[情報] The Tennis Week Interview---Mardy Fish
An Interview with Mardy Fish
From Tennis Week
Tennis Week: Last August, I watched you win the Bronx Challenger. In a little
more than a year since you've won your first ATP title and reached the top 20.
What's been the biggest reasons for your rapid development?
Mardy Fish: I think a lot of it has to do with just maturing and coming into my
own and kind of my game maturing a lot more. I always felt I had the right game
, it was just a matter of doing it on a consistent basis. I knew that I could,
every once in a while, play with somebody who was in the top 10, but it was a
question of doing it consistently. I knew last year going into those Challengers
what I had to accomplish to reach my goal of getting straight into the 2003 Aus
tralian Open. I knew I had to play four Challengers and do pretty well. I had
high expectations. I wanted to prove that I was a legitimate top 100 player.
Tennis Week: Did you have to prove it to yourself? Or did you already believe
you could do it?
Mardy Fish: Yeah, I did believe it and I wanted to prove to everyone else, not
only myself, that I could consistently beat guys at the Challenger level that I
thought I could beat every time. And I went in and I won the Bronx, I won San
Antonio and lost in the finals of Tyler and Knoxville so those were my last
four tournaments of the (2002) year.
Tennis Week: You had a strong start to the 2003 season, beating Carlos Moya
twice in a week, you probably should have beaten Wayne Ferreira to reach the
round of 16 at the Australian Open and you had good results in Memphis, Delray
Beach and Miami. Was there any match or moment at the start of this year that
stands out as a big boost to your confidence?
Mardy Fish: I think maybe when I made the final in Delray. I knew that I could
play that match like I did against a Moya, here and there, but I didn't think
I could beat a player like that twice in a row and that obviously gave me
confidence coming out of Australia as well as getting out of there ranked top
70. In Delray, I had to play Andy (Roddick) in the first round so my expectatio
ns weren't too high. I remember going out before that match saying, 'I'm just
going to have fun'. Because that was my first time playing Andy in the pros.
Tennis Week: How long did you live with Roddick while you were both juniors in
high school?
Mardy Fish: We lived together for a year, a solid year, when we were juniors.
And we had a great time. But back then we weren't nearly as good. I was ranked,
I think No. 6 or 7 in the world as a junior, and Andy was around there as well.
It was maybe a year before that when I was kind of figuring out what I wanted
to do because I played golf as well. I knew I wanted to do something in sports,
but I didn't know (exactly what). My dad (Tom) being a tennis teaching pro kind
of pushed me toward tennis. He saw something that I didn't see or maybe a lot
of other people didn't see. But luckily, he saw it and pushed me toward tennis.
Tennis Week: Practicing a solid year with Roddick must have helped both of you
improve quite a bit?
Mardy Fish: Yeah, we had three other guys as well. We had Bo Hodge who plays No
. 1 for the University of Georgia now and is like in the top three in the
country right now. We had Chris Martin, who goes to the University of Illinois
and his brother Dave Martin, who goes to Stanford. So we had all five of us
together and we were just beating each other up every day on and off the practi
ce court (smiles) both playing and fitness-wise. We were just trying to beat
each other every time. It would have been a lot tougher if we tried to do it by
ourselves. We really pushed each other every day and made each other a lot bett
er, that's for sure.
Tennis Week: You played a phenomenal final against Roddick in Cincinnati this
year when Andy saved two match points to beat you 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-7(4). What do
you remember feeling prior to that match?
Mardy Fish: I knew he was playing the best tennis of everybody in the world at
that time. Again, it was probably the same feeling of 'I'm just going to go out
and have fun.' He beat me pretty easily a few weeks before in Washington in the
quarters. I went out and he wasn't playing as well as he had been the past coup
le of weeks in the first set and I got an early break. I played great. I didn't
lose my serve. That was the first time I had ever not lost my serve and lost a
match and it just so happened to be in the final.
Tennis Week: On the two match points, Roddick showed a lot of guts going for
pretty big serves to your backhand. It wasn't like you did anything wrong there
, he just hit some huge serves on big points.
Mardy Fish: He had been serving to my forehand, which is my weaker shot on my
return, the whole day. And I should have known that he was probably going to go
there (the backhand) thinking I was going to cover my forehand. But he did it.
Tennis Week: Is it more complicated or challenging playing someone who knows
you and your game so well?
Mardy Fish: I think it might be less complicated. We know each other's game so
well that I know what I have to do to beat him and he knows what he has to do
to beat me. And it's just a matter of execution and who is better that day. I
think I match up well against him. Returning is one of the better parts of my
game and if you can kind of get his serve back and get into the point then
anything can happen. Some days he can just go out there and hit aces and
there's nothing you can do about it ?like that match in Washington. So you
never really know. James (Blake) hates playing him and I love playing him. So
hopefully it will be one of those rivalries to watch in the future. We have
contrasting styles, he likes playing me and we have fun whenever we play and I
think that showed in Cincinnati as well.
Tennis Week: It's fun watching you play because of the variety in your game you
can play from the baseline or attack the net. Did you always try to play an all
-court game?
Mardy Fish: Yeah, ever since I was a little kid I always liked coming to the
net. My dad always preached to me that coming to the net and trying to finish
points at the net was the future of tennis. Ever since I was a kid, I liked
coming to the net and trying to finish the point with a volley. That's probably
one of the reasons why clay is not my best surface and grass is my best surface
and that (clay-court tennis) is definitely something that I want to continue to
work on in the future.
Tennis Week: Your backhand and serve seem to be such fluid, uncomplicated shots
There's no wasted motion. Were those always natural shots for you?
Mardy Fish: My serve is definitely not natural. That's something I've been work
ing a lot on with my coach, Kelly Jones, and it's just come on in the past year
where I am starting to pick my spots and starting to see the returner guess,
where he goes out wide and I go down the T. It's a good feeling when they don't
know where you're going to serve. My backhand has always been my best shot;
its always been there and never let me down apart from maybe a couple of times.
Tennis Week: So that streak of holding serve so may games in Cincinnati had to
do a lot for your confidence?
Mardy Fish: Sure, if you hold serve that many times everybody, even the worst
returners, are going to get a couple chances (to break an opponent's serve). I
played a match in Stockholm where I didn't lose my serve and won 7-6 in the
third-set breaker. So you never know.
Tennis Week: How did it feel to win your first ATP title in Stockholm?
Mardy Fish: It was huge. It was something I always dreamt about, winning a tour
nament. I felt like it was kind of overdue. I felt like I should have won Cinci
nnati. I felt like I had chances to win Delray. Nottingham (where Fish reached
the final falling to Greg Rusedski), I definitely did not have chances to win
that one (laughs). I felt like it was only a matter of time. I felt like it was
a little over due. They were really good tennis fans in Stockholm. They didn't
clap if I made an error; it was kind of like the Davis Cup match against Kucera
they were very fair fans. They would clap for my winners on good shots. Obvious
ly, they want him (Soderling) to win and when he hit a great shot, yeah, they
went crazy. That's understandable. I knew that going in. Luckily I got a win in
the final when it was 7-6 in the third. It was a great final. The kid played an
unbelievable match and I had to play really well to win that one. I played a
great semi against Enqvist, he was really playing well. He's very tough to play
indoors.
Tennis Week: Can you talk about your experience playing in the Davis Cup tie
against the Slovak Republic? You're playing against an experienced opponent in
Kucera on your least favorite surface (clay) with your team trailing. If you
lose that match, the U.S. is probably done in that tie. Were you surprised
Patrick McEnroe picked you to play that match in the first place given the fact
you had lost to Kucera and were playing on clay?
Mardy Fish: I wasn't really surprised he picked me to play. At the time, I was
ranked like No. 24 and I think James was like No. 35. I was playing well and
yeah it was on clay, which isn't really James' best surface either. I mean, he
plays great on it, but I felt like going into that week of practice if I played
well and I was able to beat everybody, I felt it should be a no-brainer to pick
me. And obviously it's a tough decision because I had never been put in that
situation before. Obviously, we didn't know Andy was going to lose that first
match. P-Mac went out on a limb and I don't think we were lucky to get out of
it, but it was pretty close to dangerous.
Tennis Week: You were losing that match to Kucera then there was a delay due to
a power outage. How did you maintain focus?
Mardy Fish: It wasn't one of those matches where you can kind of feel out a
match and you can kind of sense if you're going to win the match or not.
Sometimes, you go out there and you can feel you're going to do well. You're
putting points together and hitting the ball well and you feel really good. But
then there are times where you don't think to yourself 'I'm going to lose this
match for sure...' but you know in your heart it's going to be tough. That was
one of those matches, where I had no idea which way it was gonna go. And it
could have definitely gone the other way. He was up a break in the third, but I
hit the ball great. I felt like I was playing better than him. He played great
when I played him at the Open. He's very solid and always comes up with the
right shots on the big points. In that Davis Cup match I reeled off nine straig
ht games and all of a sudden I was up two sets to one and 4-0 with two breaks.
The seating capacity in that arena is probably like four thousand and all of
a sudden there was only like 1,500 people there. I mean it was awesome. When I
won the third and went up two breaks in the fourth, everybody left.
Tennis Week: Even though it's only one match and one win, winning a Davis Cup
match like that on the road under that pressure has to be so meaningful?
Mardy Fish: Playing Davis Cup, besides winning a tournament, was one of the
biggest goals of my career. To play singles in Davis Cup is even more special
because it's by yourself and it's kind of you representing your country. It's
all on you and I love that aspect of it and I'm sure a lot of other people do
too.
Tennis Week: You have such a beautiful game for doubles because your return is
so strong and you're such a good net player. Would you ever consider playing
more doubles?
Mardy Fish: I play doubles and I like doubles. James (Blake) and I are going to
play a lot together next year. I played some with Andy ?we won Houston last
year. This year we lost in the semis. I like playing. It's kind of like early
in my career I was kind of staying at tournaments playing doubles because I had
lost in singles. Now, it's more like I want to do well in singles and I want to
play doubles for fun and maybe to play with my friends. I would much rather
play a doubles match to work on my volley and serve then go out and work on my
volleys and serve in practice. I have a lot of fun playing doubles and I won't
stop playing though I'll probably play a little bit less doubles and focus on
singles.
Tennis Week: You ended the 2003 season so strong, what's your goal for 2004?
Mardy Fish: It's something that I probably have to sit down with my coach and
my dad and really think about. Just off the top of my head I think top 10 would
be awesome and to get into the Masters Cup next year would be an awesome goal.
This year, I set goals and I pretty much achieved every one. I wanted to win
a tournament and I did that. I wanted to reach the top 50 and I did that by
Wimbledon and then I reset it to be top 20 by the end of the year and I did
that. So maybe I should have said,'Finish No. 1' or something really big like
that (smiles).
Tennis Week: You've made such a consistent climb up the rankings. Are you happy
with your progress?
Mardy Fish: Oh yeah. I'm extremely happy. I'm having more fun with tennis now
than ever and I really love it.
Tennis Week: Looking back on the year, was there any one match aside from Davis
Cup or Stockholm that really stood out as a pivotal point for you?
Mardy Fish: One match, which might not seem that big, was the second round at
Wimbledon this year against Gambill. I had played him pretty close, but lost to
him three times before. It was kind of one of those, I thought, break out matches
for me in that this was a match ultimately if I wanted to achieve the things in
tennis I want to achieve I knew I had to win these types of matches. And I went
out there and beat him (6-4, 6-4, 6-1) in about an hour and 20 minutes and
right then I felt 'That's the way I need to play' and I was hoping I could kind
of build off that.
Tennis Week: This young group of Americans has the talent to challenge for the
Davis Cup as soon as next year. How committed are you and the group to playing,
and maybe winning, Davis Cup?
Mardy Fish: I think Andy, James, Taylor, myself and the Bryans are all going to
try to play Davis Cup every single time it comes around regardless of wherever
it is. Obviously, it can be a scheduling conflict when we have to play in
Slovakia on clay right after the U.S. Open, but I mean that's the sacrifice you
're going to have to make. And obviously it's a sacrifice definitely worth
taking going anywhere to play Davis Cup for your country is something that's
really very special. I don't care where it is or when it is, I'm going to go
play Davis Cup every time they ask me.
Tennis Week: How do you see your game shaping up to be effective on all surface
and what's your favorite surface?
Mardy Fish: Clay might be my favorite surface to play on, but I mean it's not
my best surface in terms of going out there. I can go out there on a hard court
or a fast court and know I can beat anybody if I play well whereas going out on
a clay court and having to play Ferrero on clay is probably not the best match
up for me. But it's one of those things that you put someone on the other side
of the net on any surface, I think I can beat them and I think most guys think
that way and if you asked them that most of them would probably say the same
thing.
Tennis Week: I was impressed in seeing you play after you lost the lead and the
match to Ferreira in Australia you never looked stressed or tight. You looked
pretty composed as if you know exactly what you need to do it's just a question
of can you do it?
Mardy Fish: I think that just might be my personality. I'm pretty calm. Someone
like Andy gets a little more fired up, but I like to pump my fist every once in
a while. I don't think I'm too dead or too quiet out there or like Pete
(Sampras) who looks like he's just going through the motions out there when
he's winning Wimbledon.
Tennis Week: What are you trying to improve in your game for next year and
beyond?
Mardy Fish: Forehand. My physical strength and just improving everything. Every
thing can improve. I'd like to get my serve to the point where it's dominant so
that guys are tight on their own service games because if they get broken they
feel the set will be over. I think that would be something great to have where
you can break someone once and win the set 99 times out of a hundred.
Tennis Week: When you hear people talk about this young group of Americans
-Roddick, yourself, Blake, Taylor Dent, Robby Ginepri, Vahaly-do you take pride
in being part of that group or do you wish you'd each get treated and talked
about as individuals more? How does that make you feel?
Mardy Fish: I think it's better that there's a bunch of us rather than just one
of us. That's why Andy's done such a great job. The fact that he was the only
one that they had those kind of expectations about, you know like winning Grand
Slams. Hopefully, in the near future, we can have those expectations and hope
on us too. Andy's already gone through it so we can go to him for tips like
that. Obviously, if we're playing in the finals, then that might be a little
different (smiles). I'd still ask him for advice, but I'm sure he wouldn't give
it to me.
Tennis Week: Was tennis always your first love among sports?
Mardy Fish: I always loved tennis and I always loved sports in general. I love
playing basketball, I love golf. My worst sport, by far, is soccer. I never
really played football growing up, but I love going out and throwing the footba
ll around. Golf is probably my most favorite sport. If you said, 'Let's go out
and play a sport right now ?pick one' I'd pick golf.
Tennis Week: Do you get to play a lot of golf?
Mardy Fish: I haven't played a lot recently, but I try to play a lot, as much
as I can.
Tennis Week: What's the most exciting aspect of your job? What gives you the
greatest rush when you're playing tennis?
Mardy Fish: I think it's the individual aspect of it. Knowing that when you're
out there on a stadium court and you're about to serve everyone's eyes are on
you. There's a lot of bad things that can happen in tennis as far as you can
make a lot more mistakes in tennis than in other spots. Other sports, you can
play a terrible game, you can go 0 for 4 in baseball and make a couple of error
s, but your team can still win. If you have a bad day in tennis and you're play
ing a good player, then you're probably going to be in trouble, you know?
You've gotta come to the court every day prepared. Obviously, you're going to
have those bad days, but you try to make them few and far between.
Tennis Week: Who is your least favorite player to play?
Mardy Fish: I've never played Andre, but I'm sure he would be a nightmare to
play; fun as well, but on the other hand he'd probably kick your ass. I've play
ed Robby Ginepri a couple of times and he's beaten me easily every time we've
played. I think he matches up well with me because he returns so well that he
puts pressure on you to hit first volleys and I'm used to hitting a serve and
walking to the side or hitting another serve. He forces you to have to hit a
lot of good shots and he's very quick. Another guy I love to play who is tough
is Federer. I've played him twice and played him close both times and he's won.
I just think he's so much fun to watch.
Tennis Week: It's fun to watch you play Federer because you both use the whole
court.
Mardy Fish: We both try to get to the net and mix it up. I got to play Henman
this year too and he was someone who I grew up watching and maybe tried to
model my game on his a bit even though he's got a one-hander and I've got a
two-hander. He (Henman) is one of the best athletes out there.
Tennis Week: During the U.S. Open, Jim Courier made an interesting observation.
He said you might be the best one-handed volleyer of any two-handed player he's
ever seen. What do you think about that?
Mardy Fish: Todd Martin comes to mind right away as a very good one. My backhan
d side has always been my best side regardless of the shot. I never heard him
say that, but it's really a great compliment.
Tennis Week: For a guy who's had world-class success at such a young age, you
seem pretty low key, level headed and grounded. How have you retained a sense
of humility and not let the success go to your head?
Mardy Fish: My family really keeps me grounded and helps me a lot. I'm close
with a lot of my friends I grew up with. I was just in Tallahassee visiting
some friends who go to FSU. I kind of go back there and do the normal college
thing, go to parties, get in fights (smiles), you know the usual college
lifestyle.
Tennis Week: What's the toughest part of being on the road for so long each
year?
Mardy Fish: Being away from your friends and family is the toughest part of it.
Travel you kind of get used to it, I'm getting more and more used to it apart
from the days when you feel like everything is going wrong (smiles). Staying in
touch with your close friends can be tough especially when you're in Europe for
weeks at a time. I try to bring a cell phone and stay in touch with email, but
it is tough sometimes.
Tennis Week: What do you do to avoid loneliness?
Mardy Fish: James and I are close friends and we probably go to dinner every
single night together. We (the young Americans) are all close friends and I
think that's helped us a lot. James and I hang out at the courts, at the
tournaments and at home. He lives across the street so I've got my set of
friends I grew up with and I see James all the time so it's kind of like having
one of your best friends with you all the time and we try to help each other
out.
Tennis Week: How do you prepare for a match emotionally and mentally?
Mardy Fish: I like to listen to music before every match. I like to listen to
something that puts me in a happy mode or in a good mood. I like Dave Matthews
Band and something preferably fast ?I don't think a slow, country love song
will do it for me before a match.
Tennis Week: Of every court you've played on, what is your favorite or most
special?
Mardy Fish: Centre Court at Wimbledon, obviously it doesn't get more special or
prestigious than that. Houston is an awesome tournament. I like to play Miami
because all my family gets to come and watch. The U.S. Open, of course, is so
much fun to play and watch. Wimbledon, I think, might be my favorite tournament
just because I love playing on grass. I think that, I don't want to make a
Philippoussis call and tell you I'm going to win Wimbledon in like two years,
but I think I can do really well there. Hopefully, I can do well there.
Tennis Week: I would think you, Roddick and Dent will all play well at
Wimbledon in the coming years.
Mardy Fish: Obviously Taylor's game is perfectly-tailored for grass and Andy
can play on any surface.
Tennis Week: When you're not playing tennis, do you follow tennis? Who did you
like to watch as a kid?
Mardy Fish: Yeah, I'm a big fan of tennis. I grew up watching Bjorkman when he
was top five and Henman. When I really started getting into tennis in like '97,
I liked watching guys like Agassi and Pete and Philippoussis and Moya and all
those guys who I play against now.
Tennis Week: What do you want to do after tennis?
Mardy Fish: I'd like to make enough money to do whatever I want to do. I'd like
to try to play golf. I have a pretty low handicap and I never play now. I would
like to find out how good I can get at golf. I love playing and it kind of takes
your mind off everything and let's you relax.
Tennis Week: If you hadn't made it as a top 20 tennis player what would you be
doing with your life right now?
Mardy Fish: I'd probably be in college doing what I do when I go there now
nothing (smiles). It's a good question. I haven't really come up with a good
answer. If I wasn't as good in tennis I'd probably be playing college tennis
and using that as a tool to get an education. I grew up playing tennis, it's
what I love doing and I'm glad I have the chance to play professionally.
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 140.112.193.85
US_Army 近期熱門文章
PTT體育區 即時熱門文章
