F. VERDASCO/T. Haas
3-6 7-5 7-6 1-6 6-4


Q. How is the tournament going for you so far?
FERNANDO VERDASCO: Right now good. I'm in fourth round again after two years. I'm so happy, no? Right now is going good.

Q. When you assess the competition, how do you see it going forward?
FERNANDO VERDASCO: No, I am feeling good. You know, I know that every round getting more difficult normally because, you know, you play normally more rounds with better players.
But I'm feeling good. And, you know, I'm feeling very good in the court. I'm playing good. I need to be happy for that, no? I'm winning. I'm now in fourth round.
I feel good. I feel happy. Right now I'm waiting for my next opponent. They are playing right now. Both of them are big server. Is gonna be tough to return the serves. But I'm feeling good and that's the most important thing for me.

Q. Between the two of you today you hit 101 unforced errors. How do you feel about the level of play in this match?
FERNANDO VERDASCO: You know, he made me serve and volley many times, and he really served good. Like maybe 5 4 in the second and third set, he didn't serve that good. But he was really serving good and making good work with the serve, no? Also pushing me a lot. That's why I did a lot of unforced errors.
And also because I was trying to keep him far away of the baseline, to don't come forward to the net, because he's a great player there inside the court.
So that's why I made more unforced errors than normal, you know, because I was just trying maybe more, or just to don't let him play easy.

Q. Was he playing as well as you expected him to?
FERNANDO VERDASCO: Yeah, of course. You know, he's a great player. He really play good in the last two Grand Slams. Also he won the tournament in Halle. So, you know, everybody knows Tommy Haas, he's a great player with a lot of talent. You need to be ready. I knew that is gonna be a very tough match before I play today. So I was ready for one match like after happen today.


Q. What happened in the fourth set?
FERNANDO VERDASCO: You know, he really start playing good, pushing me back. He's a player that sense the rhythm a lot, slice, flat, serving good, going to the net. So it was not easy to play against him. He break me easy at the beginning of the fourth. He start getting confidence, and also, I start a little bit more relaxed than I supposed to be. He took two breaks. After that, you know, it was done.
But after, in the fifth, he break me, but I was, you know, more inside the match and I didn't let him break my serve twice, to don't let him do the same like in the fourth set, and just to try to break him back.
So with 3 1, I won my serve, and with 3 2 I break him. I didn't do the same like in the fourth.
But, you know, it was a strange match because also, you know, he was changing a lot his routine in the match, going serve and volley, sometimes staying back, sometimes slice, sometimes going flat and strong. So it was not easy to know what he's gonna do.

Q. Did you say it was a strange match?
FERNANDO VERDASCO: Yeah, it was strange because of the situation of the score. He was 5 4 and serving second and third set. He won the fourth 6 1.
After, he was up again a break in the fifth. But I just break him before the 5 4. You know, that gave me the chance to break him again in 5 4, his serve. So, you know, it was a match with a lot of breaks.
But anyway, you know, I was just trying my best and I knew it was a tough match against him.


(via ASAP Sports, photo/Reuters Pictures)

US Open: Fernando Verdasco's 05. September Interview