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WESTERN AND SOUTHERN FINANCIAL GROUP MASTERS


August 6, 2002


Andy Roddick


CINCINNATI, OHIO

Q. Can you talk about the way you played today and how you felt out there?

ANDY RODDICK: Felt a little weird at first. Obviously I played six matches in Toronto. It is a tighter stadium, it's not as spread out and so I was trying to get used to that. The court is a little bit different, so I was trying to play a little conservative at first, You know, keep the ball in and make him play so I can kind of get in my rhythm and get used to the courts here.

Q. Were you worried at all about any sort of let-down after that match the other day?

ANDY RODDICK: No. I look at it as I am playing well right now so I have to get the wins and maybe two, three months down the road I won't be playing great. You have got to get your wins in when you feel good.

Q. You grew up in Nebraska; correct?

ANDY RODDICK: I was born there.

Q. Do you feel like you used kind of a football mentality in the way you attack the game?

ANDY RODDICK: Not really. I don't see the comparison between football and tennis.

Q. Helped you at all having grown up there?

ANDY RODDICK: I didn't spend much time there honestly. I was four, five years old when I moved away. But I think more along the lines of mid-western values as opposed to, you know, being around, you know, more football mentality, you know, I think that helps out more in everyday life as opposed to on the court.

Q. I know you weren't in here a few minutes ago but Lleyton Hewitt was in here a few minutes ago and he pretty much blasted the ATP for how they promote their players. He didn't like the fact that he was going to be fined for not doing ESPN as a part of the Stars Program. How do you feel about promoting the ATP and do you think it's been pretty good for yourself and for other players?

ANDY RODDICK: I think it's great. Obviously I feel like ATP is one of my biggest allies. They are only trying to make me better. I don't know Lleyton's point of view on things, so I don't know that side of the story, but as far as I am concerned, they are always there. If you ever need someone to talk to, you know, I am sure if I didn't feel like doing the ESPN interview one day, I could probably say, I will get you tomorrow, they will probably be totally understanding. But I am always interested in promoting the game and I am sure that's the ATP's -- it's one of their big goals also.

Q. (Inaudible.)

ANDY RODDICK: We have done a couple of things. I am really excited about it because it might offer more behind-the-scenes look at things, and off the court stuff that fans don't get to see everyday and I think that's very important to show peoples' personalities off the court. A lot of people, including myself, are lot different off the court that be they are on. Maybe open up that side of things a little bit.

Q. Do you think kind of going in line with the previous question, would promoting tennis, I mean, is that another vehicle that people -- the players should be thinking about maybe we'll give a little more access to the tennis channel and do more things to promote the sport?

ANDY RODDICK: I think tennis is one -- I mean, it's one of the greatest sports in the world, and it has a lot of room for growth. But I think, you know, the more the players give, the more they will get out of the game. That's pretty much my view on things.

Q. What do you have to do between now and New York as far as working on your game to prepare yourself adequately for the US Open and a run at Open?

ANDY RODDICK: I am just going to try to keep winning matches this summer. When I get a lot of matches in, I just want to be match-tough by the time I get there. It's a two-week tournament and I want to feel confident and knowing that I have won some matches in the summer. So there's no better preparation than actual tournaments.

Q. Did you come out of Wimbledon feeling more relaxed about yourself after you said you were talking about going to San Antonio spending sometime there. Did you feel that in Toronto when you went into that tournament feeling pretty good about yourself and not getting too --

ANDY RODDICK: I was pressing, almost putting too much pressure on myself over there in England and a lot of the Europeans stint, and so -- I was with my family and was very relaxed and not a soul knew who I was walking around and just hanging out and we would hit very privately and it was great, very relaxing. So I kind of made up my mind, you know, if the summer doesn't go the way you want it to you still -- just stay relaxed, approach into it, have fun, and play with your instincts, just get back to basics, basically.

Q. How much pressure do you put on yourself to win a Masters Series events or a Grand Slam event sooner rather than later?

ANDY RODDICK: It's something I was pressing on a lot and thinking about a lot. You kind of just have to let it happen. You can't -- you can make stuff happen to a certain extent by working hard and by preparing yourself and making sure your body is ready, but in my case, if I try to force things too much, I get upset if they don't go my way. So I am just going to bide my time. I am confident in the fact that if I put in the work and, you know, go day by day, that the results will come. Sooner or later as long as I get there some day.

End of FastScripts….

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