Relaxed Rusedski plans and delivers

We all knew Greg Rusedski had played a brilliant match on Friday, but the one who knew best of all was Greg himself. Andy Roddick was his Becher's Brook and he cleared it effortlessly.

No matter that Rusedski endlessly prates the mantra that he is taking it one match at a time. That was the match that mattered and the British No 2 did not need telling. There are hillocks ahead, possibly another peak. But he is in the second week, with all that this does for confidence, and Greg, shedding his customary defensiveness where talking deeply about his feelings is concerned, was happy to share thoughts, plans and attitudes.

What pleases him most of all is that his eggs-in-basket ploy to aim everything at a big Wimbledon bash is working perfectly so far. "It's all coming into shape for me," he said on Friday evening. "I'm very satisfied with my first week."

Greg may or may not have had a neck problem, the cited reason for his ducking the European clay court segment of the season. Whatever, it certainly did not prevent him spending a month at a tennis club near Valencia honing body and mind in readiness for the grass.

"I was doing water work, running, weights, all sorts of different things. You are not going to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger but this 'testing to the limit' is all specific to court movements. As you can see from my movement on the court it has really paid off."

Now down to 12-1 to win the whole thing, Rusedski remains cautious about looking beyond tomorrow and Xavier Malisse. "I don't intend to get ahead of myself. Everybody dreams about winning Wimbledon, that's what keeps you motivated, but you can't get ahead of the process. The win over Roddick was one of my best, I am very pleased with it. But it's another match and I'm still here and that's the best I can say. I am still in the Championships.

"I don't care how I win this event, just as long as I win. The good thing is that I have saved a lot of energy this first week, I haven't been pushed too hard, I have only lost one set and that's important in a major championship. When I got to the US Open final [in 1997] I lost no sets before the semis.

"I am a better player now and I know more about what I am doing than I did back then. In those days I just had a monstrous serve. I just basically served everybody off the court in New York for six matches and a half [he lost the final in four sets to Patrick Rafter]. I am a more complete player now. You have to be, with all the upsets going on today. I am also enjoying it more now than I did in 1997. I am more relaxed, I think I have got a little bit more upstairs because I have more knowledge and that helps. I am better than even a year ago, and that's important.

"Mentally I have gotten stronger, taking my opportunities, which is very important. It is finally the full package and the most important factor is enjoying it, seizing the moment and not letting expectation or nerves get on top of you. You need a bit of a ruthless streak, too. You have to want it a bit more than the other guy, and you need a little bit of luck. So you need a combination of a few things to win here, but if you want it badly enough, sometimes you can create your own luck as well. I want it very badly, but I am not going to jump ahead of myself. I did that in the past and it didn't help me."

Rusedski has been ribbed in the past about the mannerisms which accompany virtually every second of his court time, but he mounted a vigorous defence. "I know some of the things I do are more interesting than most. I go to my towel a lot, I do things with my shirt, I place my water bottles in a certain way." (He also laces and unlaces his shoes repeatedly, and turns the folding of half a banana into origami art.)

"You have these little things which you do which are like triggers to keep yourself going and flowing. They are very important because they keep you there in the present. The towel routine is designed to slow me down, to make sure I am focused. When critical situations come you have to be ready, because opportunities come and go so quickly, so you have to make sure you are there for every point. I did that very well against Roddick, which pleased me."

Ranked sixth in the world just after the 1997 US Open, Rusedski had dipped to 69 by the end of 2000, mainly because of injury. Now he is back up to 39, but seeded 23 at Wimbledon on the strength of his past performances and his course knowledge. "The tour is so tough now, so many good players, that anybody can win in any given week. Why not me, if I put myself in that position? It just makes you hungry if you drop from four in the world and for three years have to struggle to get back up there. Matches like the Roddick one make it feel worthwhile.

"For me, to be competing meaningfully is what keeps me playing because I have won at every sort of level, basically done everything. Wimbledon and the US Open are what keep me going most, but Wimbledon especially. It was so important to be ready for Wimbledon, because that is 99 per cent of a tennis player's dream."

And should he win, would Greg be tempted to raise a couple of fingers to his detractors? "I motivate myself," he insisted. "You can't let other people or situations motivate you. You either have it inside you or you don't, that's the way it goes in life. I think I have worked hard and done my best, so that's my motivation. You don't have it until you have it, I like to say. Let's just try to keep it going and if I'm here next Sunday then we can talk about it."