Day 3 - An interview with Roger Federer - Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Q. Congratulation your first win.
ROGER FEDERER: Thank you.
Q. (No microphone).
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean it's not easy. It's tough for everybody, I think, with the conditions, you know. It's kind of cool today, windy, been raining the last few days, so we haven't been having much of a chance to hit much tennis balls, you know.
But I was in a comfortable position going into today again, you know, which kind of was a good position to be in, and I play okay, you know. I think I served well. I didn't get much chance on the serve, and from the baseline, I played well when I had to. So it was a good opening match for me.
Q. Just a few years ago when you were beginning to dominate, people were sort of lamenting the fact that you didn't have a great opponent as in, you know, a bold top rivalry. You've got that now. Are you happy about that or would you have preferred to just go on and continue dominating the way you were?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, I think I've had great challenges over the years, you know, with Lleyton and Agassi and Roddick and Safin and, now, Nadal. So I mean, I've had a bunch. Nalbandian also, I had a few great matches even though he wasn't the No. 1 and won slams. But I've had a bunch of guys I've had good rivalries with and not just Nadal. We're the only guys who have been winning grand slams the last couple of years, so obviously there's much talk about our rivalry right now. But I think there's many other players.
Q. Not to bring up an unhappy moment, but when you lost to Kuerten here, do you remember you were having a lot of trouble with your foot work, it seemed to me, and I think you expressed that at the time. What overcame that?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I don't know if it was much to do with the foot work I lost, you know. I just still think he was the better player, you know, at that point on clay. Very experienced top player. He was serving really well, you know making many returns, and it's just hard for me, you know, to kind of get into the groove. It was a very nice day, you know. It was sort of a slippery court and he handled it better.
And we had maybe a bit of a similar game, you know, but he was better on the day. So that's why I lost and, you know, I never really got into the match. It wasn't even a big disappointment. I just thought he was way better on the day.
Q. You've got a clay streak now?
ROGER FEDERER: What's that?
Q. You've got a clay streak now.
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, it's good. You've got to start somewhere, huh? Could have started in Hamburg.
Q. If you're playing Nadal in final, what kind of match do you think it could be?
ROGER FEDERER: Not quite there yet, so I'm thinking of my next round opponent. Of course it would be a dream for all of us, you know, to be playing against each other. And then obviously depends how you play until you get there. But we are not there, so it doesn't matter.
Q. Another name coming up more and more is Novak Djokovic, and you've played him a few times. He hasn't beaten you, but can you sort of deconstruct his game a little bit?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I played him first up in Monaco last year. It was one of his ‑‑ he had to qualify there, and people were asking me what I thought, you know. And I wasn't too impressed, to be honest. But I still thought, you know, he was okay. I didn't play a good match, I remember, and I was really surprised about his progress, you know. Now I think he's a very good player. He could really improve his serve. From the baseline, he's steady; plays aggressive on both sides. I didn't see that coming at all in a way, you know, because I thought he would be a good junior.
But, you know, it's gonna be tough maybe to break the top 10, especially so early. But he did definitely prove me wrong anyway, and I think he's doing an incredible job now and playing very consistent on all surfaces.
Q. He's pretty outspoken. Is that something that rubs you the wrong way a little bit at times?
ROGER FEDERER: No, I mean we had one issue at Davis Cup, you know. That was it. That was solved. He came up and spoke to me in Madrid in the locker room and after that everything was okay again.
Q. How about the rain here? Would you like to see in this tournament a roof like in Australia and maybe couple years in Wimbledon?
ROGER FEDERER: I'm always for having the option you know. Look, the TVs and fans come to the stadium and plan a day at Roland Garros, for instance, they would be so happy to see us play no matter what conditions. They are outside, you know.
So that's why Australia is so good, you know. They always have the opportunity. The same with Hamburg, you know. Other tournaments have it, too. Wimbledon is, I mean, making a big step forward, in my opinion, and I think it would be good for every tournament to have something like this. I know budget doesn't always allow it, but I would guess this tournament has the cash, so it should not be a problem.
THE MODERATOR: French questions.
Q. You recently defeated Rafael Nadal. Does it change something in the way you approach the match in terms of your expectations at Roland Garros?
ROGER FEDERER: It's certainly an advantage because I defeated him on all surfaces. It means I'm able to do it. So when I play against him, I mean, I'm more confident. So after Rome, I had to react and I had to do a good tournament in Hamburg, and it's always good for me to win a tournament on clay. And it hasn't been the case the past two years because of Nadal, so I'm very happy. I feel well on clay and I played enough matches in the run up to Roland Garros and that's very important to me.
Q. What about your impressions about the match you've just played? Can you reflect on that.
ROGER FEDERER: It's a correct match. I mean, I served well and I played well. I didn't take ‑‑ give lot of opportunities to my opponent. He's not very tall. And I was able to return his serve and I was able to break him and it was a solid performance. It was not an extraordinary match, but it was quite difficult because of the weather conditions, as I said.
I mean, I wasn't familiar with this opponent because I've never played against him, but it was not easy. So that's why I'm very happy with my performance today.
Q. Do you think that you got off to a good start?
ROGER FEDERER: Yes, perfect. I mean, the three sets, it's not easy given the weather conditions. Tomorrow I'm gonna play again, so I'm really happy.
Q. A couple of words about your next opponent, Thierry Ascione. Are you familiar with him?
ROGER FEDERER: I think I played against him in Bercy for the first round. I think it was 6‑1, 6‑1, if I can remember well. I haven't seen him for quite a long time. I don't know where he was. Maybe he took part in other tournaments. But he won convincingly his match.
So I played against him as part of an exhibition match, and we played on center court. And he has a good serve, a good backhand. He's a French guy, so it means that it's gonna be a very interesting match.