An interview with Chris Guccione January 20, 2009Q. Must be a good feeling to be back on the winning streak after five years.CHRIS GUCCIONE: Yeah, feels great. I played really well today. I mean, to win 4‑2‑4 against a solid player like he is in tough conditions, it's a good feeling. I look forward to the next round.
Q. Have you been able to put your finger on why you found it difficult to win here in the past?CHRIS GUCCIONE: Not that I know of, no.
Q. Did you get a sense early you were coping better with the conditions better than he was?CHRIS GUCCIONE: Not right at the start. I think we were both struggling a little bit. I was missing a few easy shots at the start.
But towards the middle and the end of the first set I felt like I was in control, I was getting a lot of opportunities on his service games. You could see he was getting a little bit frustrated with the wind. I mean, it's good to see when your opponent's doing that.
I just kept my chin up, kept soldiering on.
Q. You're confident you can go on with it now?CHRIS GUCCIONE: You have to be. Gilles Simon is not an easy opponent. I'll go out there and give it a hundred percent. I mean, hopefully I can get another win here.
Q. Past 12 months he's made some giant leaps as well.CHRIS GUCCIONE: He's a great player. I haven't seen a lot of him play. I've seen bits and pieces. Obviously very solid. Knows how to play the game out there.
I'll have to scope him out a little bit and work out a game plan.
Q. Do you have to change your service action at all on a windy day like today?CHRIS GUCCIONE: I mean, today I was trying to serve a high percentage out there, which was tough. The only thing that it really affects is your ball toss. It can get blown around a little bit.
I mean, my ball toss isn't that high. I mean, it's just a matter of timing the ball up there, which I think I did pretty well today.
Q. A crucial point in the second game of the second set. Did it bounce twice there or was he just saying things?CHRIS GUCCIONE: I have no idea. I honestly don't know if I got it or not. Running there, I wasn't sure if I was going to make it. I just threw the racquet out. The ball went up. I don't know if it was two bounces or one.
Q. You're the type of player that would concede the point or leave it to the umpire?CHRIS GUCCIONE: If I was sure it was two bounce, I'd concede it, yeah. I honestly don't know.
Q. You worked really hard here over summer in practice. You've always had the big serve. Did you work on anything else in particular?CHRIS GUCCIONE: Pretty much worked on everything. I mean, we focused a little bit on the back‑of‑the‑court game a little bit more. I went up there with Lleyton and played a lot of baseline points, had a lot of tennis with him. I think that helped me a lot.
I think I won quite a good percentage of points from the baseline today.
Q. Your movement looked really good. I was wondering whether you'd worked on that at all.CHRIS GUCCIONE: I'm always working on everything. Some things you work on a little bit more than others. Over a month you've got to train, you can pretty much do everything you want.
Q. You're certain you're getting better? Do you feel you're getting better?CHRIS GUCCIONE: I think I am. You know, I'm feeling better out there. I'm feeling more confident. Yeah, I mean, only time will tell. But hopefully I can have a good year this year.
Q. A lot of the Australians tend to play on Margaret Court and have been successful there. Wayne Arthurs used to like playing there. Something particular about that court that suits the local players?CHRIS GUCCIONE: I mean, it's a great crowd out there. Obviously the third biggest court here. You get a good crowd out there. They're always chanting and cheering for you. It's great to have their support out there. I mean, it's quite a nice court to play on.
Q. It's open to the elements, obviously. Days like today make it a bit more difficult.CHRIS GUCCIONE: Yeah, it's a little bit of an advantage. I mean, it still gets pretty windy in Rod Laver and Hisense Arena. It's windy everywhere when it starts blowing.
Q. How do you approach Simon? Do you think you'll have an underdog factor. Is the pressure on him?CHRIS GUCCIONE: Yeah, I mean, obviously I'm the underdog. He's ranked, I don't know, 6 or 7 in the world. I mean, I'm going to go into the match and be confident out there and try to get off to a good start, hopefully serve well. Serve is going to be important against him, because he's a great returner. I think I'm going to need some free points out there and hopefully I can get onto a few of his service games here and there.
Q. You mentioned a good start being vital to your game.CHRIS GUCCIONE: It's not that vital, but it's always good to get off to a good start. Get out there and jump him early, some players are more vulnerable at the start. It's good to get off to a lead.
If it doesn't happen, best‑of‑five sets, it's a long way to the finish line, so anything can happen.
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