|
May 10, 2003
Rome TMS Semifinal
By ASAP Sports
R. FEDERER/J.C. Ferrero
6-2, 4-2 (Retired)
An interview with: ROGER FEDERER
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. Roger, did you have any idea before he retired that he was struggling?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I saw him having treatment, you know, last
few days. I knew his shoulder wasn't good. I mean, you see him in the
treatment room and all this but, you know, you never know how bad it
really is. It can just be prevention or all this kind of stuff. So I
was not expecting him to give up today in this match, no.
Q. Would you be more surprised if there is not a Spanish player in the final or if Kafelnikov is there?
ROGER FEDERER: What surprises me more?
Q. Yes.
ROGER FEDERER: You know, there's not only the Spanish players
who play well on clay, you know (smiling). There's a lot of South
Americans also, and then you have guys like, you know, I don't know,
Yevgeny or me or whoever, you know, who can play well on the clay but,
you know, we need good days, you know. Maybe not every day we are as
good as this week. But he's shown it, that he can win a Grand Slam on
clay. So I think it doesn't surprise anybody. I mean, it's important
for him that his forehand works well, you know, and that seems like
it's working well. He played really well against Moya. If he wins this
match, he deserves to be in the final, so....
Q. No matter how you won the match, how good is it to be in another final?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, it's always something special, you know.
Feels good to have won a few matches in a row. Masters Series are
extremely tough, you know - six matches in seven days, you know. It
takes a lot out of you. I don't even know, it's best-of-five or
best-of-three - best-of-five tomorrow, so that's really... I don't know
if that's the right choice, guys (laughter). Because I have Hamburg to
play next week, so, you know, I just try my best and I give everything
I have. Hopefully, I have just a little bit left for Hamburg to defend
my title there so...
Q. Could you explain to us exactly what happened on that strange
point, what disturbed you. Was it the late call by the linesman or the
fact that the chair umpire got out of his seat before the point was
over?
ROGER FEDERER: No, no. I just found it really strange that, you
know, Juan Carlos wasn't sure if it was in or out. He played the ball.
We continued the rally. Then, suddenly, the linesman calls it out. I
think, for me, this is a moment where he calls it too late, where the
next stroke has been played, you know? This is my view. The umpire
said, "No, you know, the ball is out anyway, no matter what" and all
this. I just said, "I would like to speak to the supervisor because I
don't agree with the call." He wouldn't let me. So I just kept talking
to him. I just asked him that again, to speak to the supervisor because
I don't agree at all. I explain him my view. And then, suddenly, this
guy shows up on the side (laughter). I thought he was speaking to me in
Italian, though, I don't know what he was saying. I thought, you know,
maybe he said, "Just come on, just keep on playing, don't talk to the
umpire." So I went back and said, "I don't want to talk to this guy."
Then Ferrero was at the net and he was talking to him also. A little
bit strange situation, but the fans got into it and saved us, you know,
so that was good.
Q. Ferrero said that five weeks on the clay may be a bit much.
Does that make you feel very smart or well-planned to have started last
week?
ROGER FEDERER: You know, you have to understand also five weeks
is much when you play finals every week. If you lose first round five
times, it's no problem, you know, so... But we just spoke together, you
know. We just said from four weeks on, it gets really much. Three
weeks, you can do it, no problem. Four, it gets really tough on you,
you know. Plus, I think he had Davis Cup also, and including in all
these matches, which takes a lot of you mentally. I don't know if I was
smart, you know. I couldn't play Monte-Carlo because I was sick, so
it's a little bit different.
Q. Lucky.
ROGER FEDERER: I don't know.
Q. It's true that every week is a new week and every week, a new
coming and anything could happen. But this week told you something
about the future and about Paris? Did you learn something about going
to the French?
ROGER FEDERER: Playing on clay?
Q. Not about you, about your opponent, about who is playing well?
ROGER FEDERER: Oh, to see a little bit who is playing well?
Q. Yes.
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, because I haven't been around on clay too
much. Last week, there was not too many of the true clay courters
around. And this week, you know, kind of everybody is together here.
It's interesting to watch all these players, you know. And next week
again, I think it's an important week to kind of look at how they're
playing to be better prepared for Paris. I think this is also in one
way a good week, just to get to see how the other guys play. It was
good for me, and especially this week, who I played and who I beat and
how I beat them, for me to know that I can hang with them from the
baseline no problem. So that was good mentally.
Q. Do you believe that you can be No. 1, or do you need another victory to believe that you can do it?
ROGER FEDERER: Another victory...
THE MODERATOR: In a Grand Slam.
ROGER FEDERER: He said in a Grand Slam. I'm not far away,
that's for sure. My ranking shows it, the way I'm playing, the people
who I beat. But it takes more, you know. It takes one year around to
play very solid tennis and play well in the big events and to get a
chance to be No. 1 or to win a Grand Slam. So I'm not thinking about
No. 1 right now, you know. It's more match per match and try to be as
consistent as possible. And when I see that I have a chance to be No.
1, you know, then I'll try my best to get there, you know. But right
now, I'm just too far away from Agassi and Hewitt in the points-wise, I
think. You would need over more than one Grand Slam win to get close to
them. So I'll just try to play well in the small tournaments and
hopefully use my chance in the Slams in the future.
Q. Can you say something about the feelings you can have when
you can do whatever you want on a court like this and your opponent is
looking at you... Which sort of feelings?
ROGER FEDERER: I don't know. Today there were not too many
rallies of that kind. Yesterday against Volandri there was more because
it was longer rallies and I had more options to - not to play with him,
but just to vary my game, you know. It's very important for me to use
my slice also, to bring the guys forward. You know, when it works out,
it's a very nice feeling, you know, because, I don't know, sometimes
they look a little bit stupid, you know (smiling). But I'm not...
|
