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ROGERS CUP MENAugust 7, 2012Frank DancevicTORONTO, ONTARIO M. KUKUSHKIN/F. Dancevic THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. In a general sense, right now where do you feel your game is at, and by extension your confidence is right now? FRANK DANCEVIC: Well, I've had a pretty rough year this year battling injuries and stuff. My confidence this year started getting better last week. Like I started playing really well and I made the semifinals of Vancouver. Then I just found that arriving here late and adjusting, I found it a little difficult and I felt like I was struggling out there today finding my timing. I just felt kind of off from the beginning sort of thing. Even in the practice sessions like leading up. Like yesterday I just, I don't know, I was struggling yesterday and today to find my game. So going out today I didn't have the best confidence, to answer your question. I was sort of going out unsure of what was going to happen, how I was going to play. Q. How are you feeling physically right now? FRANK DANCEVIC: Physically I feel good. My back is good, knock on wood. The last three tournaments I've played I haven't felt any pain or anything serious, so that's a good thing. I'm happy to be playing. Q. With an injury like that that's been acting up at times this year, how have you had to adjust your practice, preparations, or even the way that you play the game in order to stay healthy? FRANK DANCEVIC: Yeah, it's just been a struggle, because just when I started playing well a couple months back, I was winning a lot matches in a short period of time and I felt like my confidence just skyrocketed. Then, bam, I was out for three months. It happened so suddenly. I just like popped ligaments and I was out. It kind of scared me. Coming back and starting to train again was really difficult. I found that just practicing and going out for the first couple weeks I was very tentative, very afraid of what was going to happen and if I would get hurt again and be out again. Now I'm starting to get more and more confidence back when it comes to my back. Hopefully I can get some matches together. I need to win a lot of matches in a row, like get a few tournaments where I can put two, three, four matches together to get that match confidence back. Q. Can you believe on a positive note here that this is your tenth Rogers Cup appearance already? What are some of the highlights playing in front of your home fans for you? FRANK DANCEVIC: Well, I mean, I've had great times playing in Toronto. I've had a couple bad losses and a couple really good wins. I mean, it's always great playing at home. You know, as professionals we don't really get the opportunity to play at home. We get this opportunity once a year as Canadians. I love it. It's great. It's unfortunate that I wasn't playing really good today. I felt like if I was at the top of my game I could have maybe won today or done a little bit better here. Q. When you were a teenager, there was a lot of pressure heaped on you to be the one and to sort of carry the torch for Canada to be the top player. FRANK DANCEVIC: Yeah. Q. How did that affect you going back? FRANK DANCEVIC: I guess back in the day I was a talented junior. I was playing well. I feel like if I wasn't out‑‑ if I didn't hurt my back early in my career ‑ I was ranked 65 at the time and I was playing really well and I had some good wins under my belt‑ I felt like who knows what could have happened, you know? But it's tough. I mean, injuries are tough. I was out for almost a year, and then coming back and being out again and coming back, going back and forth from being unsure about your body and then ‑‑ when you're out on court you have to feel 110% that you're confident in everything, your body, your mind. And when you have any doubt about anything, it's tough to play. Q. Going forward, do you feel like that confidence is attainable? FRANK DANCEVIC: I think it's got to build. I think it's going to take some time to build. I feel like it's going to take definitely a few more weeks or even months this year to get that back. But, I mean, I was surprised with last week. I had some good matches. I had some good wins, so I was really happy about that. It was kind of a bonus for me, because the first one or two events, first two or three events back, I wasn't expecting really big things. Not that I did something really big, but I wasn't expecting to be playing near the same level as when I left off. The fact that my conditioning is coming back and I played some good matches is a good sign. I think it's a matter of just staying healthy this year and staying on top of my body and hoping for the best. Q. Kind of further to that, what kind of things is Milos going through as the kind of "it" guy on the tour right now or in Canadian tennis when he comes to this event and the pressure that comes with it when you see your face on the billboards? FRANK DANCEVIC: I think he deals with it pretty well. I mean, he's shown that he's been competing unbelievable this year and had a great year. I think that for him, you know, he's got a lot of confidence and he's playing really well. For him, he has nothing to lose. He's young; he's hot right now; he's playing really well. I think he feels like he can do really well here. I can't really speak for him because I don't know exactly what he's thinking. Q. Is that kind of how you felt when you were at that stage? FRANK DANCEVIC: Yeah, at one point in my career I felt like that. You always got to go into a match feeling like you can do well. You can't go into a match feeling, Ah, I'm going to lose today. Even though I was on the practice court yesterday for four hours trying to change to the time change and the change of everything the change of atmosphere, I still went in this morning believing, Okay, I can't go in to the match thinking I am going to lose. I can't just think about how I can't feel. I have to go and try to figure out a way to win and try to believe that I can actually win today. Q. When you look at the attention shifting within the country to obviously Milos and to a lesser extent Vasek, two guys in their early 20s, do you sort of embrace the role as almost a member of old guard here? FRANK DANCEVIC: No, of course I embrace‑‑ I mean, it's great. I think it's great for them and for Canadian tennis. Tennis is a tough sport. Mostly it's an individual sport. We're out there for ourselves and battling for ourselves to do well. For me it's great to see that Milos, especially Milos, has done a lot and been playing really well. It's great to have him on part of our Davis Cup team. Vasek, he's showed some great matches lately. For me it's awesome to have guys like that playing for Canada. Q. You were married recently. Congratulations. FRANK DANCEVIC: Yes. Q. You're by no means old at 27, but do you feel like life and those types of things are drawing you in different directions? FRANK DANCEVIC: Right now, well, not at this moment. Not right now. I think that I still have a few good years in me. I hope so anyway. I feel like if I put the pieces to the puzzle together I still have the game to be in the top 50. Realistically I feel like that. You know, whether I'm going to be like a top guy, I don't think that's realistic at this point in my career. But I feel like I have a shot of being a top 50 player. I just want to focus on that right now in my career and try to stay healthy. I was close at one point and feel like I was playing really well this year. I feel like I still have it in me to go for a few more years. Q. How is married life? FRANK DANCEVIC: It's amazing. Ask me in 20 years. (Smiling.) Yeah, it's good. No, I'm really happy. My wife is amazing. I met her back in the old country, in Serbia, and everything is good. Really happy with everything. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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