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March 10, 2008
Federer Says He's Fine
By Richard Pagliaro, Tennis Week
Since the start of the season, Roger Federer has visited as many doctors — three by his count — as tournament appearances. The World No. 1 hasn't been himself lately and revealed the reason on Friday: he has been battling mononucleosis. "The doctors said I must have had it for at least six weeks, which went all the way back to December," Federer told Christopher Clarey of The New York Times. "When I heard it was mono I was actually even more happy to have made the semifinals of the Australian Open, because probably a doctor would have said. 'You're not allowed or can't play,' ." The top-seeded Swiss insists he has regained his health, and while tonight's NetJets Showdown with 14-time Grand Slam champion Pete Sampras is an exhibition, the Madison Square Garden match takes on added significance as Federer said today it's difficult to determine if he's at full strength since he's only played once match since learning of his diagnosis. "I feel fine. I think I'm sort of back to normal again. It's hard to tell because I've really only played once match since I know what's been going on," Federer told the media in an interview at the Essex House this morning. "The draw was obviously very difficult in Dubai playing Andy Murray in the first round. I practiced really hard after the loss and came here feeling good so I'm looking forward to preparing for Indian Wells and start to attack there again. I feel perfectly fine again and thinking I'm over it, which is most important." Of course, you can argue even if Federer wasn't feeling fully fit, it wouldn't make much sense for him to fully disclose it now coming off two straight losses with successive Masters Series tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami on schedule for this month and his closest rivals, including Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, cutting into his lead in the rankings. Federer, who has held the top spot for a record 215 weeks, has seen his lead over Nadal shrink to 350 points — the closest margin since May 10, 2004 when Federer led then second-ranked Andy Roddick by the same figure. Federer asserts the rise of his rivals, his two straight losses and his recent bout with illness makes him even more motivated as he enters a crucial part of the season: at two of the only Masters Series events this year when he can actually pick up ranking points. "I haven't played as many tournaments this year," Federer said. "The other guys have played five or six tournaments and I've only played two one being the Australian Open. Honestly, losses like this motivate me more than anything. Trying to come back, trying to prove you're still the one to beat. I just want to show them that I can do it over and over again. I love to compete on center courts around the world with thousands and thousands of people watching me. I have such a great fan base around the world so many people are happy when I get there and it's something that really touches me." His Australian Open reign came to an end as an inspired Novak Djokovic dealt Federer his first straight-sets loss in a major since he bowed to three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten in the third round of the 2004 Roland Garros. Federer, who said he was examined by two or three different doctors in Australia days before the start of the Melbourne major, felt ill again after he exited the Australian Open and it was then that he was diagnosed with mono. "The plan was to play the Australian Open and Dubai, I've played both events so it's not like I missed tournaments," Federer said. "People [may say] it should have been detected and already they made many, many tests. I went into the emergency room a couple of times. I saw about two or three doctors the same day [in Melbourne] and everybody checked everything out. They were convinced it was food poisoning, so what do you want me to say, you know? I did feel awful, but I came back and played and I was happy they put me back on track in some ways. When I got sick a third time in six weeks I just said 'This is something different.' This is really when I went into the hospital right away and they said this could be mononucleosis." Receiving medical clearance to Dubai, Federer traveled to the UAE to defend his Dubai title, but lost in three sets to Andy Murray in the first-round of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships on Monday. It was Federer's second straight loss and his first opening-round loss in a tournament since then World No. 21 Dominik Hrbaty scored a 1-6, 7-6(7), 6-4 over the top-ranked Swiss in the opening round of the 2004 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati. "I found out that I had it and then only 10 days ago I found out I was basically over it," Federer said. "It's good the way it went for me. I'm happy we found out what it was and I'm feeling healthy again, which is very important." Tonight's match takes on added importance as Federer has played only one match since his Australian Open loss and while he has been practicing regularly he acknowledges he is short on match play heading into Indian Wells. "I'm not the kind of guy who looks for excuses. I hate to do that," Federer said. "Even if I'm a little bit injured I wouldn't tell it right away it could always come out later, but then the story isn't as hot anymore. I'm surprised, really, how much people picked up on this story. I just thought I would give a quick interview and let somebody know how I felt and I'm feeling better actually. I think there's no need to lie about it either. Being sick is a normal thing; it's like being injured. I wanted to see how Dubai went for me. I struggled a little bit, but I felt fine. I was okay bringing it out in the news that week. I didn't want to do it [break the news] in Indian Wells. I wanted to get it out of the way."
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