Q: What were the keys to the match? [Win against Feliciano Lopez]
"I obviously had to serve well, Feliciano’s got a great serve so the last thing you want to do is go down an early break. Just holding serve first and trying to get as many returns back on his first serve as I could and then I tried to be quite aggressive on his second serve as well."
Q: You seem to have a lot of success at these North American events, why?
"Yea I mean I like playing here, generally it’s quite lively, quite bouncy conditions which helps my serve. I like the ball jumping around, it makes it tough for guys to make a pass. I enjoy spending my time in North America, it makes it easy especially coming from Australia, almost as close to home as it gets so I’m very, very, comfortable just in the environment and I’m enjoying everything about it."
Q: You’ve had practice sessions over at the University of Richmond, did you have any friends over to come watch?
"My girlfriend actually goes to school there, so that’s why I spend a little bit of time in Richmond, not too far from here. So it’s almost my home tournament apart from the Australian Open."
Q: Was there any extra emotion in last night’s doubles match, is it special being a part of Lleyton Hewitt’s American farewell tour?
"It’s hard, you don’t want to go out there thinking it’s a farewell tour. We were out there trying to win that match, we had plenty of chances. I’m lucky to have had the chance through Davis Cup to have spent a little more time around Lleyton than I have in the past, he’s a guy I’ve always looked up to, he’s a guy that’s carried tennis in Australia for so long. He’s probably looking to take over that Davis Cup role whenever it happens."
Q: You’re one of the fittest players on tour, how do you keep the balance of bulking up too much and trying to maintain your speed on court?
"I don’t know if I’m one of the fittest guys, I might be one of the biggest. I don’t do a lot of lifting it’s a lot of power and speed work, and I’m lucky that I don’t have a game style that requires a lot of running like a Murray, or a Nishikori who I play in the next round. My training is pretty much based around my game style- short points. For me it’s about speed and power. No bulking for me, I’m not even allowed to look at the weights otherwise I’d build weight, I’m trying to stay as lean as possible."