Interview: Stella Artois 6/17/06

Q. He made it tough for you, didn’t he?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah. You know, I think a lot of credit should go to James today. It’s not often I’ve served 77% first serves with one double-fault and gotten broken three times in a two-set match, especially serving with the pace that I was today.
You know, I hit a couple stupid shots. That overhead in the second set probably was a huge turning point.
But, you know, if someone can take full swings on my best serves all day and, you know, hit winners or hit forcing shots off of them, then it’s too good.

Q. The break in the second set was a bit bizarre, wasn’t it?
ANDY RODDICK: The break, yeah, it was unfortunate. I mean, I hit a pretty good volley, missed it by a little bit. The overhead was just — that was my fault. I just missed it. I put myself in good position. And then he hit a return deep and it hit — I don’t know if it hit a patch of grass maybe that was lying about. You know, it kind of took a skid before I got a swing on it. But that’s kind of the way my day felt.

Q. How disappointing is it not to get the four in a row?
ANDY RODDICK: It’s disappointing, but I think you have to look, you know — from my standpoint, I want preparation for Wimbledon and I want to build confidence for Wimbledon. I feel like I’ve done that this week. I’ve beaten some quality players and, you know, it took someone playing an amazing match to get me today.

I feel like I’m serving well. I feel like I’m returning well. You know, I’m a lot better off now than when I came in to this event. So at the end of the day, this tournament has to be considered a success just because I feel prepared for Wimbledon, which obviously is the big goal.

Click here to read the full interview provided by ASAP Sports at stellaartoistennic.com