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Sunday, June 12, 2005
Halle Final
By Gerry Weber Open Official Site
Interview with Roger Federer
Press-Conference with Roger Federer (SUI) after his win against Marat Safin (RUS) 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-4
? Please comment this second defending of the title in Halle?
! I’m pretty happy about this title, it’s a wonderful feeling and a kind of relief. Having dealt with the defeat in Paris so well, this is surprising for me, too. It’s not normal to come here with less grass preparation and win the tournament in the end. Marat was really hard to fight against, and it’s not normal for me to win such a match. You saw it when he served how much pace he can get on it – he’s so dangerous. This makes him very hard to return. I really thought I did a good job today, keeping myself cool even though I lost the second set and was quite close to win that set and the match basically. So I’m very pleased now: It was a good performance all week long, it’s exactly the way I want to feel heading into Wimbledon.
? Did you fear to lose the match after the tie break in the second set?
! Yes, of course. There is always a kind of respect for these situations, the same against Tommy in the semis. Tiebreak is always a kind of roulette: The one who gets the better start has big chances to win. You always need a little bit of luck to win tie breaks. Fortunately I was able to come through in the third.
? Do you think you can play any better on grass?
! I always feel like I can improve, I think there were moments when I could have done better, for example I can serve and return better. Grass court tennis depends on a few points and if you miss those like me in the beginning of the match, when I had some opportunities but missed a few shots, it shows I can definitely play better.
? You won here three times in a row, will you come back next year?
! It depends on how it goes in Wimbledon. But if I keep on winning Wimbledon after I won Halle every year I obviously come back. And if you lose first round then you put more thoughts in it, of course. But I usually always come back to the places where I have to defend titles, and especially in Germany I have some incredibly records as well concerning the matches I won in a row in Hamburg, Munich and Halle. It’s really been quite a run in Germany.
? Where did the high quality of the match come from?
! I think the high quality was the serving from both guys. It was really tough to get into the games. When you missed the opportunity almost on the first or second point, the game was over. It was sort of what I expected I would say, but it was quite tougher than I really thought it would be against Marat on grass. Although we’ve had some good matches the last three we’ve played, so I’ve always knew how tough Marat is. But my record is good against him, and that is always good to know by heading into those sorts of matches. I’ve beaten him so much times in a row now, so that’s given me more confidence against him than maybe against others. I had my chance to win in two, but also winning in three was anyway a good performance.
? How will Marat’s chances in Wimbledon be?
! Better than the last few years, because the last few years haven’t been quite good for him. He always went into Wimbledon already quite pessimistic. When he lost he was always relieved, he forgot about Wimbledon and concentrated on the American summer. I think this final will fence his chances well doing well and doing a breakthrough over there, because he has really shown some good performances on grass this week.
? How do you go into Wimbledon? Feeling pressure or being confident?
! I feel confident, but there can always be a tough draw, there can always be a shock loss in the first round. I don’t really think about it, that’s what I was more concerned abaout last year defending my first time Wimbledon title. Now it’s easier for me to deal with the situation than last year.
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