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THE STELLA ARTOIS CHAMPIONSHIPS


June 8, 2005


Andy Roddick


LONDON, ENGLAND

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Not the opponent that you would have liked for your opening match, but you handled it pretty well.

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, obviously, Mark's a very accomplished grass court player. You know, I knew it was gonna -- I wasn't super-comfortable with the draw, but, you know, I felt like I played about as well as I could, I mean, as well as, you know -- that's all I could have kind of asked for in the first match.

Q. When did you get here? When did you get on the grass?

ANDY RODDICK: Saturday. I hit Saturday for the first time.

Q. Did you get on any grass in America?

ANDY RODDICK: No.

Q. You didn't drop a point on your serve in the second set. Pretty impressive.

ANDY RODDICK: I didn't know that. That's surprising. You know, I felt like I lifted my percentages a lot in the second set and was putting a lot of first serves in. You know, that put the onus on him to try to figure something out.

Q. Can you remember ever doing that before?

ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. I don't -- I can't remember. I don't know if I have.

Q. Conditions?

ANDY RODDICK: They're... it was beautiful English weather, huh (smiling)?

Q. Happy with that?

ANDY RODDICK: It was great. You know, it was beautiful. I mean, it was like a perfect day out there today; you know, even yesterday, too. There was no wind. You know, it was nice.

Q. That court? I mean, are you happy? It's one that obviously has good memories for you. It's nice to come back, feel the surroundings, you happy with everything?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, they keep the courts here in such impeccable shape. You know, it's a pleasure to play on them. They're just in such good condition.

Q. You said you weren't super-comfortable with the draw. Is he the type of guy that can go to Wimbledon with a few matches and do some damage there?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, and, I mean, he's going to make a lot of people uncomfortable. If he's not the outright favorite in a match, just because he's coming back, I mean, if he plays a top seed, he's going to make them very uncomfortable because you know what you have to deal with. I mean, his serve's huge. You know, he brings a lot to the table on this surface.

Q. Most of the talk around the Grand Slams recently seems to have been with Federer, Nadal. Do you feel sort of motivated to get back into that sort of conversation, I suppose?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah. I mean, obviously, they're not going to talk about me as a contender for the French, and that's obviously what season we just finished. So, you know, I'm so excited to be over here and, you know, to be back on this surface. I'm really looking forward to Wimbledon.

Q. How did you use the time between the French Open and here?

ANDY RODDICK: I'm trying to find... I have no idea what that is... Poltergeist (referring to a background noise). I took a couple of days off and really just kind of relaxed and tried to find out where noises were coming from in my house. You know, stuff like that...

Q. Out of the system pretty much straightaway, Paris?

ANDY RODDICK: No, I was pissed off for a couple of days when I was home. I wasn't probably the most pleasant person to be around. But at the same time, I had this to look forward to, and I know how I can play on grass. You know, I know what I'm capable of on grass, so there was a lot more optimism, you know, to start this trip.

End of FastScripts….

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