Mardy FISH TALKS

Written by: Staff on 12th July 2012

Mardy FISH TALKS

epa03293914 Mardy Fish of the US returns to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France during their fourth round match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 03 July 2012. EPA/ANDY RAIN |

(Courtesy: Emirates Airline US Open Series call with Mardy Fish)

MARDY FISH

ERIC SCHUSTER: Thank you, everyone,

for joining us for the second in a series of player

conference calls we will be hosting throughout the

Emirates Airline US Open Series. On the phone

today we have the 2011 Series champion Mardy

Fish. After a recent health scare that kept him off

the court for most of the spring, Mardy returned to

action at Wimbledon, where he reached the round

of 16.

He is scheduled to begin his title defense

at the BB&T Atlanta Open next week followed by

the Citi Open in Washington, D.C., the Rogers Cup

in Toronto, and the Western & Southern Open in

Cincinnati.

Before we get into the Q & A, I’ll ask Mardy

if he can share some of his thoughts on winning

last year’s Emirates Airline US Open Series title

and his plans and goals for the summer of 2012.

MARDY FISH: Thank you. Thanks,

everyone, for being on the call. This is my favorite

time of the year, so obviously this is an exciting

time. I played so well last year. Winning the US

Open Series was an honor, and I played well in

every event that I played in the summer, including

the US Open obviously. You know, it should be

fun again. Obviously I’m really looking forward to

it. I’m going to start in Atlanta and head there this

weekend and get going.

Q. How did getting back on the court

and playing several matches in succession at

Wimbledon help you f get your feel back after

having some time off for the health reasons?

MARDY FISH: Yeah, it was huge to be

able to get through the first two matches.

Obviously the first couple are going to be the

hardest ones. You’re not going to come back as

sharp.

You know, my fitness level isn’t where I

want it to be for obvious reasons, but it was nice to

be able to play those matches, to be in pressure

situations, high pressure situations in a Grand

Slam to where I can get those out of the way and

move on.

A lot of times when you take some time off,

sometimes you have to take your lumps in

tournaments, and you’re going to play some bad

matches and probably not get through them, and I

was lucky enough to get through those first two

rounds to where I could really feel like I had some

matches under my belt and I could start playing

some good tennis again.

I did that in the third round. I played very

well against a good young player in David Goffin,

and I certainly played well enough to win against

Jo-Wilfred Tsonga. I played great the first day, first

rain delay, the third rain delay and the fourth rain

delay. I played fine. I actually won more points

than he did in the match, in the four-set match,

which doesn’t happen too often. I was happy with

the way I played there.

And obviously going into Atlanta and D.C.,

those are tournaments that I’ve had success at,

and I’ll try to build on some of the matches that I

won at Wimbledon.

Q. I just want to ask you about the

Olympics. It seems like a lot of the players are

more excited and more enthusiastic about

playing the Olympics than in previous years,

and I just wanted to get your thoughts on why

that may be, just taking into account your past

experience playing at the Olympics and how

the Olympics factors into the players now

compared to what it did when you started

playing them?

MARDY FISH: I think the Olympics this

time around as opposed to maybe 2008 is a little

more appealing considering that we’re playing at

Wimbledon. You’re playing at a familiar place, as

well, and a pretty localized place, too. There’s not

many easy ways to get to Beijing. London — it’s a

pretty Euro dominated sport, so naturally it’s pretty

easy to get to London for those guys. And then

obviously playing at Wimbledon will be special and

will be interesting, as well, to see people not in

white clothes and things like that.

And it’ll also be interesting how they turn

the grass around so quickly and see how they’re

going to do that because we beat it up pretty good

throughout the two weeks.

I think all those things together, a lot of

people are looking forward to it.

Q. As a two-time champion in the

Atlanta tournament, somebody could say that

this tournament is Mardy Town, but will the

third time be the charm, considering you’re

going to have some stiff competition? Will

there be any Fish Heads present at this match,

and will you be able to pull it off a third time?

MARDY FISH: I would love to. I’m not

sure about the fans. You know, we get great

support in Atlanta. Atlanta is actually one of the

more fun weeks that we go to, fun cities that we go

to all year. They’re extremely knowledgeable in

the game of tennis. I think there’s more USTA

members per capita in Atlanta than there is in the

entire country, or at least that’s what I heard. It’s

very natural and very easy for us to play there in

front of fans like that.

I certainly enjoy playing there. Obviously I

love the weather, the heat. Playing in that type of

heat is not just about being fit; as well it’s about

convincing yourself that you like it more than the

other guy, pushing your body further than you think

it’ll go. You know, there’s numerous ways to get

through it, and I love it. I grew up in it. I grew up in

that weather, and I play my best tennis in that type

of heat.

Like you said, there’s going fob a lot of

great players there, as there has been the past two

years, as well. I’ve had two very, very close

matches in the finals, both to John Isner. I’m sure

he’ll be looking to win one of those titles, as well.

Q. There’s been talk lately that

Wimbledon may move their tournament up a

week, which would then crowd out one of the

US Open Series tournaments. Any thoughts

about that, the impact on that then on the US

Open and so on?

MARDY FISH: I haven’t heard anything

about that. I mean, I think that would give —

speaking of not just Americans but some of the

other European players and some of the players

coming from afar, it gives them an extra week to

maybe come over and get used to the weather and

get used to everything. You know, it’s already a

tough turnaround between the French Open and

Wimbledon. Three weeks is not very long. Two

weeks would be even tougher. So I’m not sure

that something like that would ever happen.

Q. Following on the toughness of that

schedule, will your cardiac incident impact

your mind and how you determine your

schedule for next year?

MARDY FISH: It very well could. You

know, I know that everything is fine with me, but

I’m going to put myself in positions where I’m very

comfortable from now on, that’s for sure. I’ve

played a lot of years out here, and I’ve played

every tournament there is. In the years that I have

remaining, I’ll try to put myself in the most

comfortable situations for me so something like

that doesn’t happen again. It might be a little bit

different for me than other players.

So yes, there is a possibility, but that’s a

little bit in advance from now.

Q. And finally, did the schedule have

anything at all to do with the incident?

MARDY FISH: As far as not playing the

Olympics?

Q. No, no, the schedule you played

before the incident occurred, did it have any

impact at all from your cardiologist on that?

MARDY FISH: Well, I think stress is one

of the main reasons why you get arrhythmias,

stress, alcohol, caffeine, things like that, that bring

them on. I went to Australia in January, I went to

Switzerland and back to LA for Davis Cup, then I

went to Marseilles and Dubai, then back to LA. So

I think we can draw our own conclusions how hard

the schedule is for us and how tough it is on our

bodies and our minds.

Q. As the two-time defending

champion of the Atlanta Open, you’ve

obviously had a lot of success in Atlanta the

past two years, but we have moved our

location this year from kind of the suburbs to a

more central location inside the city. How do

you think the change in atmosphere is going to

affect the players? Is it going to be more

beneficial for them to be in a more vibrant,

exciting atmosphere?

MARDY FISH: Yeah, they keep switching

on us every year. First was the Atlanta Athletic

Club, which we loved. We loved both locations.

They were great. They got great crowds. I expect

the same in that regard.

I don’t know what to expect as far as it

being in downtown. I’ve seen pictures of the

facilities now, but obviously I haven’t been there.

You know, who knows as far as the weather is

concerned as to how the buildings might trap in the

heat and stuff like that.

But we’re looking forward to it, and

hopefully one of these years we can stick on one

specific venue that we can all stay at every time

and everyone can look forward to, because it is

kind of hard from time to time to keep moving

around from place to place. But I know everyone

has enjoyed both venues that we’ve had so far,

and I’m sure this one will be no different.

Q. When players come back from an

injury or a health incident that keep them off

court for a long time, they obviously have to

get themselves physically prepared for the

tour, but talk about preparing yourself mentally

to go back on tour and talk about your level of

confidence going into the hard court season.

MARDY FISH: Yeah, the hardest part for

me is mentally trusting everything. You know, the

summer is tough in general just because you know

you have to deal with the player and the opponent

across the net, but you also have to deal with the

weather and sort of the conditions that you have to

play in, and you prepare yourself the best way you

can. I’ve prepared myself very well the past couple

years, and this year is a little bit different going in.

But I’m doing everything I can, getting

myself into the best shape I can, took a few days

off after Wimbledon and then started to get back at

it and grind again.

It’s tough being in LA because the weather

is 70 degrees and sunny out here, and it’s 100

degrees everywhere else. So it’s kind of hard to

train in that type of stuff. But I’ll get to Atlanta as

early as I can and try to get into that climate and

that weather and try to deal with it as best I can.

Q. After that tournament in Atlanta

you’ll be back up in D.C. this year, the Citi

Open. Last year you had to pull out. Talk

about coming back to this tournament where

you’ve had some success and also regarding

the weather here because obviously it’s pretty

grueling and can be very, very oppressive.

MARDY FISH: No, it’s one of my favorite

stops of the year. I love the city of Washington,

D.C. The venue is outstanding. The weather is

hot, but it’s the kind of weather that I enjoy playing

in. And having Citi come on board and having a

new title sponsor is great for the tournament and

great for the city of Washington, D.C., as well. It’s

nice to be a part of that event because obviously I

wanted to play last year but just — it just didn’t work

in my schedule. It was a good thing for me

because I had won a ton of matches in the weeks

prior. I played well at Wimbledon, as well, before

that, and then obviously played Davis Cup.

So I had a lot of matches under me and

needed just a small break there to kind of regroup

and regenerate and go up to Montreal, where I did

well there, too. The schedule worked out well for

me last year, but the only miss or blip on it was that

I had to miss D.C. We won’t have that problem

this year, and I’ve worked my schedule around to

be able to be a part of that event, so I look forward

to it.

Q. And on the scheduling front,

obviously not playing the Olympics sort of

gives you a jump start on the hard court

season. How do you think that might help you

with the US Open Series again this year?

MARDY FISH: Well, I see it as a plus as

far as playing the events that I do well at. Playing

in the States is my most fun time of the year,

playing in the summer, playing in the heat, and I

didn’t want to miss that. I didn’t want to miss two

full weeks of the most important time for me or the

most fun time for me. I’ve played the Olympics

before, and I think it’s very hard to play the

Olympics and Davis Cup in the same year.

Everyone’s schedule is suppressed during an

Olympic year.

I was lucky enough to do well in the

Olympics when I played in 2004 and win the silver

medal, so I’ve got a medal and I’ve got the

memories from that, so I’ll skip the Olympics this

year and look forward to going to D.C., where I

would have missed it had I gone to the Olympics.

Q. We’re looking forward to having you

up in New York obviously for the Open. The

crowd up here in New York and the energy is

very unique. What do you enjoy most about

playing in the Open?

MARDY FISH: I enjoy the camaraderie

that you can get from the fans for the American

players — it’s definitely the most favorite Slam for

the Americans as far as being able to play in those

big courts and having the crowd behind you. We

go to so many places, in Spain and in Italy and in

England, where you can play a guy from that

country, and those fans are just going crazy for

their player. But we know for a fact that we have

that one big event where everyone wants to do

well, and we’re going to have the fans behind us

and rooting as loud as they can for us. So that

makes it so much fun and exciting and one of the

best times of the whole year for us.

Q. Winning matches in Grand Slams,

especially when the crowd is behind you, as

you said, is great, but it’s obviously different

when you’re playing and representing your

country, whether it be Davis Cup or Olympics.

How can you compare the two?

MARDY FISH: Well, Davis Cup is a little

bit different animal in the sense that, yes, you feel

like you’re playing for your country and you also

feel like you’re playing for your teammates. The

Olympics is a little bit different because it’s still a

regular tournament, and we still have — every week

that we play, we still have the USA next to our

name, and the Olympics is sort of the same. It’s a

regular event, where Davis Cup is such a unique

animal where you’re relying on your teammates to

win. You can’t win on your own. It’s the only team

sort of sport or team thing that we have in tennis,

and so that’s why I love Davis Cup so much,

because you can’t necessarily just rely on yourself.

You can play well and you can win matches, but

you need your teammates to play well and win, as

well. That’s when it feels so satisfying.

Q. You and Andy Roddick have to

answer a lot of questions about where the next

American stars are coming from. The USTA

will be introducing major changes to the junior

competitive structure going forward. It’s kind

of evolved since you were a junior where

players can kind of chase points, and a lot of

these players ranked 300, 400, 500 were getting

into national events, but now it’s going to

return to where you have to earn your way to

nationals through sectional play, like when you

and Courier and Andy were juniors in Florida.

Do you have any stories from your junior days

about working your way up in Florida

tournaments, and what do you think about

these changes?

MARDY FISH: Absolutely I do, yeah. I

remember playing the regular events in Florida, to

try to get into the national events from there. And

it’s sort of the same setup in the pros that it is in

the juniors, it’s just you start — you’ve got to start in

the little cities like where I grew up in Vero Beach,

and I remember playing tournaments in Vero and

in Fort Pierce and West Palm Beach to make it to

the designateds in Lakeland or Tampa, to make it

to the national events or just even smaller national

events all the way up into Kalamazoo and things

like that.

Yeah, I certainly remember playing and

going through all that, and felt like the more

tournaments that I played, the more tournaments I

was able to go to and to compete in was going to

help my growth as a tennis player at such a young

age. So I think that’s a very good idea to go back

to that, instead of just being able to get in sort of

on name recognition.

Q. And the feedback from college

coaches, they’re saying they want tougher U.S.

juniors coming out to compete with the

international players that they’re recruiting. Do

you think that will maybe produce more U.S.

stars and tougher juniors, tougher college

players?

MARDY FISH: Sure, yeah. You’re just

going to get more people, more kids playing more

tournaments, and I think that’s the best thing —

that’s the best way to look at it. Once you play and

realize how much fun playing tennis is, how

competitive it is, how much fun it is to play an

individual sport like that, you’re going to get more

and more kids sticking with the game. I think that’s

the goal for them.

Q. I just wanted to know, how have you

had to adapt your training and your nutrition, if

needed, with the illness that you had and now

coming back?

MARDY FISH: The nutrition stays the

same, has stayed the same for a while now. As far

as training is concerned, yeah, I mean, I’m getting

back to being able to do everything that I was prior,

it just took some time to really get back into shape,

into match shape. I still need matches. I still need

to get out in the heat, to get to Atlanta, to get to

these places early and really get in the climate and

prepare myself as good as I can.

You know, just playing these tournaments

and playing in the States will help that a lot.

Q. We’ve also heard a lot about the

up-and-coming American players that are

juniors. Are there any players that you’ve kind

of taken under your belt, considering that

you’re a veteran with a lot of experience on the

tour and have played as a pro for so many

years?

MARDY FISH: You know, someone like

Ryan Harrison jumps out at you. He’s sort of a

sponge when it comes to information from all the

guys that have played or have played for a while or

have just retired. You know, there’s still a lot of

players. The only problem with taking someone

under your wing is that you’re trying to compete

with them, as well, and it’s an individual sport, so

it’s not a team sport.

I’m certainly open to discussing anyone’s

game at any time. If a young player would

approach me, I would give him my full attention.

But they’re still trying to take your lunch away.

Q. Exactly, survival of the fittest.

MARDY FISH: This is an individual sport,

and that’s what makes it so great.

What I’m trying to say is that there isn’t that

much sort of dialogue between players trying to

help players out, and if someone like Ryan

Harrison comes to you and asks you a question,

you give him your full attention. But there’s not a

ton of it, because A, there’s not a ton of young

Americans that are coming up that are playing as

well as he is, and B, you’re trying to play for

yourself, as well.

Topics: American tennis news, Mardy Fish, Mardy Fish Interview, Sports, Wimbledon 2012

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