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September 1, 2001
US Open Third Round
By ASAP Sports
R. FEDERER/S. Schalken
6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3)
An interview with: ROGER FEDERER
THE MODERATOR: Questions for Roger, please.
Q. Looks like Agassi has just won his match. You take him on in the next round. What's your mindset going into that match?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, seeing a draw the beginning of the week, I
was hoping to play him in the fourth round. But you don't really think
about that yet, because you've got too many matches to come. So now
that it's a fact, I'm looking forward to it. Most likely we gonna play
on center court, so it's nice to play here.
Q. Physically how do you feel? I mean, this match you just
played, it was a three-set match but it went all the way. How do you
feel right now, particularly with the heat?
ROGER FEDERER: I feel pretty good, I have to say. My injury
doesn't bother me. So that's a really good sign. I'm saving a lot of
energy by winning my matches fairly easy. So I'm happy the way I played
today, and it was a good test. I really hope I can carry it over to the
match against Agassi.
Q. You have this great record against us Americans. What's the
deal? What's your one secret ingredient for doing so well against the
Americans this year?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I just like the aggressive baseline play
they have. They play, there's a lot of risk, hard-hitting from the
baseline. So I'm very similar, but it seems like I do it better than
the other guys. It's -- I don't know why. But Agassi, of course, is
maybe the toughest American right now. So it's gonna be a tough one.
Q. Pete and Andre have been sort of the big figures in tennis
over the past era. What would it mean to you to beat them back-to-back,
in back-to-back Slams?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, it hasn't happened yet so I still have
some work to do on that. Beating Pete in Wimbledon was something to me
very special. He was like my favorite player when I was growing up,
alongside Becker and Edberg. Agassi, I mean, my game's totally
different to Agassi's game. So I could never compare myself to him or
anything like that. And I don't know, but it will be a huge success for
me if I could beat him here.
Q. So the Bryans said that they always had Agassi posters up in their room. I assume you had no Agassi posters?
ROGER FEDERER: No, no Agassi posters for me. I had Edberg and I think Sampras.
Q. Where did you get the beads? What do they stand for?
ROGER FEDERER: The necklace?
Q. Yes.
ROGER FEDERER: I don't know. First I had a gold necklace from
my mother once for birthday. That one got too small then, and somehow I
got into these surfer necklaces. So I liked them, I started to buy
them. I have a whole collection of them.
Q. So this is one in a series?
ROGER FEDERER: Exactly.
Q. Do you surf?
ROGER FEDERER: I don't know, no. (Laughing). But I like the beach, so...
Q. What beaches do you like?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I like Miami, South Beach, Key Biscayne, South Africa, Capetown, a lot of places. Sydney.
Q. You haven't shared any surfing stories with Guga, though?
ROGER FEDERER: No, not yet.
Q. How do you think your game has evolved since Wimbledon? And why do you think you're doing so well this year?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean since Wimbledon, not much has
happened. I was injured for like six weeks. I just played the
tournament in Gstaad the week after. But I had to take treatment from
then on. So I haven't been working at all on my game. I started to hit
an hour a day, so, yeah, I don't know if for five sets my physic is
good enough. But I think so, because I don't play with -- I'm not very
tight when I play. So my looseness gets me through the long matches.
Q. A lot of people came out for Goran in Split. Let's say you
and Martina both go through here and win here. What do you think they
would do in Switzerland?
ROGER FEDERER: I have no idea. I mean, I don't know, maybe two
people waited for me at the airport in Basel after the win against
Sampras. So I don't know if the Swiss are the same as the Croatians.
But Goran has been around much longer than I have been, so I mean
everybody was, like, hoping so much for him to win that Wimbledon. For
us, it will be little bit different because we're much younger.
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