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ROGERS CUP MEN

August 10, 2010

Michael Russell

TORONTO, ONTARIO

S. QUERREY/M. Russell
3-6, 6-1, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. With Roddick dropping out of the top 10 this week, I'm wondering what you make of it, if it's a big deal or overblown. What do you make of it, in general?
MICHAEL RUSSELL: Probably overblown a little bit. Obviously Andy, he's not playing as many tournaments as he usually does. Obviously he's been playing for a long time. I mean, the fact that he was in the top 10 for so long is an incredible run. I think a lot of his focus now is trying to win another Grand Slam.
So I think it's not that big a deal. Obviously he's going to get geared up and for sure he will have his best tennis ahead of him at the US Open this year.

Q. I think you're the oldest American now in the top 100. Do you see what's happening now is a trend or more of a blip?
MICHAEL RUSSELL: No, I think it's more of a trend. I mean, it just shows you how physical the sport is.
Just like you see the first round, obviously Nalbandian is coming back from the injury, Ferrer and Nalbandian going three sets for several hours the first round of a Masters tournament, tennis is so physically demanding nowadays, and the mental part of it, as well. I think guys, it takes a little longer for the young guys to develop physically and mentally.
So also the advancements in nutrition and rehabilitation, and, you know, post-match recovery, you know, they know a lot more now than they did in the past. So hopefully, you know, the age is getting older and hopefully I can play a couple more years, as well.

Q. Some of the experts have said that they think the American field is deeper than it was even two years ago. Would you agree with that?
MICHAEL RUSSELL: I mean, we have some guys coming up. Obviously Sam is young. You have John Isner coming up. We have other guys, Ryan Harrison, Ryan Sweeting is starting to play well. I think we have a handful of guys outside the top 100, under 25 years old. I think we have a good group of guys coming up. It's a tough sport.
You know, like we see -- you have so many Spanish guys, so many Argentinean guys, and obviously American tennis got spoiled in the '90s and obviously the '70s with all the guys.
So, you know, hopefully they'll be patient and hopefully we'll get some more players in the top 10 in the future.

Q. As far as the match is concerned, you seemed to take the first set pretty handily. What adjustments did Sam make that made it a lot harder to play against him in the last two?
MICHAEL RUSSELL: I think obviously his first serve percentage increased in the second and third sets a lot. You know, I had a couple small chances in the third set, like a Love-15, 15-30 and then he came out with, you know, a couple aces and, you know, I mean, the second set he just kind of blew me away.
I didn't play as well in the second set, you know, kind of like he played in the first set. I don't think he played as well from the ground. Third set I felt both of us had a lot of chances. We had one 30-All point. I had a great forehand crosscourt angle outside. He hit a huge forehand from outside the alley. He stepped up, hit two great backhand-down-the-line shots at 4-All and put the pressure on me. Unfortunately at 30-40 I just kind of caught that volley a little late. I felt it was only one or two points the third set could have gone either way.

Q. As far as the weather for all the players, really, how difficult has it been today? It's pretty hot and muggy outside. Are the conditions difficult, or are you pretty much used to playing in this weather?
MICHAEL RUSSELL: Both of us are pretty used to it, but it was pretty deceiving. We were talking after the match that I guess it was the humidity that kind of crept up on us. We felt it towards the end of the match a little bit.
If you have a long point, we'd take a little extra time to towel off. I don't know how the other players today felt out there, but I'm sure they're feeling it as well because it hasn't been really that hot here the last couple days. It surprises us, and then your body is like, Hey, what's going on?

Q. What's surprised you the most about Sam over this year and how high do you think he can rise potentially?
MICHAEL RUSSELL: Obviously he's like the king of the 250s. He's won so many this year. He's matured a lot mentally. He's not playing as many loose matches, you know, as he has in the past.
You know, for a guy -- he's 6'6" and has great movement and a huge forehand like he has, you know. It puts a lot of pressure on the opponent. So going out there, you know, you think, okay, if I lose serve, the set is probably over.
So Sam's done a great job maturing, you know, mentally, and then really concentrating on improving his strengths and doing that and imposing his game on opponents.

Q. What do you think Sam has really done over, you know, this past little while to really, you know, make the jump into the top 20 now?
MICHAEL RUSSELL: Well, I mean, like even the match today, I mean, his serve is incredible. He's 6'6", so what he does, you know, a lot like what John Isner does, too, is when the game score gets tight, 30-All, they take the chance and they hit aces when they need it.
A lot of guys serve great, but then, you know, when they need it they can't always rely upon it. That's what he's done so well. He won Memphis, he won LA, he won Belgrade. There's another one he won, I think. Los Angeles, yeah, couple weeks ago.
So obviously to be able to rely on that, and then the fact that he moves well for a big guy and has good groundstrokes. So it's just -- that's what I was saying before. It just puts a lot of pressure on the opponent, because I can't just, okay, hit my serve in and know that I can just rally with him and he's gonna miss. I still have to be aggressive because he has good groundstrokes.

End of FastScripts

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