|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
SHANGHAI ROLEX MASTERSOctober 8, 2012Sam QuerreySHANGHAI, CHINA S. QUERREY/Z. Li THE MODERATOR: Questions for Sam. Q. This whole thing of education with sport. You had a chance, a scholarship coming up, and you turned it down. Do you ever regret it, yes or no, either way? SAM QUERREY: No, I don't regret it. For me, it was a clear choice that I felt like I was ready to go to the pros. I thought it was a great decision for me. I don't regret it. Small window here. I want to take advantage of it. I think it's a different case for every individual. I think you can't look at the college versus going pro as a whole. I think you have to break down every individual differently because some are ready and some aren't. For me, I felt like I was ready. I felt like my game was there, I was mature enough. So I don't regret it at all. Q. You and John Isner are seen as the next sort of stars taking over from guys who are already on the wane. Do you find yourself under pressure? How do you take that into consideration? SAM QUERREY: No, not at all. I don't think either of us do. We're going out there and doing the best we can. That's all you can do. We love playing Davis Cup. So does Mardy Fish and Ryan Harrison and all these guys. I don't think any of us feel pressure. It's an individual sport, and we just go out and try our best and work our hardest, and whatever comes of that is okay with us. Q. Sam, can you talk a little bit about today, the match, what you felt you did right... SAM QUERREY: Felt good out there today. It was fun to play in that stadium. It's a beautiful stadium. Really kind of fun to play out there for the first time. I thought I served great. I thought I returned well, and I took advantage of the breakpoints. That was the key. Q. Are you feeling like you're still coming back from the right elbow surgery or do you feel you're all back? What is your mindset on that? SAM QUERREY: I feel a hundred percent. I don't even think about my elbow. I feel like I'm playing better now than a year and a half ago when I was ranked 17. I feel like I'm playing better now. I'm more confident. Elbow's a non‑issue. Q. Looking ahead, you could play Nishikori next, who had great success in his home country. Your thoughts if you do come up against him, his game? SAM QUERREY: I mean, that's going to be tough. He's playing great right now. Anytime you come off a win at a 500 where I think he beat Berdych, Raonic and Baghdatis to win it, he's got to be feeling good about himself. He's one of the cleanest ball strikers out there. If we play, it's going to be tough. He's solid everywhere and confident, so it will be a tough one. Q. The other night the players met to discuss the prize money issue with the slams. Were you part of that meeting? Do you feel you made some progress? SAM QUERREY: I'm not on the Players Council. I was in the general meeting. Yeah, I feel like it was a good step forward. I think there's still a lot to be done with the slams. But it was a good steppingstone. Q. You're happy with what they've already done with the move at the Australian Open? SAM QUERREY: Yeah, I think it's a good push forward and a good step. Q. You just were talking about knowing you were ready to go pro or to college. A lot of kids all seem to think they're ready to go pro. I say from my expertise of being around a long time, a lot of them aren't. What is the deciding factor? SAM QUERREY: That's such a tough question. There's so much gray area in what the deciding factor is. For me, I had won three challengers before I would have started college. I had won matches in a lot of tour events that summer. So, I mean, I felt like that was a pretty big jump before I would have started college. A lot of guys you see, they've won a couple rounds here or there in a future, they've done well in juniors, maybe won a round or two in a challenger, they think they're ready. It's tough to say. Maybe some kid just got tough draws in challengers and they've lost early, but maybe they are ready. You know, I wanted to make sure mine was a clear cut I'm ready or not. I felt like winning three challengers when I was 18, for me it was obvious. I don't know what the rule is, what the criteria should be for going pro. It's tough to tell. It's really tough. Q. When you were away some time because of the elbow injury, what were you thinking about during that time? What is the biggest change or the most important thing that your new coach has brought to you? SAM QUERREY: You know, when I was out with my elbow injury, I was just doing rehab, trying to get better as fast as I could. You know, I just wanted to heal and get back out there and stay positive and get back out on tour. As far as the coaching goes, I've had the same coach for like four years, David Nainkin. Didn't change much. Work on big serves, being aggressive with forehands, being aggressive on returns. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|