March 26, 2005

Miami AMS Second Round

By ASAP Sports

R. FEDERER/O. Rochus 6-3, 6-1

An interview with: ROGER FEDERER

Q. It's quite amazing to watch how you anticipate where the next ground stroke is coming at you. Is it truly instinctual or do you actually study your opponents, looking for tendencies or things that will tell you where the ball is probably going to go?

ROGER FEDERER: I do not study my opponents to where I know exactly where they're going to go, because players these days, I have the feeling that at the last moment they can just flick the wrist and the ball goes the other way. I think you know maybe where they might go off your shot, you know, so you anticipate it. But you can always be wrong as well. But I think I just have a good feel for the sense where they might just go in this particular moment, and I think this is what I do well. I mix it up a lot with different, you know, spins, slice or topspin, and really try not to give them the same look twice in a row. I think that makes it hard for my opponent to get rhythm, you know. But, again, things can change very quickly so...

Q. As opening matches go, how would you rate this one today?

ROGER FEDERER: It was good. I'm very happy. I'm happy I got used to the humidity because it is very different to Indian Wells. It's always hard, you know, to start a tournament. But I actually felt quite comfortable and quite confident also going into today's match, even though I have a lot of respect for the player he is and of course the person anyway, because I know him very well and he's a good friend of mine. He's had a good start to the season. Especially on this type of surface he is very good. To beat him 3 and 1 is a good effort.

Q. What do you know about your next match against Mariano Zabaleta?

ROGER FEDERER: We played a few times - one time here, where I lost; we played in Monte-Carlo one time, where I won. I don't remember the other matches. But he's been around since I'm around. He was also an excellent junior, like I was. Maybe he wasn't as good the last couple of years, because when I came he was very strong. But he is on his way back and playing great, you know, because beating Srichaphan here on hard court is a good effort. I'm looking forward to a tough match.

Q. How much extra incentive is there because this is a tournament you have not won?

ROGER FEDERER: For me it doesn't change very much. I've been in the finals before, so you've lived through the last day of the competition, which is nice. I played Agassi, which is an unbelievable experience for me. Of course it would be nice to win every tournament you haven't won. But the motivation is there anyway to win back-to-back Masters Series, so I'll try to do that.

Q. Do you remember in 1998, when you were 18 years, playing Coria on that court?

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I do. I thought about it today. I spoke to a friend today and I told him when I was watching Coria before my match, I said on this court I beat him in '98 for the Orange Bowl, yeah. It was fantastic because I think it was the first year at Crandon Park here. I remember. It was a good week, yeah. I remember (smiling).

Q. When you play in conditions like this, how much of it is mental, how much of it is physical for you to get through a match?

ROGER FEDERER: I would say it's 50/50. You know, everywhere you touch, it's wet, you know. It's a wet atmosphere out there. You know, it's just so different to Indian Wells, you know, I almost wish Miami was before so when you go to Indian Wells it's really no problem with the heat. But the humidity is really a big factor here in Miami. Here you really can see who is fit and who is not fit, I have the feeling. I felt good out there today, so this is a good sign for the rest of the tournament.

Q. A match like today's that was so routine, does it still feel like fun, or is it more like work just to get through?

ROGER FEDERER: No, no, it felt like fun out there, especially against a player who you know well off the court. It's a very fair match. I had a lot of fun. I played well, you know, hit a couple of good shots, surprised myself. I really thought I really served well, which always put the pressure on him anyway. I'm very happy to always come through the first-round matches because those are the ones which are the most difficult, I have the feeling.

Q. With the conditions so different between Indian Wells and Miami, what do you have to adjust in your game?

ROGER FEDERER: Well, nothing, really. Just the big difference is the humidity, you know, so you have to make sure you got the practice sessions in and the feeling, you know, for, you know, that your hands are wet, whatever, is totally different to Indian Wells. Because the balls are the same, the surface is almost the same, you know. Just you have a little bit more wind here and you've got the humidity, so you have to really get used to that. If you don't, you know, it seems you're going to hit the wall. I'm happy I didn't do that today. Now that I'm past the first round, I'm also not scared it's not going to happen throughout this tournament, which is good.

Q. You have so many service deliveries you can make from any side. Do you decide where you're going to serve the ball when you step to the baseline, or when you take the balls do you have in mind that you'll go up the T or go for the slice that time?

ROGER FEDERER: I think once you get the balls, you know, from the ball boy, you kind of make up your mind. Then you think quickly, you know, what has worked well the last couple of service games, you know, what is your best serve and which serve you would like to give him again, you know. Then all this combination makes you hit, let's say, down the T. And then you decide if you go 100% or an 80%. There's a lot of things happen very quickly, you know. You don't have much time. But once you're in the rhythm, you know, you don't actually think about it when you actually take the decision; it just happens. Once you stand at the baseline, you have to take a decision, you know, so you just hit it in the box really.

Q. Are you the type of player that, let's say, if you're hitting a slice serve from the deuce court, it's very effective time after time, that you don't want to give him too many of those so he grooves into it?

ROGER FEDERER: Well, depends. Depends how many he hit good, you know. If he didn't get one in, you just keep on serving until he puts one in, then you maybe change it up. If he starts to pick it up, you know, of course you maybe want to just change it up and hit one into the body, you know, just to give him a little bit of doubt just on this particular serve. Yeah, and sometimes, it seems like this guy is just reading your serve perfectly, you know. Today wasn't the case. I think he was really struggling with my serve, and that made life easy for me today.

Q. How confident are you not just from match to match, but tournament to tournament because you've played so well for as long as you have?

ROGER FEDERER: Well, there's always a little bit of feeling in the back of my mind like, "I hope I get through this first round, and I hope I get another good week." Once I walk away as a winner, like in Indian Wells, I'm kind of surprised, you know, because I arrived there, there's so many great players, I look at the draw, it's tough. Suddenly, I'm there with the trophy. So it is quite amazing. I just try to back it up and give myself the best preparation I can have, and it just seems like it's working at the moment. Really why, it's hard to tell for me.

Q. How often do you talk to Tony Roche?

ROGER FEDERER: Occasionally, you know, if I've got questions I can call him. Looking forward to see him, you know, during the clay court season. He's going to come a bit. He's going to come to the French as well. It's good, good to have him in my corner.

Q. Would you talk to him during this event at all or probably not?

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, probably.

Q. When you were much younger did you have an exercise where a rope was placed and you had to topspin the ball with as much top as possible just over the rope, and the rope would go a little bit higher each time? Does that sound vaguely familiar?

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, well, when I was 14, we had Sven Groenefeld as a coach for a little while. He used to put extra rope over the net, over the regular tennis net, you know, because we were making so many mistakes and the court was so quick. So by hitting it higher, of course the ball doesn't skid through as much, and we had to play more safe and it was very hard to hit winners. So we had to play with more spin, which actually now was a very good exercise because in wintertimes, you know, we would play on this lightning quick surface where you couldn't get any rhythm, you know, and like this you would. It was good exercise.

Q. Is that what helped you develop the great wrist snap that you have?

ROGER FEDERER: Who knows, I don't know. I don't know where it comes from.

Q. Yesterday, a player was disqualified or defaulted for swearing. Have you ever been in a situation like this, and what is your take on what happened yesterday?

ROGER FEDERER: Well, you know, I'm disappointed for him, you know, because you walk away and it's like you didn't even play the tournament, you know. You don't get no prize money, no points, no nothing. So it's tough for him. But I guess he knows what happened. I just heard in the locker room a little bit, you know, so I cannot comment too much on it. But I know the player, and he's a good guy, you know. That it happens sometimes to these players is unfortunate, you know, but you just have to be able to control yourself. So that's what I can say.

Q. How much do you feel the players feel your presence right now according to your records lately?

ROGER FEDERER: You have to ask them. Don't ask me (smiling).

Q. You don't think about that?

ROGER FEDERER: I don't think about it, no.

Q. Jim Courier used to go in the locker room when he was at his best and he could feel people looking at him because they feared him.

ROGER FEDERER: Well... I feel they're looking at me, too, you know, but I don't know if it's fear (laughing).

Q. What else would it be?

ROGER FEDERER: I don't know. Ask them what it is (laughing).

Q. Are you going to South Beach tonight?

ROGER FEDERER: Who knows? Yeah, I might.

Q. Where are you going to go (laughter)?

ROGER FEDERER: What, are you sending the paparazzis by or what (laughing)? No, no, no, I might be there, but I might be somewhere else as well. Yeah, it's a good place to be.

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