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AEGON CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 9, 2010

Mardy Fish

LONDON, ENGLAND

M. FISH/S. Giraldo
7-6, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. It was a good win today. Are you pleased with the way your form is going immediately on grass?
MARDY FISH: Yeah. I'm always comfortable on this surface. This is a great time of the year for myself, and, you know, sort of having the slow stuff behind us. You know, I'm looking forward to, you know, the big one in Wimbledon, and obviously coming here you always feel comfortable. It's a great tournament. You know, I'm glad I can play well here.

Q. You play Andy Murray next. What do you remember from your match with him here last year?
MARDY FISH: Quite a lot. I felt like I played pretty well. I think it was 7-5, 6-2. I felt like I played pretty well, to be honest with you. He was playing some spectacular tennis at the time, and, you know, pretty much kicked my butt from the start.
I remember I had to serve really well just to get to 5-All there in the first set. He served great.
You know, hopefully I can get a few more chances on his serve games, but if he serves well, he's extremely tough because his return is one of the best in the world.

Q. Miami was the last time you met, wasn't it? You won that one, so presumably...
MARDY FISH: Yeah. I mean, you know, I was playing well at the time. You know, it's sort of a home game for me down there, or over there.
It was a good day for me that day and not so good for him. I played a great match. I don't think he played particularly as well as he usually does. I got the best of him that day. He's got me most of the time.

Q. He was defending champion there in Miami. Does that put any added pressure on a player when you're coming back to a tournament that...
MARDY FISH: Well, you always want to play well. I don't think he necessarily looks at the points as far as his ranking is concerned. I mean, he's got so many points. How can you count that many?
So I don't think he worries necessarily about how he did the year before. I think he obviously feels comfortable at different spots on tour, as we all do. He obviously felt pretty comfortable in Miami. It's usually pretty hot there. It was relatively mild temperature-wise.
I think he thrives in the heat. He plays really well in the heat. He's in great shape. Most guys can't last as long as he can. He can tough 'em out.
He's a good -- that's a slower hardcourt. He's a good slower hardcourt player as well as obviously fast court on grass.
You know, like I said, if he can serve -- if he serves well, makes a lot of first serves, he's extremely tough to beat on any surface.

Q. How have you progressed do you feel in the last year from the match last year? How would you say you have progressed?
MARDY FISH: Well, after Wimbledon I played -- I went and played a Davis Cup match in Croatia and broke a rib during the match and then came back, tried to come back before the US Open and hurt my knee and then had to get knee surgery. I actually didn't play after Wimbledon hardly at all.
So I took three months off at the end of the year and tried to come back in Australia. I lost a little bit of weight, and I feel like sort of a different player than I was last year. I'm almost 30 pounds less on the court, and, you know, so obviously I feel -- it feels a little different to move around without 30 pounds.
I'm a completely different player as far as last year is concerned. That being said, it might not matter.

Q. How did you break a rib playing tennis?
MARDY FISH: I don't know. They said that it was probably about ready to go, anyways, and it just fractured on a serve. I'm not sure how I did it. It didn't feel great, but, you know...

Q. It's a few years now since your highest ranking. Presumably if you stay injury-free, you're fitter, you can go back up...
MARDY FISH: Well, I mean, you only get better. You know, as your years go by, you only improve, you only get smarter, you only get -- you only learn more and more, and so, you know, obviously I strive to try to get into the top 15 and so on.
I'm certainly a long ways away from that now, but I don't feel like I'm playing anywhere near where my ranking is. I feel like that part will take, you know, sort of take care of itself if I continue to stay healthy and continue to win matches.
You know, you come up against guys like Andy Murray and sometimes there's nothing you can do. They're just too good. Sometimes you can beat them like I did in Miami.
We'll see how it goes. I love it here. I look forward to playing. It's a great test for me.

Q. Do you enjoy playing against guys who have got the home-team support behind them?
MARDY FISH: I would prefer it to be, you know, one way or the other. Obviously you love the fans with you, but if they're not into it at all, then it's not much fun, either.
You know, you know what to expect going in. They're not exactly -- the fans here aren't exactly, you know, sort of a raucous crowd. They're extremely knowledgeable. They watch a lot of tennis, you can tell. They clap for, you know, serve and volleys. And just a serve, good serve, they'll clap a ton for just as much as a forehand winner from the baseline.
So you can sense it out there. They're not too rowdy, but they certainly want him to win and that's fine.

End of FastScripts

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