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Tuesday, March 13, 2001
ESPN Chat wrap: Roger Federer
By ESPN
Welcome to ESPN.com's moderated chat room. On March 13, tennis player Roger Federer dropped by to take your questions from the Masters Series at Indian Wells, California.
Federer has had quite a year in 2001. He won every match against the United States in the first round of the Davis Cup in front of a home crowd in Basel, Switzerland. In doing so, he became only the fifth man in history to win every match aginst the United States, the most successful country in Davis Cup history with 31 titles. Federer also won the first title of his career at Milan defeating Julien Boutter, 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-4 and reached the thrid round of the Australian Open where he fell to Arnaud Clemnt 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4.
In 1998, he was the No. 1 ranked junior in the world with an ATP ranking of No. 302. In 1999, he was the youngest player (18 yeard, four months) to finish in the ATP's top 100, reaching the semifinal in Vienna, Austria, and three quaterfinals. Last year, his first full season on the ATP, was a painful education. He went 0-6 in the summer tournaments and entered the U.S. Open with a 20-21 singles record. His record the rest of the way was a healthy 16-9.
Federer's career record is 69-54 and he just recently passed the $1 million mark in career eaarnings. He is ranked sixth in the ATP Champions Race with 108 points.
Question: Hello Roger. What has been the greatest Victory over a Top Plyer on the ATP Tour?
ROGER: Probably Carlos Moya in Marseille two years ago was my beginning of my career. I was ranked 300 and he was No. 4.
Question: Where are you from?
ROGER: From Basel, Switzerland.
Question: Are you planning to play in any charity events this year?
ROGER: Nope. Not that I know of.
Question: Which slam would you like to win first?
ROGER: Definitely Wimbledon for me and then probably the U.S. Open. It's something special. So much tradition about it.
Question: What is your take on some people who believe that Wimbledon should take up the grass and go for hard courts?
ROGER: I don't agree. They should still to the grass as long as possible. Australian Open used to be grass and then went to hardcourts. So if you take away the grass something is wrong. I've never heard anything about it changing and I don't think it will be.
Qustion: Who was your tennis idol Mr. Federer?
ROGER: First, when I was really young 5 or 8 years old was Boris Becker and then Stefan Edberg for a while. Then they both stopped and I liked Pete Sampras a lot. Then I started playing on the tour and I don't really have any idols any more.
Question: Do you ever watch the women play?
ROGER: I do watch women's tennis sometimes. Obviously I like to watch Martina Hingis. Of course that's what I like about the men's game that you don't really know who's going to win the matches. With the women you know the big names are going to win. It almost leaves you bored sometimes. The women have good players, but I still prefer the mens game.
Question: What was it like playing with Martina Hingis at the Hopman Cup? Did she give you any pointers?
ROGER: I practiced with her every day for one hour. It was lots of fun. She's a great partner to have because she plays very well. We had a lot of fun and hopefully we can go and defend our title there again.
Question: Congrats on your Davis Cup wins. I watched the tapes again this weekend and you were incredible!
I saw you at the US Open last year when you played Juan Carlos Ferrero on Louise Armstrong stadium. Did the rain delays get to you that day, because you had a better hard courter and probably should have won that day.
ROGER: I think the rain came at 4-0 in the tiebreak of the fourth set. It was a very important stage and I thought I was playing very well. I came back, I had a set point on serve, so I should have won that serve. Maybe I should have won the match, but Juan Carlos played great tennis that day. And in the end deserved to win. I didn't play too bad tennis.
Question: I just wanted to congratulate you on your excellent performance against the United States in Davis Cup, even though I am American. I just wanted to know, how do you try to vary your game (serve and volley, chip and charge, baseline) based on different opponents that you play?
ROGER: Over the past two or three years, I've grown up a bit and know what to play in what moments--if I have to stay back or go to the net. You have to talk to your coach and talk about what to play based on your opponent. What's great about my game is that I can stay back at the baseline or come into the net. That's a big bonus in my game.
Question: What's your opinion on the Davis Cup schedule? Should it be shortened or is it fine the way it is now?
ROGER: Tough question. If you win you get to the finals and it's a lot of tennis at the end of the year. I think Davis Cup is a great thing. I'm happy to play for my country. It's an honor for me. I'm not complaining. I like to play Davis Cup.
Quesion: I play tennis all the time and many junior events and I was just wondering what were your work ethics while training before tournaments and if their is any advice that makes you keep playing more rather than getting worn out?
ROGER: Of course, I get the feeling sometimes that I've had enough. If you get in a bad streak you get tired sometimes. If you work hard I think the results will come back automatically. I went through a couple of stages like that, but I love tennis and it's just a dream come true to be a tennis player at such a high level.
Question: Does anyone ever tell you that you resemble Moya?
ROGER: Yeah. I've heard that a couple of times. I heard it at Indian Wells last year. A lot of guys were coming up and telling me well done - it was my first time there -- I realized that Moya made it to the finals last year. But now I think that everyone knows the difference between me and him.
Question: Roger, did you train in Switzerland or in another country?
ROGER: I practiced at the National Tennis Center in Switzerland. I was with the federation for four years and now I'm with my coach but I still practice there in Switzerland.
Question: Describe what it's like "Playing" the best Tennis players in the world on the ATP tour.
ROGER: Well, for me one very special thing is when you suddenly play the guys you've been watching the whole time. I played Goran Ivanisevic, I've played quite a few guys on the tour and you get used to it, but it's still a good feeling to play these big games.
Question: Who do you think is a better player, Sampras or Agassi?
ROGER:They have two very different styles. I prefer Sampras because he's more all-around and goes to the net more.
Question: What do you like to do off the court (hobbies)?
ROGER: Sports in general I like to play golf and enjoy soccer. Watching TV, playing Playstation, sleeping and relaxing.
Question: Hi Roger! I just wanted to say that you're a real sexy guy and a great player. You're right up there with Pat Rafter on my list. Congratulations on the Davis Cup win!
ROGER: Well thank you for the compliment.
Qusetion: Roger, how did you feel after winning at Milan?
ROGER: A big relief. It was my first title and I played two finals the year before, so I was really happy at winning that one. It took the pressure off me. A lot of people were wondering when my first title was going to come and I was really very happy about it.
Qusetion: I'm a Sampras fan for ten years. I notice you use the Wilson Pro Staff racket and you like to serve volley and you have an interesting backhand. Did Sampras influence you when you were growing up in tennis? I also think you are the most stylish tennis player to emerge since Sampras in 1990 and I hope you can take over from him. There are far too many baseline players with two handed backhands. All the best for the future.
ROGER: I never actually tried to copy anyone. I'm playing with Nike and the Wilson racket. I didn't want to play with the same clothes or same racket if just happened. As to my style, my coach directed my backhand. Pete comes into net way more than I do. I still have some work to do. But I'm not trying to copy him or anyone.
Question: Have you ever played Kafelnikov in golf? I've heard he likes to bet with other tour players on the golf course.
ROGER: I haven't played with, but I've heard that he's on the golf course a lot. But I could never challenge him because I'm not good enough.
Question: Can you describe what a typical week for the average professional tennis player?
ROGER: What is average. If you're ranked top 10 or hundred. You have a match, you go warm up for a half an hour, then you play the match and get treatment and then go work and get ready for the next day. There's a lot of waiting going on.
Question: What is the difference in the junior competition compared to the pro's?
ROGER: The big difference is the consistency from the tour players. Their bodies are more grown up, so they serve bigger. It wasn't hard for me to make the jump -- I don't know why. I went through a bit for about six months that was a learning expereince, but it seemed to help my career.
Question: Do you think someday if you got the opportunity, Coach Switzerland in Davis Cup, would you accept the invitaion?
ROGER: It's far away. I'm only 19, so I haven't really thought about it. There's so much that's going to happen in Switzerland Davis Cup, so it's a tough question to answer.
Question: What do you think of the Indian Wells mixture of court color?
ROGER: Very nice. It's also going to be that way in Miami at the Ericsson Open, in Montreal, Cincinnati, Stuttgart and Paris. I don't know if they are going to paint the clay courts. They want to do all the Masters Series, so that everyone knows what is goin on.
Question: What do you attribute your success to this season as opposed to last year? Have you gained more experience?
ROGER: Definitely. I think I'm more grown up now. More experienced. More calm. I don't get pissed off as quickly as before. Stopped throwing racquets. It helped my game.
Question: What were your emotions after you defeated the U.S. in Davis Cup?
ROGER: After match point against Gambill, I fell to my knees and had to cry. I was so happy. I've never felt like this before. It was a very special moment I'll never forget in my hometown, in front of my friends and family, so it was something very special.
Question: Was tennis always your first career option?
ROGER: For me the choice was tennis or soccer.
Question: What are your goals for the year, meaning did you have a specific ranking in mind of where you want to be at the end of the year?
ROGER: At the beginning of the year my goal was to end the year in the top 15. I'm 21 now and in the race it's No. 6. I really want to play well in the Masters Series. I won my first tournament and that's a goal I was looking for also.
ROGER: Thank you very much. I had fun doing this. Hopefully, you guys can come and see some tennis wherever you are in the states.
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