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WIMBLEDON

June 28, 2007

Jonas Bjorkman

LONDON, ENGLAND

Q. I don't expect you thought you'd get to the third round and be the young bloke?
JONAS BJORKMAN: No, it's good. I feel good about being in the third round. A little different situation this year. Last year no expectations, and then obviously now, some expectations on myself, but also everyone expects a lot more from me this year.
Pleased to play -- played some great tennis today. Unfortunately couldn't finish it off in three sets. That would have been obviously a perfect way. But still, very happy about being mentally strong to win out there in four.

Q. When you talk about expectations, why do you think there are expectations?
JONAS BJORKMAN: Well, last year I only won three matches coming into Nottingham, and I didn't have any expectations before Nottingham, and then I don't think anyone else expected. It was more maybe the question on how long I'm going to play.
And then got to the final of Nottingham, and obviously for me I got a lot of confidence out of that, good being in the flow and enjoy a great Wimby. And this year I already done some good results, obviously French Open, been winning some matches in Queen's and had a pretty decent run in Nottingham. So obviously that counts to be a little different now.

Q. This is Wayne's last tournament. What are your sort of plans for the future?
JONAS BJORKMAN: Well, my plans, I'm still playing well, still playing good tennis. You know, I'm taking one year at a time and going to try to see what happens through this year, and if my ranking is still decent, you know, it's an Olympics coming up next year that I never really believed that I would be close to. But since it's only one year away, you know, obviously something that I'm starting to look at a little bit. But it all depends if my ranking stays up and if my body is holding up, and so far it's holding up good.

Q. You've got Todd helping you out. How helpful will that be playing another Australian in the third round?
JONAS BJORKMAN: Well, me and Wayne, we know each other almost inside-out, so we've played a lot, so I wouldn't see that I can't get too much out of Todd that would benefit me this match. I think we know our weakness and strength, and it's just going to be one of those matches where you go out, and the guy who plays the best that day is going to win. You know, there's going to be a lot of short points, and hopefully I can go out there and make some good returns, and that's what I need to do. Wayne has got one of the best serves in the game. I've got to be trying to get as many balls back. It's going to be an interesting match-up.

Q. Is his serve any different now than when you first saw it 10 or 12 years ago?
JONAS BJORKMAN: Well, obviously the first time is always tough, but from now on -- he's having the same motion more or less all the time. That's why he has such a great serve. You've got to guess a little bit and go on your instincts. It's not much reading you can do on his serve, and that's why he's been so successful with it, because he's mixing up his speed and not going hard all the time, and that's the hardest part; you can't see that. You've got to be ready for that.

Q. He said he might owe you one for I think it was a Davis Cup match a few years ago; he said you smashed one into him and he said he still remembers?
JONAS BJORKMAN: It was a normal forehand volley, so he didn't have time to react (laughter), so he got it an uncomfortable place (laughter). I don't know, hopefully he's not going to hit me there. I think we both need to keep those alive for a little bit more.

Q. Have you guys been mates away from the court? Do you sort of share a beer together and that sort of thing?
JONAS BJORKMAN: Mainly we don't have time. You know, I think we all know each other well, the older generation who's been around for a long time, and we see each other here, and that's about it.
You know, especially on the Grand Slams you can't catch up with too many guys to have dinners with.
But on the smaller tournaments, sometimes if you're by yourself you hook up with some of the guys, and obviously I've always had a great relationship with the Australian boys.

Q. When you're playing good tennis at your age, does that give you added respect when you see a guy say like Wayne at 36, that he's still kicking around on tour?
JONAS BJORKMAN: Well, I think for both of us, you know, it's something -- an excitement in us, a little thrill inside the body that we still can go out and compete with the youngsters who are just under 20 or just past 20 and still show that we can still play some good tennis.
I think these days we play so different to the rest of them, but sometimes we can take benefits of that. We've got a different style, and when we play our best tennis, it's still possible to beat these guys. That obviously helps us to keep going a little bit.

Q. What's the arrangement with Todd? Does he sort of help you out part-time here and there?
JONAS BJORKMAN: Yeah, we did last year. He was actually helping Thomas in Australia and then he was going to help Thomas during the grass, and I just asked if I could join in. Lucky we had to play each other the first round here last year in Wimby, and I just felt that it was maybe good to have someone to help me out a little bit on just a few things to improve tactically or maybe just technically. I knew he was going to come over anyway, so I asked him if he could come over a week early in Nottingham, and it worked out.
He knows my game really well since we played for so long, and that's why it's good to have someone who can help you with your tennis when you know the game, not just someone who comes in and hasn't really seen you enough to play. So it works well.

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