R DANIELS - 1 September I
P. PASCAUL def. R. Daniels 6-3, 6-4, 7-5
Q. Are you disappointed with how today went? You were in there in each set, but it just didn't happen for you.
ROY DANIELS: Yeah absolutely. You know, i thought i played pretty well out there and so did he. I could have maybe taken one or two of those sets, but i just made some mistakes in the crucial games. He obviously took advantage of that, and it worked out well for him.
Q. Was it a case of who served better at those times?
ROY DANIELS: Yes and no. Like i think we both served pretty well, but he's a very good return of service and stepped it up when he needed to. Like i was up a break in the second set at 4-3, but he returned really well that game and took advantage of a couple of bad second serves. It happened again at 3-3 in the third, and i've just got to get those serves in if i want to have a chance at this level.
Q. It was pretty noticeable who was more comfortable when returning serve today. You only had the four break points today; is returning something you have to work on?
ROY DANIELS: Yeah, i didn't create enough opportunities today, so it's totally something i have to work on. If you want to compete in Grand Slams you've got to have more than a serve. Particularly on a surface like this which isn't as fast as other hard courts we've played on.
Q. There's been a few players who have mentioned that the surfaces have generally been pretty slow.
ROY DANIELS: I don't know if it is the actual court or the balls, but whatever it was it was faster in Clowich and Pickford. It's a bit of a shame, though, because so much of the year is dominated by the slower courts, and this seems like its almost catering to the clay guys. Wimbledon is the only real major that gives any incentive to come up to the net. Guys just can't do it on this surface.
Q. You got a pretty big crowd out there today. That must have been disappointing for you to go out in straight sets when it was pretty clearly in your favour.
ROY DANIELS: In some ways, yeah, it was. Actually, it's great to see so many people coming out and supporting tennis this week because there were people thinking it was a stupid move to give us such a big tournament. It's great to have some support from the crowd, but that wasn't going to be the difference today. You know, i'm playing a really good player who is probably better than his ranking says he is.
Q. You think Pascaul has underachieved this year?
roy daniels: Totally. You know, i don't know if he can win it this fortnight, but i think if he comes back next year playing his best tennis and gets some form early he'll be a threat to break back into the top ten for sure.