November 21, 2004

Masters Cup Houston Final

By ASAP Sports

R. FEDERER/L. Hewitt 6-3, 6-2

An interview with: ROGER FEDERER

Q. First of all, congratulations.

ROGER FEDERER: Thank you.

Q. Great champions got the title Masters many times - Ivan Lendl, Pete Sampras. So now you are a great member of Masters, aren't you?

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, it's nice to be on the board, you know, with many other great players. All the records, you know, I broke or equaled or whatever I did, you know, this year, has just been fantastic. Also throughout last year already. Like Lleyton said, the last one-and-a-half years for me I have really started to go like a rocket. This is a great end. You know, only a few guys have won two Masters Cups in a row - Lleyton and Lendl and you name it, I don't know. So it's just a few of them, it's nice (smiling).

Q. This must be like the icing on the cake. You've had a fantastic year - three Grand Slams in the bag, you've retained your Masters Cup title, and now, obviously, the only thing missing at the moment is the French Open. So are you going to now make that your priority?

ROGER FEDERER: No, I won't. Like you said, you know, this has been an incredible season for me, a great end to a fantastic season. It's kind of a fairy-tale ending, you know, for me to again leave for vacation with great feelings, great memories. So for next year, it won't be my first priority. My priority is to defend my Wimbledon crown and to maintain my No. 1 ranking. That's what I'm aiming for.

Q. On a lighter note, you won a great car tonight and you won another one last year. What else do you have in your car collection?

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, it's my third car I've won, and I won a Harley Davidson (laughing). I sold the one car and I still got the other -- well, now this one I haven't got yet in my garage. But it's getting -- there's a problem. I have no more space, so (laughing)... So I have to figure out what I'm going to do with it. But I'm definitely very happy because I love cars, I love convertibles, and I love fast cars, so this is great.

Q. After a year like that, what are you the most proud of?

ROGER FEDERER: Everything, yeah, basically. Because early in my career, you know, I was struggling with consistency. I mean, I couldn't get more consistent than this year, you know. For me, this is incredible. I in the beginning of my career I was struggling with outdoor, you know, being able to play in the wind, the night session, those things. Now I got over that, you know. I was struggling on the clay, I lost my first 10 or 15 matches on clay on the pro tour. There also I have won many great tournaments now. So I've really proven it's been all surfaces, everywhere in the world, you know, that I can win the title. I think that makes it very special, this whole year, because the season I've had, and I've basically won on all continents. It's just been incredible for me from beginning to the end.

Q. First of all, actually, you love Wimbledon.

ROGER FEDERER: Excuse me?

Q. You love Wimbledon, of course.

ROGER FEDERER: Uh-hmm.

Q. I've got a petition I want you to sign to ban Bud Collins from Wimbledon for what he said on the court, that there's no Centre Court like this one in the world, not even Wimbledon (laughter). Now, the only similarity I saw was the rain. Bud said on the court to Mattress Mack, "Great court. There is no better place to watch tennis in the world than here, not even Centre Court at Wimbledon." Now, I've got a letter I want you to sign, and Bud won't be able to come again.

ROGER FEDERER: Okay (laughing).

Q. Is that okay?

ROGER FEDERER: That's fine, yeah (smiling).

Q. Seriously, it's been such a great year. Has there been any disappointment at all, anywhere?

ROGER FEDERER: There has been, you know, disappointments. Like the Olympic Games, of course, you know. Because at the beginning of the year, that was one of my major three goals of the season, you know, to do well there and to get a medal because I just missed out on it the year -- or four years before in Sydney. The other disappointment was to lose against France in Davis Cup at home for the first time being at home as the No. 1 in the world. That was tough as well. You know, the other losses were acceptable, you know. Against Nadal. There's only a few, I can quickly run through them, so that's nice. Like Nadal, and he played fantastic and I was still sick. Henman played fantastic as well in Rotterdam. Berdych surprised me maybe a little bit at the Olympics. You know, Guga at the French, he was just a better player, as simple as that. Where else did I lose? Hrbaty in Cincinnati, yeah, not so easy. I should have won that match but lost it. So I had, yeah, a fantastic season so... I've never run through so many losses so quickly.

Q. What's the secret to picking up so well after a rain interruption, or particularly if you've been waiting around for three hours, like you did today? Do you have a particular secret which gets you into the groove so quickly?

ROGER FEDERER: Well, I kind of quite like, you know, to wait for the match to be played. The problem is when you're waiting once the match started, like today at 5-2, 40-30, you really hope to get off to a good start again early in the match. But to wait until the match starts is not really a problem for me because you find enough stuff to do during that time. You actually have even more time than expected, you know, to prepare. You just have to make sure that you're in, suddenly the court's dry and you have to walk on. For this reason, I don't have any problem with that. But of course it's never easy for the rhythm once it gets interrupted.

Q. A man with such variety and versatility, is there a particular shot you enjoy hitting more than others?

ROGER FEDERER: Well, I definitely have my preferences. I love hitting my forehand anywhere on the court. I like hitting actually slice, because these are the safe shots in my game. The other ones are good, too, you know, but these are the ones I feel most comfortable with.

Q. You're going for the lines, or it just happens you hit them so often?

ROGER FEDERER: I guess it just happens. Early in the rounds, early in the tournament, I don't really chase down the lines too much because I want to play it more safe, I want to get the feel for the court and the balls and sometimes, you know, you get surprised and you lose. But this hardly happened this year - only once. And once a tournament or the matches get underway, I start to feel better, and then I start also going much more for the corners. That's exactly again what happened this week.

Q. I noticed that you mentioned Shanghai when you took the prize today on the court. I just want you to give some comments about your impressions of the city and your experience two years ago in Shanghai.

ROGER FEDERER: I was very surprised how big it was. I knew it was big, but I didn't think it was that big. I had a great experience there. It was my first Masters Cup, in Shanghai. I had a great time. Even though I lost in semis against Lleyton, you know, we had a terrific match. And I'm really looking forward to go back there. But you're not qualified, you don't have a wildcard after winning this one today, unfortunately. So I have to do everything again next year to try to get there. At least, you know, I got three chances, so that's good to know. I think it's great, you know, that Asia gets a big tournament again because they have tournaments, but only rather small ones, I would say. I think Asia also deserves a big one. So for this reason, I'm very happy Shanghai has got it again. Yeah, the city is fantastic, the people are nice, so hopefully I can make it there.

Q. Two questions. First, can you talk a little bit about you played Lleyton before this year. He had a 6-2 edge on you. Now you have an edge on him after this season in your rivalry. What does that mean to you?

ROGER FEDERER: It's nice, you know, because I was down, like you said, by four matches or something. So to come back on that within one season is fantastic. I've had many tough losses against him, you know, in Davis Cup, in Shanghai, and other places also which were very important to me and I lost them. He's the player I think I played the most in my career. We've had great rivalries together, great matches, you know, because it's a great matchup, you know. Playing very aggressive, he's a counterpuncher, so there's always a lot happening during the match. This season, you know, in the last two matches I've been quite -- or the last three matches have been quite one-sided. I'm surprised myself because he's a great player, and I expect, you know, him to be even tougher next year.

Q. Could you also talk a bit about your thinking in not emphasizing the French Open so much, why you don't want to make it a real priority for yourself?

ROGER FEDERER: Well, because for me, still Wimbledon is the most prestigious tournament, and what I've experienced this year by becoming No. 1 in the world, these are for me the top priorities. Of course French Open is important, but not as important as the other two. You know, I don't want to start going around saying that if I don't win the French within my career or next year, I'll be very disappointed. So I really want to take it slow also, because the preparation has been good the last couple of years for the French. Why it didn't work out, I don't want to say it's a mystery, but it's got something to do with my opponents, the way I played. I hope I play better, because I want to prove myself more in Paris. Same in Bercy, I haven't had any great matches there, so... Definitely want to play better in Paris.

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