Indian Wells: An Interview With Andy Roddick

Q. Had a little more of a workout today?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah. You know, I was expecting a tough match from Fernando. I lost to him last time at the Olympics. You know, definitely a good feeling to get through this time.

Q. The number of good players has increased so dramatically, it seems like there are 50, 60 guys that can be tough on a given day. Is that the new trend?

ANDY RODDICK: Uhm, yeah. I mean, I think it’s definitely something that’s — you know, it’s more apparent now than maybe before. You know, it’s not super surprising to see a guy 50, 60 in the world in the quarters of a Grand Slam. I think that happens every Grand Slam or every other Grand Slam now. I don’t think that’s a stretch to say that.

Q. Do you think tennis is still about consistency?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, it always will be. Bottom line is you have to put the ball in the court for it to count. I don’t see — that’s never going to change. You know, I’m one of the only guys that people consider a pure power player, maybe with Safin, in the Top 10, 15 guys.

I think rather than consistency, I’d say speed. I think you have to move well to be one of the top players now. You know, you don’t see a lot of guys who are slow up there. I think that’s a big key.

Q. Would you say your movement has improved as the years have gone by?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, absolutely. I think I’ve become a better athlete. You know, even like the bigger guys that you see that are at the top of the game like Moya and Safin, you know, they move really well for big guys. You know, I don’t think that’s coincidental.

Q. Any thoughts on Carlos?

ANDY RODDICK: I got lots of thoughts on Carlos (smiling). No. I mean, obviously, I had a tough one against him last time in Spain. But we’re going to have a battle. I mean, we always have. I’ve gotten him on hard courts. But I think it’s been three sets pretty much every time. You know, I’m sure it will be another one like that. You just kind of have to be ready to go to work.

Q. How important was the overhead that Gonzalez missed in the second set?

ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, it ended up being pretty important. But it’s the — the one I gave him was the one up the line because I figured he’d hit it about Mach 10. If he had to slice or hit it up the middle, I feel I could have stabbed at it. Gave it to him, he just missed it just by a little bit, but he went for it.

Q. Is it more satisfying to know you’re winning playing an all-around game as opposed to just throwing those bombs in?

ANDY RODDICK: Well, the bombs are falling in at the rate of about 75% today. That makes it a lot easier.

I think, you know, it is satisfying when you try working on things and it kind of helps you through and you see it kind of working in a match-type situation. You know, it’s definitely something that I need to do, is to have different serves to go with the heat.

Q. Two quick matches here. Do you feel you’re in a groove now?

ANDY RODDICK: I feel good, yeah. You know, I didn’t feel great my first round here. I really feel like I turned the corner the next day. In practice I started hitting the ball a little bit better, kind of doing what I want with it. I wasn’t battling it so much. You know, I’m pretty pleased with the last two matches. But, you know, tomorrow’s a new day.