|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
THE ARTOIS CHAMPIONSHIPSJune 9, 2008Chris GuccioneLONDON, ENGLAND C. GUCCIONE/Y. Lu 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 THE MODERATOR: Questions. Q. He made you work for it, but you got through okay. Happy with that? CHRIS GUCCIONE: Yeah. Always good to get through the first match on grass for the year. Pretty happy with the way I played. Yeah, I mean, it was a tight last game there. It was good to get away with that one. Q. You've had a lot of trouble with him in the past. Why? CHRIS GUCCIONE: He's a good player. You know, he can play at a very high level. His game sort of suits mine a little bit. He's got really good returns, pretty good serve, hits the ball very flat and hard to the corner, tries to make you work for it. You know, I think he's a great player. I'm expecting him to move up the rankings a little bit. Q. How do you feel in terms of your form on grass compared to this time last year? CHRIS GUCCIONE: Definitely a better player. You know, I think I'm serving better, volleying better, definitely moving better. That was one of the things I've been working on. You know, I think even returns and groundstrokes, they're coming along as well. If I put it all together on one day, I feel I can beat most guys out there. Q. Going into Wimbledon, obviously we're looking a bit further ahead, that has to put you in a good mindset. CHRIS GUCCIONE: Yeah, you know, all these tournaments are important to me on the grass. Wimbledon's a big one. But having a good result in these, in Queen's or Nottingham, helps the ranking a lot. I'm focusing on one tournament at a time. But, you know, when Wimbledon does come, hopefully I'm playing pretty well. Q. Robby Ginepri next up. CHRIS GUCCIONE: I haven't seen the draw. Is it Ginepri? Q. Yes. You've played him once, but that was a few years ago. CHRIS GUCCIONE: Yeah, I haven't played Ginepri for probably four or five years. I'll see how we go there. Q. Interesting to match yourself up against him again? CHRIS GUCCIONE: Yeah. I mean, he's a solid player as well, very good returns, hits the ball hard from the back. It's not an easy match. Q. Lleyton has been through a lot on and off the court. When I mention Lleyton, what's the first thing that comes to your mind? CHRIS GUCCIONE: Fighting spirit, great competitor. I know him quite well now. Great guy off the court. Once he gets on the court, he wants nothing but to win. It's a great quality. I mean, I think he's definitely a lot better than his ranking suggests at the moment. Q. You say he's a great guy off the court. Earlier in his career a lot of players didn't get along with him. What makes him a great guy? CHRIS GUCCIONE: He's just really friendly, very down-to-earth. He's great to all the younger guys, helps them where he can, hitting practice and stuff like that. Just really supportive, very friendly to all of us. Q. Australia has a great tennis tradition. Lleyton is the standard bearer for the past five, 10 years. Must be a difficult thing. CHRIS GUCCIONE: I can't say from experience. I assume it's pretty difficult, all the pressure of always being up there. I think he's handled it very well during his career. I mean, he's still ranked I think 30 or 35 at the moment. I don't think he's close to being done. Hopefully he can get right back up there. Q. Do you get a sense of how his hip has been bothering him. I know during the Davis Cup he played with it. Do you have a sense of how fit he is? CHRIS GUCCIONE: Not really. We don't really talk about how fit he is or what sort of injuries he's got. I didn't see him play this morning, but I know he won. Obviously he's playing pretty well. Q. During the Davis Cup, did he pay for the flying transport of a cystic fibrosis sufferer? CHRIS GUCCIONE: Yeah, flew him down to Townsville. Yeah, he had a hit with all the guys. I had a hit with him for about 15 minutes. It was good fun. Great to see Lleyton getting involved in that sort of stuff. 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
|