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Thursday, August 7, 2003
Montreal TMS Third Round
By Tennis Masters Canada Official Site
An interview with: ROGER FEDERER
R. FEDERER/T. Robredo 6-4, 6-3
Tour Official: Okay. Please go ahead for Roger Federer.
Reporter:
Roger, the breaks of serve that you made were very well timed.
Does it come to a certain stage where you push a bit harder to get to
break, or did it just happen that way?
Roger
Federer: Well, I try to push in every game. But of course
some games when you get a good start you push even harder
obviously. I was just about to, when you get the first point, you
know, so I was struggling in the beginning to read his serve or to
return in general because he was taking command right after it.
So I thought he played really well in the first set especially.
He deserved it more than I did. He had so many more break
chances. But I hung in there and was fortunate.
Reporter: He fell away at the end when you got to break right in the middle of the second set; you got right on top then?
Roger
Federer: He only had two more chances to break me. But I
really felt ?? I'm happy about that ?? that my serve started finally
got better and in the second set because I was again missing a lot of
the tape and the first one had to go through a lot of the second
serve. Against guys like this it's just not so easy. You
have to really come with with some good ground stroke tennis and he was
the better man from the baseline today. In the second, set I
really got the first serves in and also the last service game was some
big serves. So that really, you know, made me win the match at
the end.
Reporter: What was the problem with it, the rhythm or the ball toss?
Roger
Federer: Yeah, just don't feel good, but the second set I
did. It was giving me some confidence because I need a lot of
first serves against Mirnyi, otherwise ...
Reporter:
Do you feel like well and truly now Wimbledon has passed, now you're
back into playing and you hadn't played much and now you're back into
rolling and working towards a major.
Roger
Federer: I'm still being introduced as the Wimbledon champ, so it
doesn't just go away like this. But, you know, I feel better now,
I've won three rounds already now on the hard courts. And felt
better today, you know. As I said, in the second set, which gives
me confidence that I'm going to be favoured again in the next match,
even though he's a very dangerous player and he beat some good players
on his way to play me. So I'm looking forward now not just for
tomorrow, but for the rest of the U.S. trip.
Reporter:
Away from the grounds here, do you find that you get recognized maybe
more than you have in the past after Wimbledon?
Roger Federer: Oh, definitely.
Reporter: How has that changed?
Roger
Federer: I've become more than maybe just a tennis star by
winning Wimbledon and especially back home, obviously, but even here
sometimes, I've been in the papers quite a bit here in Montreal, which
is nice. So I get recognized more often than before, that's for
sure, yeah.
Reporter: Did the break help you, do you think? The break between Gstaad and...
Roger
Federer: Oh, that break you're talking about. I thought you
were talking tennis. I needed a break. Not badly, but I
needed one. Just to get away from everything and make the mind
think about something else other than just tennis, because I had eight
days off after the French Open, so people tend to forget that I was
just playing and playing and playing, but that's not the case. I
just was very intense during the grass court season and then the week
after in Gstaad. But I feel good. I don't feel too
tired. Hard court always is different because you get the heat
from the court, also, which makes you maybe, you know, you feel you
have more pain because it's just harder, so you've just got to get used
to it.
Reporter: Is there anyone out there like Mirnyi? Is he a totally different player than everyone else who plays?
Roger
Federer: Yeah, he's got a little different game. He comes
in on shots where you think that's not the right shot or he hits and
looks and then he runs in. So he tends to play different and
we've played a few times in the past. We also play a lot of
doubles and we're good friends off the courts. It will be a
difficult match for both of us. I hope I can get the edge over
him.
Reporter: Hewitt said last night he is a really big guy out there.
Roger
Federer: I know that. We're doubles match. He's next
to me, luckily, not against me. So, yeah, he covers a lot of the
net, especially when he's playing well. He's got a lot of
confidence and he doesn't miss many volleys. He is not number one
in doubles for nothing, you know. I guess his serve is also
working pretty well right now.
Reporter:
Some of the biggest stories in sports this year have been women
challenging men in other sports, primarily golf. Do you ever
foresee a time when a woman could challenge a top 100 man in tennis?
Roger Federer: On the tour or just in exhibition?
Reporter: In a competitive way?
Roger
Federer: You have to look at the rule book, but I think, for
exhibition, nothing stands in the way. You could also look at the
rule book for the women's tour, for me.
[LAUGHTER]
Reporter: I mean, more physically, from what you see of the women's game?
Roger Federer: We have small guys, you know, and they have big girls, so...
[LAUGHTER]
Some women, they can challenge. Maybe not the big guys on the men's side, maybe they won't, but it would be interesting to
see.
Reporter: Do you like your chances on the women's tour?
Roger Federer: I hope so.
[LAUGHTER]
It would be good.
Tour Official: That's it for English, any German?
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