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U.S. OPEN

August 29, 2008

Robert Kendrick

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

N. Djokovic/R. Kendrick
7-6, 6-4, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. In the first set tiebreaker, you saved those set points. Then you have yours. After that set got away, how much of a toll did that take?
ROBERT KENDRICK: A little bit. It was disappointing. I thought about that point a couple times going into the second set, you know, where maybe I should have served him a forehand, but I tried to serve a body forehand but it got away and got into his backhand. I could have played a volley to the open court because he's so fast. I think I got in trouble doing that today. But, yeah, didn't get a good couple breaks to break me, I had a chance at 4-3 to get in, missed a forehand return. Overall I felt like I was in a match. If I could have got that first set and maybe put it to another tiebreaker in the second set, you never know. It wasn't so today.

Q. Are you leaving here pleased with your second round appearance or disappointed with second round loss?
ROBERT KENDRICK: I won four matches. I can't be too disappointed. Playing Novak who is a great -- coming into the quallies, my knee was so banged up, I didn't know I was going to play quallies. It got better each match. I'm happy, but I missed an opportunity, I think.

Q. What specifically is wrong with your knee and after that, what about during, say, the first set particularly was so tight and you had set points, did you think back at all to the Nadal match at Wimbledon?
ROBERT KENDRICK: Actually, not at all. The crowd was just going crazy, and I was just -- I was more enjoying it this time, I guess. It was just being at home, being in the States. It was exciting, and I just have bad tendinitis in my left knee and there's pretty much nothing I can do about it but get massages and stuff like that, but, you know, body's not getting younger.

Q. Did you at all feel like, well, you know, maybe you haven't been in that match with Nadal, that maybe this was the time, you know, for you to break through and that was a match that you learned from?
ROBERT KENDRICK: Yeah, I mean, definitely, you know, did play a bad point when I had set point. He hit a return to my feet. Those guys are tough. Rafa is 1 and Novak's 3. Two hard guys to play against to get a win.

Q. It's a bit of a rough day for some of the American men out there today.
ROBERT KENDRICK: Yeah, I was following Ginepri's match before I went on, and we're close friends, and it was disappointing to see when I got off the court that he ended up losing that fourth set.

Q. Do you pay attention to that much at all, other Americans, Robby because you guys are pals?
ROBERT KENDRICK: No, we pretty much -- I'm good friends with a lot of the American guys, so, I mean, I follow them. I follow Robby maybe a little closer than other ones, definitely I look at it.

Q. Novak says he only made 13 unforced errors in three sets. That's pretty startling. Are you aware of that? Does that frustrate you that? Does that get in your head he's not making a ton of mistakes?
ROBERT KENDRICK: He's wasn't making mistakes? 13? Probably a few more than that, but, I mean, maybe service winners, both of us were struggling a little bit with the forehand return today, maybe because the court is playing a little quicker, I don't know, but he definitely didn't look too happy on forehand return. 13, it's pretty solid, though.

Q. How impressed are you with his game and how good a player is he and can he be?
ROBERT KENDRICK: I was just pretty much surprised how fast he was. I mean, a few of those shots I hit, and he got to it. I was kind of in shock, you know. Just a good athlete and very flexible out there. You know, and he served a lot better than the last time I remember when I played him over in Queen's.

Q. How would you compare his speed versus Nadal?
ROBERT KENDRICK: It's kind of different. I mean, he -- Nadal moves so well side to side. Going straight at -- James might be the quickest one going forward. Rafa is pretty much untouchable.

Q. I'm wondering, Roger said at the end of the match that he was surprised at how freewheeling you were. Is it easier to play a guy like Roger who you've got nothing to lose, you might as well just go for it?
ROBERT KENDRICK: Absolutely. I mean, definitely game plan was to keep coming. I served and volleyed my whole match against Mahut and I know it felt great out there. I wasn't pressing as much against him, because we're more evenly matched but I know about Novak I'm going to have to bring a bigger game and go for a little more.
Yeah, definitely freewheeling out there, having a good time and letting it all hang out.

Q. There's no pressure when you're playing a guy like that?
ROBERT KENDRICK: Yeah, still a little bit of pressure and you want to win so bad and there's pressure that way, but, you know, he's No. 3 in the world for a reason. It's tough.

End of FastScripts

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