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Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Toronto AMS First Round
By Tennis Masters Canada Official Site
An interview with: ROGER FEDERER
R. FEDERER/H. Arazi 6-3, 7-5
(partial transcript)
Q.
Roger, how tough is it playing a match when you have to wait I guess
almost 18 hours to play that second set and try to finish it out?
A.
It's all right. I was in a good position which makes it, you know, much
easier, and I was happy to be up a set, you know, because I didn't know
if I was going to play last night and, you know, first round is always
tricky especially with rain delays like this and I was happy to be --
to have won that first set just before the rain. And today I just tried
to, you know, serve little more consistent and, you know, worked out.
He played better from the baseline I thought today and made it tougher
for me the second set. So, you know, made a strange break in the end
but [inaudible] out well so I'm happy.
Q. Roger, how much does Wimbledon and the problems it had this year, does that help in terms of you knowing how to prepare?
A. With the rain?
Q. Yeah.
A.
Well, this year it was quite extreme rain for me anyway in Wimbledon.
You know, I had to go off the court I think in the second round for 15
minutes, had to go definitely in the semis, in the finals. The semis
got rain to the next day against Grosjean. So, it was really tough, you
know, but almost every time I came off I was leading except the finals.
So, for me that was a totally different situation and it's not a very
good one to be in. But I think you have to try to take advantage of
those situations even though it's maybe sometimes positive and
negative. You know, you should always try to see the positive thing.
Either you can change something up or you can just actually put even
more pressure on if you come out strong. That's what I'm trying to do
but doesn't work every time. So far it has. Hope it stays like this.
Q.
You started coming a little bit in the second seemed to me a little bit
more. You decided you wanted to get in there and volley a few and put
some pressure on him or is that just part of the game plan?
A.
I tried to play a little more aggressive but then I thought, you know,
instead of going for my shots too much, you know, I'd rather play
consistent so I could get maybe Love-15 or 15-30 and put some pressure
on but I felt he had more of a first serve in there. So, I couldn't
quite attack him like I was last night. I gave him less chances today
and he gave me less chances and yesterday, you know, we both had break
points all the time. It was a different match. So, in the beginning I
tried to come more to the net but then I decided it's not the right
thing to do and so I played him from the baseline. I should have played
a little more aggressive from the baseline instead of spinning the ball
so much.
Q. How did the body feel? You said that when you started training that you had a lot of aches and pains. How does it feel now?
A.
Well, now it's gone obviously. You know, I'm again in the tournament
rhythm but I'm still a little tired from either it's jet lag or what it
is, you know. I'm sleeping a lot of hours, you know, in the nights but
I'm not as, how do you say, I don't feel the energy flowing through my
body all the time. So, I hope it's going to be better tomorrow because
I'll need it.
Q. What did you do during all the rain delay?
A.
Well, for me, you know, we didn't have to wait long really, 20 minutes,
and then they cancelled us. So, I went back and ate and slept and came
back and prepared. So, it was simple. You know, it wasn't much -- for
me it wasn't much waiting around the courts. For me it was actually
quite normal. You should ask Tim Henman, you know, how it felt for him
because he told me he was here since ten past nine in the morning
yesterday and waited until he got cancelled. So, you should ask these
guys. For me it was quite a normal day actually because I planned when
to come over and I almost started on time and, basically, they just
cancelled me and I could leave and come back the next day. So, for me
it wasn't too bad.
Q. Roger, how
is it the last three tournaments you've been in, one was on grass, one
was on clay and now you're back on hard court? How is it to adjust to
three completely different surfaces the last three tournaments you've
been in?
A. Well, the clay court
tournament, you know, it is quite a fast clay court. You know, it's
playing in altitude and, you know, when it's warm, you know, it's
almost easy to serve volley there than in Wimbledon. So, you know, you
can really keep the rally short if you like so that's what I was doing
but still, you know, the movements are very different to grass.
You
know, coming to hard court you have to be again it's the slowest of all
surfaces for me right now. So, I have to adjust and be mentally
prepared for longer rallies and be more patient, and that's what I'm
working on.
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