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BARCLAYS ATP WORLD TOUR FINALSNovember 24, 2009Christophe ChenutAndy RoddickLONDON, ENGLAND CHRISTOPHE CHENUT: Welcome. It's nice to see so many smiles on your face. Thank you for being here tonight. Thank you, Andy, for being with me here. I would like to say a special thank you to Michel Lacoste who is just here at the first show and to Lagardere and his team who are attending here. I'm really proud to be here tonight as a representative of the Lacoste company, the Lacoste brand, and I would say the Lacoste family, to announce officially the renewal of our partnership with Andy Roddick for the next four years till 2013. I'm proud, of course, because in addition to being a fantastic tennis player, Andy brings us his human dimension that maybe you have seen in the video. That way Andy perpetuates the values of our founder, René Lacoste, who was at the same time the best tennis player in the '20s, as you all know, and a very charismatic man. That's why, on top of being our top tennis player, Andy will continue to be a major ambassador for the crocodile, thanks to his natural elegance, thanks to his fair play and smile. I was sure he was going to smile at that time. As I told you, Lacoste is a family. It's still a family business. And in a family, long-lasting relationships make real sense. After joining us in 2005, Andy is really a member of this family. He will bring, of course, his international reputation to our apparel business, but also to the eyewear business and soon to our fragrances and our future mobile phones. So thank you, again, Andy for your loyalty to the crocodile. We hope you'll continue to have a lot of success like in this incredible, emotional year of 2009, and the unforgettable Wimbledon final. I'm sure we are all sure on the Lacoste side that you're going to make it next year. Thank you very much. ANDY RODDICK: Thank you. I'd also like to say thank you to Christophe, Michel, and also remember Bernard Lacoste. It's been a pleasure to be associated with such a great brand the last five years. I really do appreciate the support that I get from what I call the Lacoste family. I'm honored and happy to be in their plans moving forward. I'm just really excited that we were able to work everything out. I couldn't be happier to be here with you guys today. So thank you. Now let's talk (smiling). Q. Is it strange for you to be here not playing? How are you feeling? How is the injury? ANDY RODDICK: The injury, it's coming along well. You know, we're probably a little bit ahead of where we thought we would be. You know, I've been able to run, run in a straight line, and hopefully next week I'll be able to get back out on the courts and practice. It is a different dynamic for me to be here and to be talking with all of you, not playing. You know, it was a lot easier to deal with for me not being at this tournament when I was home. But to be able to come here and see just the energy that's around it, just the great event that's being put on, I definitely am envious towards those guys out there, that they're able to play and participate in this event. Q. You got a great reception last night when the cameras turned on you. What did that mean to you? ANDY RODDICK: It meant a lot. You know, I certainly felt an overwhelming amount of support during the fortnight at Wimbledon, but even in the aftermath of it all. I've always felt very comfortable here in London. As a result of especially this year's Wimbledon, I was really looking forward to getting back here and playing again in a little bit of a different atmosphere. It's a little bit of a different dynamic here. For the fans to show they wished I was playing as well was humbling and it was very nice to hear. Q. What is your opinion about the tournament? Did you pass the disappointment of losing the final in Wimbledon after so many months? ANDY RODDICK: The first part about the tournament, I'm going to have to have you guide me a little bit more? Are we talking about an event as a whole or players? What part would you like to know about the tournament? Q. About the results since now, about the players, how they played since now. ANDY RODDICK: Well, I mean, every person who's here has proven that they're capable of winning tennis matches. I mean, that's why the people here got their invites. Obviously, I think this is probably the toughest tournament to choose a winner in because it's a pretty neutral surface, everyone kind of has the same deal going in. But, you know, as far as the disappointment of Wimbledon, I don't think I'll ever be happy with the result. I'm certainly very thankful and very gracious towards the people who it affected in a positive way. I certainly realize there is that demographic of people out there, maybe more so than I thought before. But, you know, I'll always want to win that tournament. You know, I certainly feel like maybe I won't be completely there until I actually go ahead and win it someday. Q. With the affinity with Lacoste, perhaps would the French Open become an event you would have a greater desire to win? ANDY RODDICK: Well, we were talking earlier, and I said we have Arnaud, the Lacoste family here, a bunch of big players, big people in France. So we were talking about a surface change maybe for the French Open. So we'll keep you updated on that. We're still in negotiations (smiling). Q. Paris and London are so near. Clay courts are not your special courts. In any case, you are a great champion and London is the Olympic city. I hope we see you here in the future. Can you promise that, the Masters Cup next year, the Olympics? ANDY RODDICK: Oh, sure. For me, in order to guarantee I would play here next year, that would be a guarantee -- I still have to qualify. I have to repeat what I've done for, I don't know how long it is, seven or eight years. It's certainly a goal of mine. You know, I certainly look at that 2012 year, the prospect of playing an Olympic event on grass, it's very interesting for me. You know, certainly I feel like or at least I hope there will be many good memories still for me here in London. Q. Since you left Shanghai, what have you been doing work-wise, physical training, et cetera, because of the knee? ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, the two weeks after Shanghai were probably about the two most boring weeks of my life. Literally was kind of on a couch. You went from 20 minutes on ice, 20 minutes off. Not a whole lot. There wasn't a lot of walking to be done or a lot of anything else, for that matter. You know, the progress has been very good, especially in the last couple of weeks. I've been able to kind of run in straight lines. You know, now it's just a matter of getting the lateral movement back. But actually just early today, I got checked out by Dr. Dines (phonetic), who has kind of evaluated me the whole way, and he gave me the thumbs up to resume tennis activity. That's exciting. I'm thankful that I'm able to make a full recovery for next season. Q. Are you going to stay and watch tonight's match? If so, what might you seek to learn from it? How much interest do you show in a match like this? It's got us in a bit of a state. ANDY RODDICK: What kind of state? Q. Just happy. ANDY RODDICK: Happy? Q. Yeah. ANDY RODDICK: I mean, I always watch these guys with envy because of what they're able to do with the tennis ball, the way they're able to control paces, depth, spins. You know, both these guys are capable of winning a match in a variety of ways. I feel like when they go up against each other, it's as much of a chess match as anything 'cause they both kind of have a lot of options to work with. You know, as far as predictions, like I said, who knows. I don't think either of them has played a ton of matches. I know they both lost a little earlier than they would have liked in Paris. But as far as a spectacle, given the venue, given that it's essentially someone's home court, it's certainly an intriguing match, for sure. Q. Any plans for next year? You will go to Australia? ANDY RODDICK: Yep, I'm planning on starting in Brisbane and then Melbourne after that. So I'm going to try to get down there probably earlier than I normally would, you know, try to get used to conditions in heat. Obviously, I'd love to get some sets in with these guys before it's all said and done. Yeah, I'm excited to kind of start the next year. Q. You've had some time now with the end of your season to reflect on this year. How does Andy Roddick the player compare to Andy Roddick 12 months ago? ANDY RODDICK: Oh, well, probably a lot better, which is an encouraging sign. I don't think you can compare this year to the previous year, or even the previous couple of years. I'm excited. You know, I put myself in a position to win a Grand Slam. First of all, I made the semis in Australia, which I hadn't done for a couple of years, I think. To follow up with Wimbledon, have my best showing at the French, it was good for me. I equaled my best showing at the first three slams of the year. Beyond losing the final in Wimbledon, the only obvious disappointment for me was the US Open. But as a whole, it's one of the more complete years I've had. Obviously you're taking the last, you know, two months out of the equation. But definitely one of the most complete years that I've had. But right now I view it as something to try to build on. Q. Are you planning to right any autobiography? If it's the case, which truth don't we really know about you? ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. I'm not going to refer to myself in past tense yet (smiling). Q. Christophe mentioned about a fragrance. Are you going to have some input into how this aroma will hit the stores? ANDY RODDICK: We're actually thinking about calling it Neil Harman. We think it's going to be a hit amongst the other tennis journalists around the world (smiling). That's kind of what we were thinking, what we're building towards. Fingers crossed there. We're in it for you. Q. American tennis, did you call Sam Querrey for the accident he had? Do you see any players? How is there the situation? ANDY RODDICK: Well, I think Patrick has a good thing going in Boca as far as younger players. I think it's probably the most organized they've been with a direction in a while, which is good. I talked to Sam after his accident. That was just unfortunate, because he had started playing a lot better and worked himself into the top 25. So hopefully he'll be able to kind of get back to where he was relatively quickly. We'd love him to even make another step or two. I think John Isner has learned a lot. With that serve, I mean, he's capable of beating anybody. You know, it was a good sign. You had a couple of other guys. I know Mardy is recovering from his injuries right now. So, you know, there's some question marks going into next year with some of us. But also I think there were some exciting moments this year. Thank you. CHRISTOPHE CHENUT: Thank you very much. End of FastScripts |
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