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WIMBLEDON

June 26, 2008

Janko Tipsarevic

LONDON, ENGLAND

J. TIPSAREVIC/A. Roddick
6-7, 7-5, 6-4, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English for Janko.

Q. We were talking about the set points and how you were able to hold those off. He gave you a little help, didn't he?
JANKO TIPSAREVIC: Yeah. I just looked at the statistics, and it's really simple: today I won because I used my chances and he didn't. He had a lot of breakpoints, I think 11 or 12, four set points even in the whole match, and he didn't use them.
The good thing for me is he didn't make me play too much on these set points and breakpoints. He was making unforced errors.

Q. Maybe the key point in the match at 4-4 in the tiebreak.
JANKO TIPSAREVIC: These balls look much easier than they really are in the match because, in my opinion, grass court is the only surface where you make breaks which you don't deserve.
The first break which I made in the match, in the second set, I didn't deserve the break. I made him play. He missed three easy points, double-fault. This is how it happens on grass.
This is why I think the most important thing on this surface is the return. If you can make the other guy play, the percentage is much bigger that you're going to get an easy break.

Q. On this particular point at 4-4 where you return short, his second shot left you an opportunity to pass, how difficult was that?
JANKO TIPSAREVIC: I was thinking on the return to make him play. Obviously he's serving around 220 every first serve, so my goal was to make him play at this point.
To be honest with you, it was a lucky shot because it felt really, really short and close to the net. On the passing shot, I just -- well, it was a little bit like an easy passing shot. I went for it down the line.
As you said, he didn't give too much pace on the ball. But still I'm glad I made it and I didn't shank or choke or something.

Q. Roddick said he was tight. How did you see it?
JANKO TIPSAREVIC: I actually did. Apart from his great serving, one of his biggest strengths, in my opinion, is that he's not making a lot of unforced errors and not making stupid mistakes from the baseline, which makes you play.
I knew before the match that I'm going to have to play a lot on my serve from the baseline, because I'm not a type of a player who destroys the other guy with my serve.
But today I could see that he was tight, and this is one of the reasons why, especially in the important moments, I made him play. I didn't try to hit great shots like impossible, down-the-line shots or something like that, which I'm proud of myself.
Because I saw this error on the match by myself without any coaching, without any other circumstances. It's just proves that -- there are two guys on the court. It's not only about your game and what you have to do.
If you look at the other guy, professional tennis players feel the intensity and see when the other guy is choking. If you can read that, that's a great bone and benefit for you.

Q. You're having your greatest moments in Grand Slams. Do you just get up higher for the Grand Slam events?
JANKO TIPSAREVIC: I rise to the occasion when I play on big courts. This is a good thing. But then again, when I play my next match on Court 78, I kind of -- to make it simple, I don't play as good as I played the other day. I don't know why, but hopefully this will -- this period in my career is going to pass.
I mean, I'm playing Tursunov next round, which is everything but easy. Even if I lose this match, it's nothing like -- stupid to say unexpected, but you know what I mean.
Definitely I need to have more consistency and self-discipline when I play on outside courts after an outside match.

Q. What are your thoughts on why there's such a difference that you peak for the big matches?
JANKO TIPSAREVIC: Maybe I'm being a little bit too honest with the press now, but definitely the reason is when I play against big guys, top 10 players, world No. 1's, ex-world No. 1's, in my head there is this thought knowing that if I don't play good I'm going to get killed on the court.
That leaves me with no option and I rise to the occasion, which when I play with other guys, sometimes for no reason I think that I don't have to play as good to beat them. Then at the end, that costs me the victory.

Q. Is this linked to your background, where your family could only get one kilo of carrots...
JANKO TIPSAREVIC: No, I don't believe in Rocky Balboa stories and this. We don't have money when we were kids and now we fight more than the British. This is complete Hollywood story, which I don't believe in.

Q. Explain this Safin/Djokovic match yesterday.
JANKO TIPSAREVIC: Playing Safin second round is really tough. Obviously Novak was not playing great, but in my opinion, tactically looking, Safin likes Novak's game.
He liked it when he beat him 6-1, 6-0, 6-1 four years ago in Australia, and he likes it now. Psychologically looking, Safin is out there feeling like and underdog, having nothing to lose and just going for it.
Tennis, tactically speaking, liking the games, liking the game in the way that Djokovic played, plus the unused chances which Novak had and missed opportunities on Safin's second serve in the important points, gave him wings.
I practiced a lot with Marat during the year. When he has his day, really nobody can beat him.

Q. Something Novak said yesterday was a little disturbing. He said, I'm mentally tired. He's 20 years old coming into Wimbledon, a Grand Slam champion. If you're mentally tired at this stage of your career...
JANKO TIPSAREVIC: I talked to him and definitely -- I mean, obviously you guys will expect me to defend him now. But it's only few players in the history of tennis that their careers are going up so fast. Novak Djokovic, if I'm not wrong, in the last two years didn't lose to anybody on a Grand Slam except Federer or Nadal.
In his career, I mean, just looking at his points now, a lot of world No. 1's, had 3,000 points or 4,000 points. Novak now, with 5,000 whatever is behind Nadal, not even second in the world.
Probably what he meant is that everything is happening so fast to him, only with 20 years old. There is not one player in the world when he's playing against him that he can have the of feeling like an underdog and saying, Okay, I really don't have nothing to lose. And even if I do lose, nobody, not even myself can say, Okay, you lost, but the other guy was better than you.
Even now when he plays against Federer or Nadal or whatever, people are expecting him more or less to win.

Q. When you knew you'd won the match, what was your first reaction?
JANKO TIPSAREVIC: Well, it's stupid to say I didn't believe that I won. But I was really, really, really happy. But the biggest happiness that I feel in myself is when I come to the locker and I talk about the match.
Of course, the best emotion is when you say like bye to the crowd and all that stuff. But the best emotion and the pride that you feel, that you last four sets in the top level against the ex-No. 1 is in the locker room when you come back and your emotions are down and your brain starts to work.

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