Q. Two‑part question for you. Number one, was this a case of you just having his number, or is part of this the fact that the guy had to go five sets here yesterday, two days ago, and has had two five‑set matches here? The second part, can you run us through your daily therapy with the injury, how long it takes and how much better it's getting each day?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't think it had anything to do with his fitness. Dominik is probably one of the fittest guys on tour, I'd say, probably in the top handful. It didn't look like he was moving any differently to what he normally does. I actually felt today was probably a lot better standard match than I've ever played against him before. He probably played a lot better today than he ever has against me. So, you know, I thought the standard was pretty good. You know, I needed to play some good tennis out there and I was able to do that.

In terms of the ankle, you know, just doing all the same stuff: icing, physio all the time. You know, just trying to get the inflammation down as much as possible after matches, and let it rest as much as possible as well.

Q. You were playing some pretty incredible tennis out there. Where would you rate that as far as the best tennis you've played on clay?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it was up there. My ball‑striking was great today. Right from the word "go," I served as well as I've probably ever served, especially on clay. Just mixed it up extremely well.

Dominik doesn't give you a lot of cheap points out there; you've got to work for it. But I took it to him. You know, he's a guy that doesn't really want to get too far behind the baseline and, you know. I had to really try to hit through the court to hit a lot of winners against him, and I was able to do that today.

Q. How much does it surprise you, when you consider that you haven't played much on the surface in two years, and this is only your second tournament on clay in those two years?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it was pretty good today. It really was. You know, I hit the ball well, and as I said, he's a tough opponent to play against. I knew I had to step it up from my first two matches and I was able to do that. You know, to beat Dominik in straight sets pretty convincingly was, you know, not to waste a lot of energy out there on the court as well, was another positive.

Q. You seem to be prepared to take some risks on your return. I noticed you were running around your backhand and smacking winners with your forehand. Were you just consciously trying to shorten the points there?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Uhm, not really. I just felt like, you know, the ball was there to be hit quite often, and, you know, I just felt like I picked the times to do it today and to try to put him under as much pressure as possible. He wants to be the aggressor out there and he wants to try to take it to you the whole time. I had to try to get on the offensive when possible but not be silly with that either. Played offensive when I needed to as well.

Q. Do you think you're a better clay courter now than when you were world No. 1?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I don't know. I have some good days and I have some average days. That's a tough question because I, you know ‑‑ coming into this tournament, you know, for two years I haven't played on this surface.

You know, it's a tough one to answer. But, yeah, obviously, you know, couple of my best matches have been at Davis Cup probably on clay probably against Kuerten and Costa. They're no slouchers on this surface. It's pretty hard to beat those wins.

Q. Another player who hasn't had a lot of success on clay but seems to be finding his feet, James Blake. I'm wondering if for guys that don't grow up on it, is it just a learning process to become more adept on the surface? What goes into it?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I think so. You know, James is a guy that, you know, he's a great athlete out there and a great mover. There's no reason why he should struggle on this surface. You know, he's got a big first serve and a big forehand and. You know, it's a matter of I think playing a lot of matches as well and trying to get that confidence to be able to do it against the best players. And obviously, James is probably in a similar boat to myself and a lot of the Australians where we just haven't grown up on it. The whole moving aspect of it is different.

Q. Is it a matter of imposing a hard court game on clay?

LLEYTON HEWITT: You've definitely got to adjust. Just the movement. There's a lot of times where I'm sure James as well, as good as his forehand is, he probably feels like he has to hit two or three winners to get it past him. Whereas on hard court or grass, that one big hit normally wins it for you.

Q. Don't want to jump the gun here. There's another match to go. But assuming that the No. 2 seed wins today, we all know what you've done with him in the past. Is it ancient history? And the fact that it's going to be on clay, should we just discount your previous experiences with Nadal?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it's a totally different ballgame, I think. Obviously, on clay. Yeah, it was a couple years ago as well when we last played ‑ year and a half ago in the Australian Open. We've had tough matches every time we've played on hard court. But obviously, you know, he's an extremely tough player right at the moment, especially on this surface, as everyone's well aware of.

So, you know, if I've got to play him, it's a matter of me going out there and sticking to what I want to do out there. You know, I've still got to execute extremely well. And we know he doesn't give guys a lot of chances.

Q. When you look at the way you've played today, how much better do you have to play against Nadal?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I've got no idea. I'll have to wait and see.

Q. James Blake also has success against him. Although you have a completely different style from James, there is one similarity: you're both pretty fast. How much of that is a factor, do you think, in your success against Nadal?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I'm not sure if it's a huge thing. You know, I'm sure Nadal has beaten a lot of good, quick players as well. Guillermo Coria is as quick as probably James or myself out there, and he's had his number.

You know, I don't think James has played him on clay. But, you know, obviously when he's played him on hard court, he's tried to dictate terms from the back of the court. I think that's what you've had to do with him.

But on clay, he's definitely a different story.

Q. In percentage terms, where is your ankle?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Probably 80%.

Q. 80%?

LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah.

Q. Given that, Lleyton, and so much movement, so much of clay court is movement, I mean, how well did you feel that you moved today? It looked from the sidelines like you were moving pretty well. Is that as good as you could move, do you think, in the circumstances?

LLEYTON HEWITT: In the circumstances, for sure. I still feel like I'm ‑‑ you know, if I was a hundred percent, I'd be moving better. No doubt about that. I feel like today was ‑‑ you know, gradually every match has been better and better. But, you know, I still feel like there's room for improvement in that. But that's a healing thing. That's sort of out of my hands.

Q. How much were you able to do in the time before Austria? How much training did you do before that event? What time scale?

LLEYTON HEWITT: I did a lot. In Sydney, the frustrating thing was, you know, couple days before I went, was going to go to Hamburg, I strained my calf muscle. You know, so that was another week off, you know, couldn't do anything. So that was more frustrating than anything because I just wasn't able to do anything, you know, after I put in the ‑‑ I felt like I put in a lot of hard yards in Sydney, done a lot of running back there, a lot of base work, and wasn't able to get on the court. So that was a bit frustrating.

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