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August 30, 2004
US Open First Round
By ASAP Sports
R. FEDERER/A. Costa
7-5, 6-2, 6-4
An interview with: ROGER FEDERER
THE MODERATOR: Questions for Roger.
Q. It's almost embarrassing to criticize a straight-sets win at
a Grand Slam, but I kind of suspected you wanted to finish up that
match in the third set different than the way you did.
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I definitely wish it was different at the
end, you know - obviously to win, but to close it out like I usually
do, you know, just serve it out. I guess it seems like I was too
dominant, you know, for a while. There was not enough rallies suddenly,
and that worked against me because the game I lost, I was against the
wind. Actually to get the 5-2 lead, I think if I get that lead, I'm not
going to give it away. But I got broken, and then when I served for the
match, you know, I just had a terrible service game. I went for too
much. That's how quickly it goes.
Q. Borg was 0-9 in this tournament. How important is it for you to win here at some point and get that monkey off your back?
ROGER FEDERER: I don't know. I don't see it so bad like you
guys are. I feel like I've been playing well here in the past,
consistent. I've never had a first-round loss here. I've been three
times in the fourth round. So I've been actually winning my matches
here. I've just been maybe losing the big ones. At the time I was not
the favorite, you know, to beat Agassi. Nalbandian was a dark horse, a
guy I didn't like to play too much. Once when I played Max, it was like
midnight and he blew me off the court. Not much I could do in those
matches. I feel like this surface suits my game. It's quicker than
Australia. I don't know. To speak about Borg's record and compare it to
mine, I don't think that is fair.
Q. Roger, he's one of the few guys to have beaten you this year.
What did you do differently in this match than your last two matches?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, in Miami, you know, I had match points. I
should have closed it out actually. I think I served for the match at
5-4 last year and had two match points. In Rome I really started well.
You know, kind of missed again many chances in the second set to run
away with it. He really got the momentum going, played really well
after. For me, it was important to play aggressive, make sure get a lot
of first serves in. That's what I did. I think that made the difference
in the end. I also started to figure out how to play him today, so I'm
happy about that.
Q. It seems like Al Costa is one of those players who if you let
him get a set, he gets so much tougher. Do you come out against him
having to get as fast a start as you can to get on top of him?
ROGER FEDERER: You always hope to get off to a good start
against everybody. It's always good in a best-of-five match to win the
first set, you know, because it kind of gives you time actually, you
can analyze what has been happening. But you're right, against Costa,
if you give him a set, his game changes and he knows he can rely on all
his shots. And if you're on top of him, he starts thinking and maybe
changing up his game plan. This is when you can take advantage of it.
That's what happened today.
Q. How fresh do you feel at the moment, given you played an awful lot since Wimbledon?
ROGER FEDERER: I feel good actually. I thought it was a really
good match for me today. It's not just a match I came through. I felt I
had some very good moments attacking, good moments defending, and I'm
also serving well. There's been really good things all over the place.
That is something I like obviously. It's something I can build on for
the next match.
Q. The popularity of tennis has struggled a bit in this country.
I was reading an article the other day in the Times, an interview with
you, you were talking about the feeling of strain that you come over
here and have some anonymity. I hope I'm not misquoting.
ROGER FEDERER: It's normal. I don't have to sign as many
autographs in the States as in Europe. Here you have many other sports,
you know, which are following. So for me it's very difficult to say how
much time tennis gets on TV because I'm never here. But I don't know. I
feel good here. Once you're on the tennis grounds, it seems like every
other tennis tournament. Obviously, New York City, it's kind of a
different city, you know, busy people around there. I'm happy not to be
recognized so often so I can actually go to normal places to eat and
stuff.
Q. Do you think part of that is due to the fact that New York
crowds, maybe Americans in general tend to relate to the oversize
personality like Jimmy Connors and Andre Agassi rather than kind of
like others?
ROGER FEDERER: They're Americans. They're always here. I think
it's easier definitely for an American, you know, to be a star here
than a non-American. But that's the way it should be, so you're doing
the right thing.
Q. Agassi was always bigger than Sampras for that reason.
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah. Well, different personalities, you know.
Q. A lot of commentators point to you as being one of the guys
who has the talent and the game to possibly win a calendar-year Grand
Slam. Is that something you ever think about?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I've been asked many times after the Australian. I'm not going to do it this year (smiling).
Q. What about in the future, do you think it's something that could actually happen?
ROGER FEDERER: I wish it's going to happen. But I know how
tough it is. Yeah, I'm playing many matches. To always keep it up and
always beat everybody, it's not the easiest thing to do. It's easier to
lose than to win. So I don't know. It's not something I'm really aiming
for now.
Q. How special would it be this year to win three out of four Grand Slams?
ROGER FEDERER: That would be something. That would be more than
enough for me to win three out of four. You know, to be a second after
Wilander to do it, it would be nice. We're not there yet. Let's just be
patient (smiling).
Q. Lleyton Hewitt has been flying a bit under the radar. Have you been keeping a bit of an eye on him?
ROGER FEDERER: I've been checking him out (laughter). I know
how tough he is, especially on the American hard courts. I definitely
think he's one of the, let's say, top four contenders for the title
this year, next to me, Agassi and Roddick. I feel like once he gets
going, he's very tough to stop. I hope for him he didn't play too much
leading up to this. I think he hasn't been playing too much over the
last say one and a half years, so he's got a lot of energy left in his
tank.
Q. Do you think he's one of those players who actually profits by playing more?
ROGER FEDERER: Could be, yeah. Just takes the confidence with
him the last three tournaments he won, and he carries it through the
whole US Open. I wouldn't be surprised. Let's keep an eye on him.
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