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SONY ERICSSON OPEN

March 26, 2010

Olivier Rochus

MIAMI, FLORIDA

O. ROCHUS/N. DJOKOVIC
6-3, 6-7, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. When you woke up this morning, did you have a feeling that today was going to be your day?
OLIVIER ROCHUS: No, not really, but I play Novak a few times, and always had some very good match against him. I beat him few times a long time ago, and again last year in Halle. It was very, very close. I lost 7-6, 6-4, by like two or three set points in the first.
It was a very close match, so I knew I could do something. But, you know, I just tried my best. I was playing good in the first round, so I was feeling confident.
But of course I never expected to win.

Q. I've seen you played very well, but do you think you've ever played better than that over three sets?
OLIVIER ROCHUS: I don't know. It's tough to say. I played some good match already in my career.
But no, overall I think it was one of the best physically. Mentally I was not missing much. Just pretty windy, pretty humid. The conditions were pretty tough.
But no, it was happy with everything.

Q. How tough was it going into the third set after losing the tiebreak? What did you tell yourself? How did you prepare yourself mentally going into the third?
OLIVIER ROCHUS: It was tough, but I was physically feeling okay. I saw that in the game I was very close. You know, in the tiebreak I had some chances. I was winning 2-0, and then I miss a few points.
But I thought that in the game I was there. It was really 50/50, so just go for it. I was feeling good. Tried to be more aggressive and to fight, you know.
It was just one more set to win. I stayed positive, and that's why I think I won the match. Because after the loss of the second set, if I would have been down mentally I would never have had the chance to win.
So I'm happy with also. Even after I lost the second very tough, I stayed there the first point of the third set. Yeah, that was a very important.

Q. Did you think that second set, 3-2, you got a forehand pass down the line for 4-2 and you missed it like that much, and then it helped him win the second. Do you think it was over at that point?
OLIVIER ROCHUS: No, I didn't think it was over, but I thought that I miss a really, really big chance, you know.
The passing was this far out, and then at 3-All I had Love-40. Put the ball on the line, so when I get to the locker, I was like, Two games? Really I should have done it. Could have been 5-2 for me.
Against, No. 2 it's a big opportunity, but what can I do, you know? I just miss some days. I play them good, and that's the way it is. Of course I was a little disappointed in the locker.
I said, Just be positive, enjoy it, and, yeah, just play. Don't think about this too much.

Q. Do you think experience got you through today, the fact of you being on the tour a long time you know about big matches?
OLIVIER ROCHUS: I don't think so. Novak, he has won a Masters Series five; he won a Grand Slam, many things I have never did in my life.
He is No. 2, so I think he has more experience than me. I think in match like this before, when I was younger, I would have never won them. I would never have been mentally more negative like this.
So I think that it's maybe because of this that I have a chance to win today.

Q. You're out there basically with the rain delays like seven hours. I don't know if the conditions seemed slow, the ball seemed slow. Did it feel like a clay court match out there a little bit?
OLIVIER ROCHUS: Clay court? No, not really, but it's not -- it's not that slow.
The balls are pretty -- get pretty small after few games. It's bouncing pretty high. So before you it looks slow, but it's not that slow, I think.

Q. How satisfying was that match today against Djokovic? I mean, I don't want to say it looked easy, but your game was really solid in every aspect.
OLIVIER ROCHUS: It's tough to say, but of course winning -- beating the world No. 2 it never happen -- it doesn't happen every day, you know.
So I think it was in 2005 or 2006 I had some match points against Federer, I had some match points against Nadal almost in two months, and I miss some big opportunity.
Here I was happy that finally I could beat one really, really good, almost the best in the world.
So I was more than happy for that. I knew I could be close when I'm playing like this. We never know, you know. Of course Novak didn't play his best tennis today, so that's why you have to take them when they are not on their best day.
But I'm still in the tournament, you know, so I want to keep going. Of course I think after my career and after the tournament I will be proud that I beat already No. 2 in the world.
So it's something after my career I will be proud of.

Q. How do you take a win like that and kind of keep the string going? I mean, how do you sustain...
OLIVIER ROCHUS: You have to forget it, you know. You beat the No. 2. It's like you have to think of this too much. No, you have another match against very tough opponent in two days. You have to recover.
And then of course after the tournament you will realize more what you have done, but you have to forget it now. If you play like this, I beat No. 2 like this, it's gonna be tough for the next round. Any way it's gonna be tough.
You have to forget it. You have to try to get ready for the next one.

Q. Was there any point in your career when you thought that maybe you weren't tall enough, or did anyone ever say to you that with all the big tall players coming along that maybe you wouldn't be able to succeed? How did you deal with that?
OLIVIER ROCHUS: I've been dealing with this since I'm 12 years old. (laughter.) It's gonna be soon 18 years that I'm dealing with that. Now it's over my mind.
I know I can play with all the weapon. And the big one, I have to run a lot. It's always I think a little tougher for me physically, but I'm trying my best like this.
And, yeah, as I said, when I was 12 years old I was the smallest in the category under-14, under-16, under-18, so it has always been like this.
But no, really I'm not thinking of this at all.

Q. From the first shot it looked like you really brought it to him. Did you and your team prepare by watching like videos or anything else?
OLIVIER ROCHUS: No.

Q. You just had your game plan?
OLIVIER ROCHUS: No, just tried to be aggressive. I was working a little with my brother in Indian Wells, one or two things, like to open more the courts, especially with my forehand.
Yeah, but no, I try more to focus on my game, on my serve, on my shots. You know, if the other is playing better or serving two aces every game, you know, then you have nothing to say.
So I was just trying -- I was not thinking of too much of Novak or the opponent. I'm just trying to focus on my game and play the ball that is coming, you know. If the guy is playing too good, you just say, Well done.

Q. Some of the points were really long. How tired are you right now, and what will you do to recover for the next match?
OLIVIER ROCHUS: Tired. I was very tired. Like the last two games I start to feel cramps a little bit.
I was not showing too much. I think a few more games would have been okay, but with the cramps, it was just -- it was just the limit. I was happy to make it at 6-4, because to serve it was getting tough.
But, no, I have been biking. I'm gonna go for stretching and massage, and tomorrow also just to play like half an hour, to have another stretching and massage tomorrow. Try to drink a lot, eat well, and then we see.
Sometimes you recover well, and sometimes -- sometimes when you wake up it's very -- it's very hard. So I hope it's gonna be okay tomorrow.
But anyway, it's good. We have one more day. We have one day of rest tomorrow.
So it's always nice after matches like this.

Q. Did you notice anything different from Novak? His serve didn't seem as penetrating. He's pushing his backhand. Did you notice anything, like a shake of confidence in him at all?
OLIVIER ROCHUS: It's tough to say. The thing of course that I saw, it was more his serve, that he was not serving as good as he normally does. Maybe not as powerful and not too many first serves as he can do.
Normally he's doing a lot of aces when I play him, also, a lot of aces. Here less, so I think it was nice for me that he was not serving well today.
Because when he's putting a lot of first serves, it's even tougher. So I think it was more of this. I saw today his serve was not as good as normal.

End of FastScripts

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