few cheap points because I'm shivering in the first game. That's the break of serve. He'd serve first the whole match. The three sets, he was serving first. The fourth set, I'd first serve. Again, he's serving ahead the whole time.
I think the fourth set was probably his best serving set. But I'd like to have seen him being a game behind instead of always a break up.

Q. So you said to him...
JAMIE BAKER: I'm not going to say (smiling).

Q. There were words exchanged?
JAMIE BAKER: I mean, yeah. I said to him, Well played (smiling).

Q. These are lessons you're learning?
JAMIE BAKER: Yeah. I mean, as I say, it doesn't happen in a challenger tournament, because the venue, you know, wherever the nearest toilet is, it wouldn't take you seven minutes to get there.
But because this is a bigger venue, I mean, as I say, if that was genuine, that's going to be part of the game, then fine. I just wasn't aware of it. I guess it's something that I'll learn with experience, be able to deal with that break a bit better.

Q. You should have gone with him.
JAMIE BAKER: Yeah. Put a lead on him.

Q. So what now?
JAMIE BAKER: Good question.

Q. Going home?
JAMIE BAKER: I think I'll probably get onto the clay as soon as I can. I'm definitely going back to Florida for some training and then I am playing the qualifying in Chile the week before Davis Cup, then on to my favorite surface (smiling).

Q. How much have you thought about Davis Cup and Argentina?
JAMIE BAKER: Apart from every night since the draw was made that's kept me awake... No (smiling).
I think about it a lot. As soon as it was made, when I was doing my schedule for the start of the year, I was always going to play this tournament and then as soon as it was done here, I was gonna completely focus on preparing for the clay, basically get myself as good a chance to play as well as I can leading up to that match, which would then give me a good chance of playing.

Q. Has it been a real incentive to you over the last few weeks, the thought you could get a singles place for that match?
JAMIE BAKER: It's been -- yeah, it hasn't been whilst I've been playing, but it's been definitely on my agenda.

Q. It's often been difficult for British players who come through qualifying, lose in the first or second round, get themselves back up on what can be a very tedious circuit. Do you feel confident you'll be able to do that?
JAMIE BAKER: I think it's a good thing we've got this match coming up so soon after because, again, it's going to be an environment which I'm definitely not used to playing in. So the challenge for me is probably going to be at the end of that match when I have to go back to playing the slightly smaller tournaments and getting as many points as quickly as I can. That will be the challenge after the match.

Q. Judging from the previous years you've been on the challenger circuit, where do you think you'll be able to make the biggest push?
JAMIE BAKER: Did you say when or where?

Q. Where and when if you like?
JAMIE BAKER: Well, I played a lot over in America. I like the tournaments there. I feel comfortable. You get twice as much for your money (smiling). I spend a lot of time there, so it will probably happen there.

Q. Do you feel you've packed an awful lot into what has been quite a short time here, which will last you massively into the coming season?
JAMIE BAKER: Yeah, I think it would be definitely in my interest to keep my experiences and performances in the last week or so, to kind of use that, as I say, when it's the daily grind or week-to-week grind of the challengers. If I ever feel I'm struggling, I've got a lot more that I can go back to in my memory bank than I did before the tournament started. So that is definitely, definitely in my interest to keep this at the front of my mind and just use it as a springboard for the rest of the year.

End of FastScripts

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