Q. The top seeds struggled today except you. How did you see your match?
ANDY RODDICK: I don't know, I mean, we all got the same result. I didn't start off great, and then I thought the second and third sets were a lot better. Which is, I guess, the direction you want to go in.

Q. He's only won one set in ten meetings against you. What do you put your amazing dominance down to?
ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. You know, I don't know that I've had a bad day against him. I feel like I always come off the court having played pretty well. I'm sure the matchup is favorable. I can get my feet under me a little bit and go after some shots.
I've just played well against him most of the times we've played.

Q. Does his style of play suit your game, do you think?
ANDY RODDICK: I guess so. I've lost to players that play like him. I don't know. I guess it's tough to say it's not a good matchup after ten wins. You know, I think that I've just executed against him.


Q. Overall how did you assess your tournament to this point?
ANDY RODDICK: So far so good. I get to play another day.

Q. You changed coaches and trimmed down and did a number of things in the season. Does your tournament start now? Is this where the changes sort of measure?
ANDY RODDICK: No, I've been in the tournament for nine days now. This is ‑‑ you just try to get a step further each time. I'm not going to think about it in two parts. It's a whole tournament.
I just want to continue to stay alive each day. I did that today and I'll be looking to do it again in two days.

Q. And Marcos or Novak in the next round. Will you be studying that match?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I like the dynamic of me sitting in my room after dinner watching them as opposed to having to work tonight. I'll watch it.

Q. Can you break down the matchups?
ANDY RODDICK: For me or them?

Q. Either one of those.
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I mean, it's pretty similar. I think Novak is probably a little bit steadier where Marcos is a little bit more of a shot maker, maybe takes some more risks.
But they're both great players and both obviously extremely comfortable at this tournament.
They both have had their career tournaments here, so either way, I'll be up against it.

Q. For you is this a conversation match? Getting back into the conversation match?
ANDY RODDICK: Conversation?

Q. You talked about not being in the conversation. Is this match ‑‑
ANDY RODDICK: Oh, no, I was asked about it. I said I wasn't that concerned about it. No, I'm not playing for that. I'm not playing for anybody else to say something or write something. I think those days are done. I'm just looking to play well. I just want to go out there and play well and make someone work.

Q. How is the early relationship going with Larry? Feeling like you're gelling?
ANDY RODDICK: It's a lot easier when the two guys talk as much as we do. I'm not the quietest guy. I've known Larry for a long time. It's never been a case of us not ‑‑ it's not like it was with Jimmy where we hadn't spent time together before. We always stopped and had a chat when we saw each other.
I've actually gotten along with all the players that he's coached since I've been on tour, and practiced a bunch. It wasn't like we're kind of strangers.

Q. Have you been on center court this tournament yet?
ANDY RODDICK: First round, yeah.

Q. You think you'll get that on Tuesday?
ANDY RODDICK: I assume so. There's only four matches, two on each day. I think they would be hard pressed to put us out on Hisense.

Q. Did you get the message if they do?
ANDY RODDICK: If they do, they do. You know what, I'm coming into this tournament and I'm not one of the guys that have to make a priority in the schedule right now. I understand that.
The other guys have deserved that spot so, I'm not ‑‑ I certainly don't feel like I'm entitled to anything. I just have to go back to work wherever it is.

Q. I was just kidding.
ANDY RODDICK: Me too, then.

Q. Did you get a chance to see a bit of the end of the match?
ANDY RODDICK: I didn't see much. When I came back in it was two breaks in the fifth. I saw the first set and the beginning of the second and that's pretty much it.

Q. Comments on the first set?
ANDY RODDICK: I mean, I was watching it extremely sparingly. I was getting ready for my match. Unfortunately for your column, that takes precedence over me watching Federer and Berdych.

Q. You guys all know that Berdych, if he has one of those days, he's pretty tricky, isn't he?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah. I mean, the guy hits the ball a ton and he hardly looks like he's swinging and the ball's coming in heavy. He has weapons. If he comes out and swings, I mean, I think he's proven in the past. He has wins over pretty much everyone. He's certainly capable.
With him, I think it's just a matter of the consistency and doing it week to week.

Q. How about the pace of the courts here? Do you think they suit or don't suit you?
ANDY RODDICK: I can talk about the pace of court out there. I don't know. I don't know.

Q. There's a suggestion they're slower than they were.
ANDY RODDICK: They don't feel quick, that's for sure. That's kind of the nature of the way tennis has gone. You know, I've been saying it's become more and more about legs and running as opposed to kind of shot‑making and hitting the ball through the court.
That's pretty apparent, if you look at the Top 15, 20 in the rankings. So I'm not sure how this is still a surprising story.

Q. You were on Serena's website as one of her best all‑time wins. Can you clarify that for us?
ANDY RODDICK: Yes, I can, unfortunately. She always just gives me crap. Ask her about it. But she won't give me a rematch.
I saw her yesterday, and she walked on the court and started laughing because she knew I had probably seen it. I said, It wasn't fair. When we were ten, I had to literally run around in the shower to get wet. I was this big. She was bench pressing dump trucks already at that time. I told her that yesterday, and she got a good laugh. Any chance she gets she just does it to get under my skin, and she does it very successfully.
But, you know, however many some odd Wimbledon titles and they're like, What's your best match? I have a win over Andy Roddick. She forgets to mention that it was 1993.

Q. So a charity rematch might be in the cards?
ANDY RODDICK: I'd love to. Tell her to do it.

Q. She thinks now she's beaten everyone you've beaten.
ANDY RODDICK: Oh, yeah. She sat me down for five minutes yesterday and was going through her indirect wins. She was pretty excited. She didn't know I had two wins over Pete, so she was excited about that also. I wish I could deny it, but I would be lying if I tried to.

Q. Was it 6‑4 or 6‑1?
ANDY RODDICK: The score gets better for her also. She's good at not letting the truth get in the way of a good story sometimes. I think it was 6‑4.

Q. Explain your relationship with Legardère. Are you going to be training there?
ANDY RODDICK: No. I mean, he has a lot of entities. I think a lot of people are focusing on the tennis side of it. He has 250 some odd companies, so you can choose one if you want. I'm impressed by what he's done over in France. I'm not training in France. I think you guys know better than that.
But I'm intrigued. He's gone at it almost like a Formula One team. I think it would be interesting to try something like that in the States. I don't know how farfetched that is, but he loves tennis. I think the more you get guys who are passionate about the game and can probably do something about it, the better.

Q. It's a commercial relationship at this point?
ANDY RODDICK: Yes.

Q. Is there any advantage of spending just over a week on the outside courts?
ANDY RODDICK: Any advantage, or...

Q. Or disadvantage?
ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. It's a court. It's still the same game and same dimensions. I don't know if there is much of an advantage or disadvantage. Maybe if I had never played on Rod Laver you would want to get in there before you played a quarterfinal.
But I've played there a ton, day, night. It should be fine.

Q. Do you have any history with Venus?
ANDY RODDICK: No. She was way too good. I couldn't even be on the same court. It's great. I always enjoy seeing them do well. For literally about two and a half, three years we had three courts in Florida, and it was me, Serena and Venus.

Q. Where was that?
ANDY RODDICK: In Delray Beach there. It was pretty cool. We just spent hours and hours out there just playing. We all have done pretty well, and all three of those little kids out there got to No. 1, which is pretty cool.
I'm just happy for them. They're good girls. It's nice.

Q. The national tennis center?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah.

Q. With Rick?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah.

Q. Clay court, bad weather, bad wind? The day you played Serena.
ANDY RODDICK: All of the above. Yeah.

Q. How do you think Serena will feel when you say she was lifting dump trucks?
ANDY RODDICK: I didn't say lifting, I said bench pressing, which is a testament to her strength. Don't twist it.

Q. Have you ever considered switching a racquet like Novak?
ANDY RODDICK: Probably not. I've been using my racquet for, you know, close to a decade now. I'm fine with it.

Q. What are the rewards of that kind of a change?
ANDY RODDICK: I don't know. I've never done it.


(via AO Tennis Championship 2009, photo/Rob Griffith/AP Photo)

Andy Roddick - Australian Open 25. January Interview