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U.S. OPENAugust 28, 2012Bernard TomicNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK B. TOMIC/C. Berlocq THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. A lot of sweating out there tonight. How tough were the conditions? BERNARD TOMIC: Yeah, very strange because it was forming into night and there was still a little bit of light so it was very difficult to see. It was very humid, not as humid as last week where I was training. I felt okay. Probably didn't start the way I would have liked to. But I think I played pretty well after. Q. What did you do to change the match around in the second set? BERNARD TOMIC: I tried going more, you know, aggressive with my backhand. All of a sudden my backhand came out of nowhere and going down the line. Probably one of the best that I've probably, you know, ever played a match with. I was really happy with my backhand. I've never seen it like this. So confident the way I was hitting it. I just couldn't believe I was stroking it like that. Good to see the training has been coming well the last week. That shot is paying off, doing a lot of damage. Q. You had a high percentage of net winners. Is that something you're working on or is that against this guy? BERNARD TOMIC: Well, it was difficult. There were some games where it was very difficult to close out the game. I felt like I needed to do something different and surprise him. But he returns very well. All those guys that are Spanish or play on clay, they return really good, so it's difficult to come in on them. But if you can catch them on surprise, I feel like you can win a point. Being up game points sometimes, having a long deuce game is where you need to mix that up sometimes. I felt it paid off today sometimes and it didn't at other times. Q. Surprised by your backhand? Was it just not being able to execute your backhand in game time that surprises you? BERNARD TOMIC: Yeah, it's amazing. In practice I think I hit my backhand probably in the top four or five in the world when I want to. All of a sudden I get into a match, I start slicing, I lose my backhand, and that's where it costs me, very tricky to play. I have a very good slice, and I get into this mode where I slice it a lot. Today I wasn't slicing a lot. I was hitting my backhand. My backhand is much better than my slice when it wants to be. I'm going to stick to this game plan, hitting my backhand like that. Q. You have the prospect of playing Andy Roddick here. BERNARD TOMIC: Good match. I think it's going to be very big for me. I think I'm playing well. I think if I play well, the way I was playing today in the second and third set and the end of the match, I can pull off the win. It's going to be very difficult. He's got the crowd here. It's like me playing in Australia. You feel very good. The crowd gets behind your back. I think the crowd's going to be on his side. I think I can play well and relax. I think if I play the way I was playing today, I can pull up the upset. Q. Are you ready for some banter from the crowd? BERNARD TOMIC: I am. I really enjoy the crowd here. They get behind you so good. I think playing today, I experienced the crowd never like this in New York. This is only my second event here to play. They were really good and excited. Every shot that we made they cheered for really well. To get a crowd like that on the backcourts is really fun. Obviously now it's probably going to be a bigger match, bigger court. I have to expect more from myself. Q. On Rod Laver Arena you like to engage with the crowd. There will be opportunity to banter with Americans. Will you get involved? BERNARD TOMIC: Sure, I will. Depends if Andy is kicking my ass or not. If it's going my way, it's going well, the crowd might start getting crowded. What can you do? Q. What's the key? BERNARD TOMIC: You know, I'm going to get opportunities to break him. You know, he runs well. He competes. I feel like‑‑ I haven't played him a lot in practice. I've never played him in a match.  I feel like my aggression and the way I play is a bit different to his. He's a bit more defensive. I think I'll play a better attack than him if I'm playing the way I'm playing today. It's a matter of getting that break, holding on, believing in yourself. I don't think he's like the top three or four. That's definitely where I have a lot of belief. I believe I can win this match. Q. You have gotten a few wins under your belt the last few weeks. What's changed for you? BERNARD TOMIC: Yeah, it was very difficult. I got questions like that the last few weeks where, you know, winning that match in Toronto was the one after six, seven weeks. You know, I was training well and competing. I think I played a good Olympics. I lost a very tight match. I felt like I was going to get that win sooner or later. I mean, if you work hard, you're doing the right things, you're going to get it eventually. That's where the last few weeks I managed to play really good tennis. I lost to both winners. Now I'm feeling pretty good and back to the form I was playing at the start of the year. Q. Has it been the change of surface? BERNARD TOMIC: Yeah, it's funny with me because, you know, I love grass, I love hard court. But grass wasn't that good for me this year, but it is my favorite surface. Hard court is really good to me this year. Had my ups and downs, I think. I'm starting to find my balance again. It's important to have good consistency if you want to play at the high level. Q. I think Roger said before he played in Cincinnati, Andy said today, it's pretty hard for younger guys to maintain that consistency. Is that how you feel or do you feel you're maturing, coming out of the end of that period? BERNARD TOMIC: Yeah, I think, you know, I didn't have a lot of pressure when I was 17, 18. I played really well and got my ranking really high, which was unexpected. I think now there's a little bit more pressure involved of defending. It was my first time to see how to do these things, defend these tournaments. It's my first time to really do that. I felt this year I didn't do it quite well. But I think it's a learning curve. If you have a look at the top guys, they're defending probably every week they play. I think it's a learning curve. I think I'm improving. That's all you can do. If you're improving in any sport, anything you do, you're going to become better. Q. Do you think the big stages bring out the best in your tennis? Do you enjoy it? BERNARD TOMIC: Yeah, I do. The bigger occasions I seem to play better. I think growing up I got the opportunity to play at such a young age against these players on big courts. That's the experience that I learnt from that. I think it's important to get at a young age. It's certainly going to benefit you from now on. Q. Lleyton has had quite a rivalry with Roddick down the years. Do you remember watching matches between those two? Will you tap into Lleyton's background on Roddick? BERNARD TOMIC: Yeah, I watched a lot of Rusty and Andy growing up. They played a lot of times. Definitely going to talk to Lleyton about a few things, what his opinion is. Obviously he's a great, great server. We all know that. Like I said, I think if I play off the ground the way I was playing today, I should be winning a lot of points off the ground. Q. You will be looking for a familiarization on Ashe? BERNARD TOMIC: Any occasion, if you put me on Court 7, I'll play Andy, doesn't matter. Q. Have you had a hit out there? BERNARD TOMIC:  No, I haven't. I'm playing doubles tomorrow. If I get a chance tomorrow or the next day, hit the 15 minutes on it. It is going to be a new experience for me. Might take a few games to settle in. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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