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April 13, 2005
Monte Carlo AMS Second Round
By ASAP Sports
R. FEDERER/A. Montanes
6-3, 6-4
An interview with: ROGER FEDERER
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. Spanish player on clay, it's always a good test?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I think so. Yeah, you're right. Yeah, you
could see the difference between today's and yesterday's match. It's
obvious. He plays much further back. The rallies are played very
differently. Of course now I've played two lefties in a row, you know,
so it was a change again to play against a right-hander even though I
practice a lot with them. In the match, again, the rallies are very
different. But, no, I thought it was a solid performance and what I
needed today, so...
Q. Suddenly, you're playing all these left-handers. We were saying
there were so few on the tour. Now you've been playing one after the
other.
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, so for this reason, you know, it's good to
play a righty again. Those are almost the classic matchups, lefties
against righties. You always have the feeling that the rallies are very
different. Yeah, so today was good, you know. He's got a very simple
kick serve, actually, but it takes off and you have to get used to it
to return it, especially on the ad side. I was struggling at the
beginning but started to play better. I'm happy with today's
performance.
Q. You're not looking as convincing on your serve as you usually do. Is this a worry for you?
ROGER FEDERER: No, no. Not really.
Q. Roger, is it a kind of distraction not to close it out when you're two breaks up and serving 5-2?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, not a huge concern, you know, because you
got the cushion of two breaks. But, yeah, you want to have a good start
on your last service game, you know. He messed up with the one dropshot
he wanted to hit at 0-0, you know, 5-4. That would have put him in a
good position, you know, if he would have won that point. But from then
on, it was over. But, yeah, I'm happy to in the end come through. I've
had some matches in the past over the years, you know, where you're up
a break and you lose the game and you lose the set and, in the end, you
know, could end up losing the match. So it kind of makes you a little
nervous. But today I felt good on my serve. I think for this reason I
wasn't really in a panic reaction. So it was good.
Q. Can you just talk a little bit about the next match, whether it would be Fernando or Mario?
ROGER FEDERER: They haven't played yet?
Q. No.
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, so it's going to be quite different, I
think. They play with much more power than Montanes today. Of course,
Mario, I've played him now over the last couple months twice, so I know
how he plays. Gonzalez is always good on clay. I beat him in Hamburg
last year, I think in the third round it was. On any given day he can
beat anybody on clay. So it's a dangerous matchup, you know, either
way. Because you know Mario has got the big serve and puts pressure on
you to hold your own serve. On clay he might be playing very different;
I don't know. But he beat Kuerten, so it shows he's playing well.
Looking forward to a tough match, of course. Now the tough opponents
are really coming, so I'd rather make sure I'm playing well.
Q. Is it much quicker here when there's a sunny day like today?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I had the feeling, you know, it was more
difficult to return but also easier to serve, you know. So those are
the reasons. Yeah, it was quite a big difference to yesterday, yeah.
Q. You've made no secret of the fact that your chief aim this year
is to retain your Wimbledon title. Is it about records? I mean, is it
the four of Sampras, the five of Borg that you're after, or is it
something else?
ROGER FEDERER: No, no, not really. It's just it's my favorite
tournament. It's the one I've always looked up to. My idols, Becker and
Edberg, this is where they played well. This is where I remember it was
the most coverage on TV. Always wanted to, you know, maybe play myself
there or be just like them. That was the obvious court, Wimbledon
Centre Court. For this reason it will always stay my number one dream
tournament to win. It doesn't mean for me the French is not important.
In my mind, in the back of my mind, I know I've got the French, you
know, and not Wimbledon. So I think that is also a good sign. It really
shows the importance of the upcoming clay court season and the French
Open, yeah.
Q. Are you going to reconsider your position in Davis Cup? Are you going to play this year or...?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I'm waiting for the draw, you know, in a
way. I think it's on the 3rd of May, is it, and see what happens. But
I'm planning to play, so this is the plan for the moment.
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