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AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 21, 2009

Andy Roddick

MELBOURNE, VICTORIA

A. RODDICK/X. Malisse
4-6, 6-2, 7-6, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. In every which way tonight that was a thoroughly good performance. Would you agree with that?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I felt good from the first ball. Credit to him. He came out with a good game plan and he was just going to fire. I was leaving some forehands hanging to him and he was taking advantage.
But things didn't quite go my way in the first set. He came up with some good shots, and then I kind of just stayed the course and was able to make some adjustments to get through it.

Q. Do you worry at all that a guy who comes on like that isn't going to punch himself out or keep doing this all night?
ANDY RODDICK: You can't sit there and wonder. The thing that I got to do is make it as tough for him to keep up that level. If he's going to hit good shots, make him hit it off of deep balls and do it every point. Don't let him hit one and then miss two: You know, just make it as tough a possible. He's what I tried to do.
I got my teeth back into the match and was able to kind of make it a little bit of a war out there. You know, so it was good to get through that.

Q. He's now ranked 200, something like that. Where do you think a guy like him belongs actually?
ANDY RODDICK: I don't think Xavier would be the normal guy ranked 200. I don't think anybody views him as that.
I think health and motivation are going to be big things with him. If he comes and plays like he did here, he'll be back to where he's normally been and in the top 30.

Q. You gave him a pat on the back. What did you say to him?
ANDY RODDICK: I said, It's good to see you playing well again.

Q. Andy, you have a lot of respect for lots of athletes. Are you interested in the sport that's very popular in America, like motocross?
ANDY RODDICK: Motocross? You know what, I'd be bordering on ignorance if I talked about it. I don't really know a whole lot of what goes into it. I know the one thing -- I know who they are. The one thing I don't get is how you try that crap that they did the very first time. Like how do you decide, I'm going to go flip upside down six times in a row?
Yeah, that's -- whatever I think athletically, that's just gotta be -- it's got to be either crazy or genius, and I'm torn. But they can have it.

Q. You have Santoro next. Will you expect an easier ride given that he's the oldest guy in the draw?
ANDY RODDICK: No, oldest and probably craftiest. Probably the best set of hands. He came back and won in five tonight, and that's quite an effort.
You know, he's capable of making any match pretty tough.

Q. Is there something about a new you this year? You know, you got a new coach. You look slimmer and trimmer.
ANDY RODDICK: You look good, too.

Q. Thank you. And I'm neither, unfortunately.
ANDY RODDICK: Red is a good color. If you're out in the sun long enough your freckles might connect and then you might get a good tan.

Q. Do you feel a lot different about yourself coming into this year?
ANDY RODDICK: You know what, I didn't want to come into -- I feel like a big reason I got hurt last year is I didn't have a lot of preparation in the off-season. Went from Davis Cup kind of straight in. I played well, but then come May my body and shoulder wore down a little bit.
Whatever happens this year, I didn't want it to be for lack of preparation or for lack of anything, any work left on the table during the off-season.
You know, I don't know about a new me and all that. It's kind of the same deal. But I just had a six-week period where you could focus on what you need to do on a daily basis, and you had all sorts of -- the meals were controlled and everything was controlled.
So, you know, that's a rarity that we get as top players in this game. I really tried to take advantage of it and kind of enjoyed it.

Q. What have you gotten from Larry so far, and how is working with him different from other coaches?
ANDY RODDICK: You know, they're all different. I don't know if I'm going to sit here and give a guy-by-guy breakdown. Larry is a worker, too. He likes getting out there. He says it's that much easier if you do it a thousand times in practice. His favorite trick is doing two-on-ones and he'll say, Two more and eight balls later you're still going.
It's frustrating, but at the same time, you know what the end goal is. I just enjoy it, because I think the most appealing thing about him when I was going through the process of choosing someone was the various styles he's worked with and the various personalities he's been able to work with. You know, he's on par with anybody, if not better.

Q. Did you feel if he could handle Marcelo Rios he can handle you?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I might be a little nicer.

Q. When you're playing a match against somebody that comes out really hard and fast and you might not be familiar with their game, is there ever a sense you might sacrifice a set to feel them out a bit to try and find their weaknesses?
ANDY RODDICK: No, no. I think anybody that tells you they sacrifice a set ever is full of whatever. You know, you don't really do that. I think you can try to figure it out and win a set also. I think you just kind of fight off their hot streaks and concentrate on getting through service games and just make them work for whatever they're getting.

Q. You've learned a lot from a lot of different coaches. Larry comes in. Is it you who are asking questions or him saying this is what I think you needed to?
ANDY RODDICK: No, I didn't want to. I said, Listen, I'm hiring you to be the boss. Whatever you tell me to do I'm going to do. I don't have a problem with that, and I haven't had a problem with that. I think he was a little bit surprised that I was -- and I said, It's your show. Just let me know what I need to do.

Q. Isn't there a trust level that needs to be built up, too?
ANDY RODDICK: I trust his resume, what he's been able to accomplish as a coach. If I was going to give someone the confidence to be my coach, I wasn't going to second-guess that once we get in there.

Q. You could have played Kohlschreiber. Now you've got Fabrice who you beat pretty badly a couple months ago. Does it affect you in any way?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, no. It affects the way you go about playing the next match. Obviously they're not similar in anyway, shape, or form in the way they play. I would be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to the Kohlschreiber match. But at the same time I'm playing Fabrice, and it presents a different set of obstacles.

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