Q. Boris was in here
earlier saying he was surprised you were playing
doubles, it could detract
from your chances of winning the singles. So why
are you doing it?
A. I don't know. I
guess I've made that commitment, and whether it's a good
or bad decision I guess
I'll know at the end of the week, but, you know,
obviously it would
be better to be home and getting rested up. But I've made
a commitment now, and
I'm going to see it through, and this will be my last
year of doing this
sort of thing.
Q. Is playing doubles
more of a danger at Wimbledon because of the problems
with the weather?
A. Yes, it is unfortunate,
because it's a good way to hit out, you know, when
you do have your day
off, but that's the frustrating thing about it now, it's
going to be -- I think
I've got singles and doubles again tomorrow, so it
won't give me much
time to get ready.
Q. Has Jonas ever said
to you in the past in a slam when you're in both and
it's getting a bit
much, "Look, you can pull out"?
A. No, he hasn't, but
at the same time he would understand, I think. I'm sure
he'd understand if
I said, "Listen, I don't really want to play now". There
have been occasions
in the past where we've played, I think US Open last
year, I put in a pretty
ordinary performance, I wasn't going to waste too
much energy, and tonight
if it went either way it wasn't a bad result at the
end of the day for
me either.
Q. If you win tomorrow,
you wouldn't consider pulling out of the doubles?
A. No, but again I
felt like I put in a pretty easy performance out there. On
a few points I really
picked up my game, but other than that I thought I
tried not to put too
much into it.
Q. Pat, what about playing
Boris, playing a legend? What did you feel about
that, a big moment
for you as well as for him?
A. Yes, it was tough
at the beginning. He does have a presence out there but,
you know, his game
wasn't really firing today and I felt like I couldn't hit
the ball much better
either. So it wasn't a good combination for him to leave
on.
Q. What's it like to
end his career at Wimbledon?
A. Oh, I don't really
care, actually. Listen, I'm here at the quarters. I've
got to think about
that, and that's all I'm thinking about. That might be
selfish. You know,
it's the way it goes. It probably would have been better
for him to finish in
a bit more style.
Q. Did you say anything
to him?
A. Well, when we walked
off -- actually, first of all, when we walked on,
there was no royalty.
So I don't know, does royalty come to the box halfway
through a match? I'm
not quite sure. So I was looking just to walk straight
off, and I said to
him, you know, "Listen, do you want this occasion, because
I'll just walk off?",
and he said, "No, no, just wait for me", "Okay". So I'm
walking away and he
said, "Hang on, you've got to bow". I didn't realise they
were there, I thought
they weren't there. In the future if you could let me
know halfway through
the match that royalty have come in. Then I decided to
come off the court
as quickly as I could.
Q. Obviously you were
aware of the --
A. I was definitely
aware of it. Do I feel bad?
Q. No, asking Boris
if he wanted this occasion for himself, you were aware of
--
A. Definitely.
Q. -- what it meant
to him?
A. Sure. I was aware
of it but I don't feel bad for beating him. I think
that's sort of how
the question was phrased, I think.
Q. What about the occasion
for you, Pat, your best result at Wimbledon?
A. I've been knocking
on the door there for quite a while and I just knew it
was a matter of time
before I had the result here. Now Todd Martin is going
to be a tricky one,
we've had some really, really tight matches in the past,
the last one was like
8-6 in the third in Paris, and I'm expecting a very
tough match.
Q. Have you played him
on grass before?
A. I don't think so,
but we have played quite a lot.
Q. Now that you've broken
through that fourth round door, that I think was
three in a row, do
you feel really good that you can just keep going?
A. I think it's important
not to get ahead of yourself and try to think, you
know, that all of a
sudden you're invincible. I know my -- what I've got
going, and what's working
for me, and I'm going to try to play within those
walls. But, you know,
I'll not going to all of a sudden try to do something
different and feel
like I'm invincible all of a sudden, because I do realise
that I can get my butt
kicked out there any time.
Q. Any similarities
between here and the last two slams you've won as far as
preparation goes or
moving through the draw?
A. You know, I have
tended to have some pretty comfortable results halfway
through Grand Slams.
The ones that I've won I have had some really quite --
you know, although
that wasn't easy there today, the score line suggests
that, and at the US
Open in the past I've had a couple of those matches as
well. So, you know,
it's looking good so far.
Q. Pat, just going back
to that doubles thing, you said you wouldn't be doing
that again. Does that
mean you won't be playing doubles at the slams anymore,
or just here?
A. Yes, the slams.
Q. Conversely in those
two US Opens you won, did you have big doubles
commitments?
A. I think I definitely
lost the quarter-finals. The year before, it could
have even been a semi-final,
I'm not quite sure.
Q. So you do thrive
on hard work most times, so your body at the moment is
still --
A. Yes, it's okay.
I've had three days off.
Q. Did you have a trainer
out there at some stage in that doubles match?
A. Yes, Muddy is there.
Q. Was it anything particular?
A. No, I mean, we were
just trying to do -- just eat as much, you know,
carbos, get ready for
the match and that sort of thing. We're not going for
runs or anything and
if he wanted to I wouldn't let him, but he doesn't want
to.
Q. What do you do between
matches when you've got to play singles and doubles
in the one day?
A. Today I wanted to
get on and off very quickly, so I just had a quick
shower, had a bite,
had some treatment and then got ready and the match was
very, very quick. So
I was on.
Q. Do you find yourself
resenting the doubles almost when it gets to the
fourth and fifth set?
A. Yes, I do.
Q. Have you told Jonas
of your decision not to play the slams any more?
A. No, he doesn't really
care, I don't think.
Q. When did you make
the decision? During the match, after the match?
A. No, I sort of made
the decision after the French Open, really. I felt like
that cost me a little
bit, especially, or definitely my energy anyway.
Q. But you had committed
for Wimbledon already?
A. Yes, not the US.
Why don't you guys tell him?
Q. Looking ahead to
next year, the masters tournament is going to be played
in Lisbon. I just wondered
if you will be going and what do you think about
the venue for next
year, which is looking further ahead?
A. Lisbon, Portugal,
masters?
Q. Yes.
A. It's not Sao Paulo,
Brazil?
Q. Sau Paulo will be
the year after.
A. I mean, that's a
long way away, and I don't know if I'll be in the top 8.
Q. Do you think it will
be a good venue? Do you think it's a good choice?
A. I've never been
to Portugal. They're putting a hard court down?
Q. Yes, a hard court.
A. No, I bet they're
putting a clay down. I'm pretty sure it will be a clay
court they'll put down
there, yes.
Q. That doesn't suit
you?
A. Not really.