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November 14, 2002
Masters Cup Shanghai Round Rubin
By Masters Cup Official Site
R. FEDERER/J. Novak 6-0, 4-6, 6-2
An interview with: ROGER FEDERER
QUESTION: You played two perfect sets, don't you think so? ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, definitely, I think I got a good start after
saving those two break points and, yeah, second set was tough
because you win a set very easily, very quickly, and you want
to keep winning and he gets a little bit ?? he finds his rhythm
and you get a little nervous because all the points went your
way and suddenly you have to fight a little bit harder and I missed
a few chances by a few centimetres and that was sufficient and
suddenly I'm in the third set, but even though I lost the second,
I still felt like I could break him at any moment because I felt
comfortable from the baseline and I just told myself I have to
play aggressive again as I did in the first set and so it worked
fine and it's great.
QUESTION: You have won two matches in the two and you're almost
in the semifinal. Did you expect such a result before coming here?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I was really hoping to win two out of the
three, really, and that was my first goal, maybe win one of the
first two and now I won the first two, so that's great, and but
now, I mean, the pressure is on the other players, really, and
I mean, obviously I hope that I get through to the semifinals
with this victory from today, but I'll come out tomorrow so strong
again because I felt very good today on the court and I mean,
it's going to be probably my toughest match tomorrow because I've
never beaten Agassi in my four matches I think I played him and
so it would be really nice to beat him as well here because I
felt like the conditions suit me and I have the game to beat him,
so last time I played him in Miami, I got very close and I hope
this time I get it.
QUESTION: The president of the ITF thinks that you are going
to win this Grand Slam cup. What do you think of that? ROGER FEDERER: Well, I'm happy he feels this way. I mean, I'm
still very far away, let's be honest, but I feel good and if I
can continue the way I played today, I think I have a chance,
but it's just too far away right now to think about victory, but
it's nice to have him on my side.
QUESTION: He also commented that you have some similarities between
the way you play and Sampras. What do you think of that? ROGER FEDERER: Well, it's not the first time I hear this, so obviously
it's nice to be compared to one of the all?time greats. I know
we both play very smooth, but I mean my results are nothing comparable
to his. He's won record 13 (sic 14) Grand Slams and has 100 more
times titles than I have and is much more known, so it's tough
to be compared with him, so I just try to be one day maybe as
good and if I win one Grand Slam, I'm already happy, but first
I want to win that one and then we will see.
QUESTION: Did you see anything of the Agassi?Novak match? In
that match, Agassi was winning 5?2 in the first and then he lost
completely the match. What do you think about Agassi playing?
ROGER FEDERER: I turn on TV, I think was either 4?5 or 5?5 in
the first, so I didn't know Novak was down 5?2. I heard later
on in the set when he won it in the second, I mean, he won six
straight games in a row, Novak, so Novak really looked really
good out there yesterday. I mean, he hardly had any unforced errors
and this is how you have to play against Agassi. You have as few
unforced errors and make his work hard and I guess he got a little
bit frustrated, but I think still Jiri played a fantastic match
out there and I don't know, Agassi maybe got a little bit surprised
and maybe has been a little frustrated, but I don't want to comment
on his match. It's not my problem and I think Jiri did a good
job last night.
QUESTION: The question is not about tennis, it's about football.
You come from Basel in Switzerland and your football team have
just beaten Liverpool. Do you know that and what do you think
of that? ROGER FEDERER: Yes, I know that. They didn't beat them, but they
finished ahead of them in the rankings and that's what was important
and I think it was unbelievable result for Basel. I mean, I think
nobody expected this. They were hoping to get into UAFA and now
they made it into next stage of Champions League. I think the
whole year has been just incredible for them. They won the Swiss
Cup, they won the Swiss Championships, then they qualified against
Celtic?Glasgow and they have been riding on this wave and it's
been inspiring me lately and it's a pleasure to go and watch them.
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