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WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPENAugust 14, 2012Mardy FishCINCINNATI, OHIO M. FISH/F. Lopez THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. How would you rate your performance today in this match? Also, was this maybe a good, easy first round? Were you expecting maybe something a little bit more? MARDY FISH: Absolutely, yeah. I played very well today. He's one of the most dangerous players that we have on tour, especially unseeded at a tournament like this. This is a great surface for him, as well. But he didn't play last week in Toronto; hasn't played since the Olympics. You know, the travel is tough for some of those guys. That was his first tournament on hard courts in a long time. You know, you're aware of that and you want to take advantage of that, take advantage of the fact that I have been over here in the heat and trying to, you know, get used to these tournaments and trying to peak at these events. I think that helped today. Q. How would you rate your summer skipping the Olympics and staying Stateside? MARDY FISH: Minus Atlanta it's been great. I have had good results. You know, Atlanta I was unlucky. There was an opportunity there, in my opinion, to at least make the final and maybe play Andy in the final. The guy that I retired to up a set and 3‑2 made the final, so I have played well there obviously in the past. Apart from that, which was obviously a bit of a bummer, it's been fine. I lost to Tommy Haas who is obviously playing great tennis, and Richard Gasquet who played well. I was right there. If I didn't have a two‑and‑a‑half hour match a couple hours before maybe I had a little more energy maybe the next day and maybe the match is different. I played a good match in the morning that day as well and beat Juan Monaco who has had some great results in the past few months and he's top 10 in the world. It's been a good couple of tournaments when I have been healthy. Q. Do you feel like your trajectory is where you want it to be heading into the US Open? MARDY FISH: Yeah, I couldn't ask for anything better in a place like Washington, D.C. where I wasn't able to move around for eight or nine days before that tournament. I didn't do any fitness or play any tennis before going into that tournament. To be able to get four matches there to make the semis ‑ played a tough match against Tommy ‑ it was a good result for me at that stage. You know, just trying to carry it through the US Open, which obviously is the big one. Q. Can we get a health update? MARDY FISH: Yeah, everything is fine. Physically everything is fine. Obviously a few nicks and things like that. Everything as far as the heart is fine. Q. Is there anything that you're doing about that now that's different than you were recently? MARDY FISH: Yeah, just trying to keep my mind off it as much as I can, especially on the court. Q. Until I mention it? MARDY FISH: No, that's fine. Heart rate gets up pretty quick, you know, when you're playing points out there, and just got to take your mind off that as best you can. But it's been going well. I have my good days and bad days. It's been good here. Q. After the Olympics, there was some momentum given to the idea of best‑of‑three big tournaments for the most part. There was momentum given to the idea of possibly making Grand Slams best‑of‑three on the men's side some day. How would you feel about that? MARDY FISH: I wouldn't be for it. I didn't hear that, but I wouldn't be for it. I think the Grand Slams have to be set aside as unique tournaments. Then they would all be Masters events. You would have a lot of different results. It's tougher to win a three‑out‑of‑five‑set match against the guy you're not supposed to beat than a two‑out‑of‑three‑set match. I think the better player wins out more often than not, and I would not be for that. Q. Might you have thought differently at and earlier part of your career? MARDY FISH: Yeah, I probably would have felt like I could have won one, you know, won a two‑out‑of‑three‑set Grand Slam. But I wouldn't be for it. Especially with 14 days. I mean, you're going to play 6‑2, 6‑3 match and then get a day off like every other day, I mean, it's kind of a waste. Q. Having good and bad days, is that physical or is it mental? MARDY FISH: Mental. Yeah, it's all mental. Q. Just trying to get past that? MARDY FISH: Yeah, that's been the hardest part, for sure. It's a work in progress still. Like I said, you know, your mind can take you into some interesting places, and you try not to go there. That's by far been the hardest part for me. But I have been comfortable. Any time I keep myself comfortable, keep the people that I love around me at all times, I seem to be fine. Q. The result on the scoreline against Lopez is a really good scoreline. MARDY FISH: Thank you, Doug. Q. Is this the best match you have played this summer, would you say? MARDY FISH: Um, it's just different. I mean, maybe from start to finish possibly, but I played some real good tennis in Toronto, you know, beating Monaco on a really slow surface on a really slow day. The balls were extremely heavy on sort of a cold and windy and humid day, a surface or conditions that would favor him a lot. I was pretty proud of that win. So I played well there. Yeah, I mean, this guy is good on a surface like this, so it's definitely a good win. Q. Does it take time, experience, to be able to kind of evaluate yourself on how you play apart from the actual victory sometimes to say, You know what, I'm doing everything right? MARDY FISH: Yeah. Q. Does it always translate? MARDY FISH: It doesn't always translate to wins, no. But, you know, you can put yourself in positions to succeed. You know, maybe not going to the Olympics was the result of that, you know, putting myself in a position where the travel was going to be pretty brutal coming back from Wimbledon, playing Atlanta, and then going back over and then coming back again. You know, that decision for me tennis‑wise was the best one. So, yeah, you just try to put yourself in those situations where you can succeed most, and you can, you know, be satisfied with not necessarily a performance but just how‑‑ you know, I can step out on a court tomorrow and play a bad match and be out of the tournament, but that doesn't mean I'm not doing the right things away from the court, I'm not doing the right things on the practice court, things like that, you know. You're not going to play well every week. When you don't, you usually lose. If you can get away with some of those wins, it's great. You've got to move on as quickly as possible. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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