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DAVIS CUP FIRST ROUND

February 10, 2006

Andy Roddick

LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA

TIM CURRY: Questions for Andy.
Q. How do you feel?
ANDY RODDICK: Better than I felt two hours ago.
Q. What happened?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, I felt fine physically, but then my stomach started giving me a lot of problems, and then I vomited. So basically I didn't have anything left in my body for my body to use as fuel, for lack of a better analogy. I just felt dead. I felt like I had no energy after that. I puked out all my fluids. After that, I was pretty dehydrated.
It was a battle after that.
Q. Can you tell us why you got sick?
ANDY RODDICK: I don't know.
Q. Something you ate?
ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. I really don't know. My stomach was just in knots. I tried to hold it in. I held it in for the better part of a set, set and a half. You know, just wasn't doing any good to hold it in any more.
Once it got out, you know, felt just depleted, you know, dehydrated. I even had just a couple bags of IVs just now, and I still haven't -- hasn't really, you know, done much in the way of hydration.
It's unfortunate.
Q. Were you just determined not to quit the match?
ANDY RODDICK: I mean, quit? I thought maybe the fourth set was pretty much a wash, and I knew that. I thought maybe somehow hold serve in the fifth. He was getting tight towards the end. You know, when it becomes 4-1 and you feel like you really can't go on, you can't quit when you're down 4-1 in the fifth. Worst-case scenario, you stick it out for two more games. If you can make it that far, you can make it two more games.
Q. Was it something you ate?
ANDY RODDICK: I don't think so. I don't know.
Q. What happened with your wrist?
ANDY RODDICK: It was a cramp in my hand. My hand was doing one of these things while I was trying to hit. So it wasn't really an injury. My body was depleted after that. Just kept on kind of doing one of these things.
Q. Before you walked on court, you were feeling all right?
ANDY RODDICK: Not bad actually. I was feeling pretty loose. I don't know, it came on me pretty quick. You know, it was disappointing because I felt like I was hitting the ball all right the first couple of sets.
Q. Are you still going to play?
ANDY RODDICK: I'm playing. Yeah, I'm going to play. We're going to do everything in our power. I don't know if I'll hit tomorrow or whatever. No, I'm going to play. I have a day. I was just with the doctor now. We'll have all day tomorrow. I think it's good that I'll have a day where I don't have to play. I'm going to go. We don't have any other option. Yeah, I'm going to go.
Q. How does that feel to have James win?
ANDY RODDICK: That's great. I've covered him before. Mardy has covered me. I've covered Mardy. That's part of a team. You know, you try to pick each other up. It's gone in pretty much every scenario now with one of us picking up the other. That's good.
Q. The grind of tennis season, do you miss team play?
ANDY RODDICK: I don't know if you can miss something that isn't there that often. You know what I'm saying? It's not like I'm going from all team competitions to all of a sudden being alone. I look forward to the team competition. I really enjoy being around the guys.
But being on tour, kind of playing for selfish reasons, selfish motives, or just playing for ourselves is kind of the norm, you know. I look forward to the team weeks.
Q. Did you ask the physician that treated you what might have brought on the condition you felt today, why you might have felt developed it?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, we went over what I ate. That's pretty much the same thing I've been eating all week, you know.
Q. Can you tell us what you ate?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, like eggs and potatoes. Last night spaghetti and meatballs. You know, there was no fish. No under-cooked steak or anything like that. It's nothing really -- I didn't eat anything really suspect. I wish I had a better answer for you.
Q. When did you vomit?
ANDY RODDICK: When?
Q. Yes.
ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. I wasn't looking at the scoreboard. I'm sure it's on tape somewhere.
Q. In the third?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, the first time. I did it a couple times on switchover. I don't know the first one. I think it might have been early in the fourth. I think I held it in.
Q. Were you feeling bad in the first set?
ANDY RODDICK: No, I felt fine. Then it just came on. I could feel it the second set. Then I felt it a lot in the third. I wanted to try to close it out. You know, it got a lot worse, then it kind of snowballed.
Q. Can you talk about the third set tiebreak.
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, it's disappointing. Even on the match point, I would have loved to have made a first serve. But even without that, I feel like it was a pretty good point play, you know. It was a long rally. Maybe I could have done something more with the dropshot.
You know, to have him hit a running lob on match point, that's a good shot. It's disappointing. It's something that you wish you could take back and try over again. It is what it is, I guess.
Q. Have you ever had a day like today physically on court?
ANDY RODDICK: No. I said it's the worst I've felt after a match. I mean, I just went and laid down. You know, moving my leg or trying to get up off the floor felt like a mission. I've cramped before. But even while I'm cramping, I still felt like I had energy. Today I just felt, you know, after whatever, I just felt drained. I mean, it really felt like it was tough to stay out there, which sucks that it happened today.
Q. After losing the third set, did you feel you sort of had the wind taken out of your sails?
ANDY RODDICK: No, I felt like I had the fuel taken out of my guts. Wind in sails, no. It sucks. Maybe it's momentum. But I'm still two sets to one at that point. If I'm feeling good, I still like my chances.
Q. You said you'd been battling the illness.
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I was thinking about it at the end of the third.
Q. (Question regarding return of serve.)
ANDY RODDICK: I hit a serve, I thought it was a long ways out. He hit a return. I sat there mesmerized. Yeah, I mean, it's pretty much what it looked like.
Q. Is there any difference in how much you wanted to finish the match in Davis Cup versus an early round in a singles match tournament? Is there more of a responsibility?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, of course. I mean, if I'm playing first round of 'you pick a city', if I'm sick, it's just me. You know, I can handle it. I can handle it. We'll have next week.
But, you know, I almost felt mad at myself or my body or whatever. You want to finish it out because you're playing for your teammates, playing for all you guys who are American here. You know, there is a lot more responsibility in Davis Cup.
Q. Andrei was in here and said you were trying to shorten points. Was that a conscious decision?
ANDY RODDICK: When?
Q. After you got depleted. Was that a tactical move you were trying to make?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, yeah. I didn't really feel like I could run much. When you feel like you can't really run much, you're not going to construct points based around you running. So, yeah, that's pretty accurate.
Q. Did (indiscernible) come out at all yesterday?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I saw him yesterday. Yeah, it was nice. We hadn't seen each other forever. Last time we saw each other was at some public park tennis center playing. I see him on TV so much later. It was nice.
Q. So you're not on any antiinflammatories that might have gotten involved in this?
ANDY RODDICK: No.
Q. Have you thought about maybe it was nerves?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, the thing is, if it were nerves, I would be puking a lot more in matches. If it was nerves, I'd be puking during Wimbledon finals and that whole thing.
Nerves probably don't help that situation, but if I puked every time I was nervous, then we'd have a lot of dirty courts (laughter).
Q. Maybe the coaching change.
ANDY RODDICK: The coaching change hasn't been weighing heavily on my mind. I talked to Dean yesterday. It's not causing me a lot of, you know, personal conflict. Dean and I are still great, great friends. You know, I got a text message from him today after the match, seeing how I was doing.
I don't think that made me puke (laughter).
Q. The message?
ANDY RODDICK: Damage was already done when I got the message (laughter).
Q. With Sunday, do you feel like you owe it to the team to suit up or do you really want a piece of Romania and earn a point for yourself?
ANDY RODDICK: Both. I'm allowed both, right?
Q. Absolutely.
ANDY RODDICK: No, both. I want to get out there. I feel like I'm being tested in a lot of ways right now as far as tennis goes. I'd love to get back out there. If I'm going out there just because I feel like I owe my teammates, I might as well let someone else play.
Q. How do you feel you're being tested?
ANDY RODDICK: I don't know, just little -- just tough situations that I haven't been in before. Stuff like today. You know, it's kind of all how you recover from it. I'm going to try to take the best attitude possible throughout and really try to get through it and try to get a win on Sunday. I think that will make a day like today forgotten in a lot of minds, including my own. I'd love to get out there.
Q. How tough is it going to be for the team in general to not think about last year? You won your match on the first day, but it was 1-1 on Friday night.
ANDY RODDICK: You know, to be totally frank and honest with you, we haven't talked about it once this week. I really haven't even thought about it. I didn't think about it today when I was out there struggling. We've heard a lot of it from the press and media. It was long ago. Man, it was a year ago. We feel like the relegation match maybe was more so our chance to exorcize our so-called demons.
I don't think that will even really cross our minds much. We're really focused on Romania. The fact that Croatia went on and won it, you know, in some backwards, twisted way, maybe it made it a little bit easier because they were obviously and underestimated team.
Q. Have you talked to your brother about this match? How is this first welcome to Davis Cup?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, I mean, I talk to my brother after a lot of matches. It's not some new thing for me to talk to my brother. We haven't really talked too much about it. First and foremost, he was just concerned with health. He said, "Just keep your head up, try to get better and go on Sunday."
Through the first two sets, I felt like I was doing some good things and I was hitting my forehand, which was good. You know, I felt like I was constructing points. It was a little up and down, but I felt like I was on the right track as far as playing-wise.
You know, there are still positives to be taken from today.
Q. You said Croatia going on with their hot streak, winning, took a little bit of the sting out. When Baghdatis won again and again, his run to the final, did that take a little of the sting out?
ANDY RODDICK: I don't know if it should have or it shouldn't have. I wasn't disappointed to hear that he won, you know. Maybe it takes away some of the questions that you ask yourself. You lose to Baghdatis, he's 60 in the world. You say, "Geez, really? How does that happen? Am I really losing to this guy?" He goes on...
I didn't feel like I played horribly. Last year with Muller, I felt like I played terrible. I told you guys that. It was just bad. Against Marcos, I didn't play my best, but I was still plus nine in winners to errors. I didn't feel like I played horrible. I'm asking myself questions, kind of what's going on, same thing as you guys.
You know, and the fact that he goes on and beats two of the hotter top 10 players, it did make me feel a little bit better. Whether it should have or shouldn't have, I felt good when I heard that he won.
TIM CURRY: Thank you.

End of FastScripts...

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