``It was real life,'' Roddick said of toppling fourth-seeded Sampras, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3, on Sunday. ``I really can't put it into words. It was a packed house. This is my favorite place to play. It was a beautiful day. It really couldn't have been any better for a tennis match.''
``He'd pretend to read the paper and his head would fall forward,'' Andy Roddick said. ``I'd come off the court and he'd say, `Oh, yeah, good playing.' I'd be like, `I lost 0 and 0, Dad.' He wasn't the most avid fan. He'll stay awake through the whole match now.''
"I guess I can take a second-hand nickname," Roddick says. "I know I'm not the A-Rod."
Roddick wants no part of cheap sportswriter angles, being the next so-and-so. "That doesn't help you put the ball in the court," he keeps saying. But he had better get used to it.
"I need to work on everything," Roddick says. "There's lots of room for improvement, in all areas, and that really excites me."
"I used to just hit the crap out of every ball," Roddick says. "He challenged me to be better. He taught me how not to just be a hitter, but a player."
"He's probably the greatest player of all time," Roddick said. (about Sampras)
"I thought I was a terrible doubles player," said Roddick. "Normally, I'm just not good, so it was definitely a surprise. But it is really nice to end the week on such a positive note."
"I'm just happy-go-lucky," he says. "I don't worry about too much and I don't take anything too seriously." Apparently, neither do his buddies. "When I got back from Australia, my friends said, 'How'd you do?' When I said, 'I won,' they said, 'Great, what d'ya wanna do this weekend?' "
"My mom's into it more than my dad," says Roddick, who was born in Omaha, Neb., and lived in Texas until the family moved to Florida when he was 10. "He hardly knows anything about tennis."
Roddick insists he didn't pattern his game after any one player -- "I developed my own style -- but says he does have two heroes. "I can see famous people at tournaments and not get star struck," he says, "but when I see Agassi and Sampras walking around, I just kind of sit still and my jaw drops."
"I take it as a compliment," Roddick said Wednesday after beating Petr Kralert, 6-2, 6-2 in the second round of the $50,000 USTA/Las Vegas Challenger at the Fertitta Tennis Complex at UNLV. "It doesn't mean I'm going to be that.
"It doesn't mean I won't. I still have a long way to go, you know. I really don't pay attention to it. People are going to say what they will regardless of whether I like it or not. I just try to roll with it. I don't pay attention to it too much."
"He came down to Boca for four or five days," Roddick said. "We played a bunch. Anytime you get to play with someone like that you're going to improve. He's awesome about giving me tips, helping me out. I'm grateful for that. I still get excited when stuff like that happens. Andre is one of the biggest names ever in tennis. To kind of hang out with him and practice with him is awesome."
Roddick is extremely courteous to fans and says, "If someone wants your autograph it takes two seconds to scribble your name and you're making someone happy. Whoever says that's a burden, I don't agree with that." "I can't spend all my time at the baseline," he said. "There are too many good baseline players. I can hit the ball pretty good -- I'm just going to have to keep learning how to follow it in."
"I've been compared to most of the guys. They are looking for an American to replace them. There are a group of guys they think can do it, and I am one of them.
Roddick admits, "I'm not the most studious guy in the world." (he maintained a 3.4 Avg.)
"Agassi is an animal in practice. When you see him practicing, it's like he's playing the finals in the Grand Slam every day," he said.
"Juniors, you'll see them hanging out in the locker room twiddling their thumbs. Those guys are no-nonsense, they're all business," Andy said of the pros. Roddick chatted to himself in Jimmy Connors fashion while stalking the the court between points against Agassi. "I give myself encouragement," Roddick said. "It's an old habit I have."
"I got goose bumps when I was walking out there. It's just kind of majestic." Andy said about Centre Court
