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Sunday, June 18, 2006
Halle Final
By Gerry Weber Open Official Site
R. FEDERER/T. Berdych 6-0, 6-7 (4-7), 6-2
An interview with: ROGER FEDERER
Q: Well done. At the start of the week you said
you weren’t too concerned about equalling Borg’s record on grass. But I
bet you are? FEDERER: I’m surprised myself that I came so far. I
really thought the draw was exceptionally tough for this kind of a
tournament. I know how lucky I got in a couple of matches. I really
fought my heart of and it paid of with the tournament victory and
equalling Borg’s record. That’s obviously very nice. But just being
able to defend this title is great, winning for the fourth consecutive
time is something I’ve never done. So, it’s a great moment in my
career.
Q: Is it right that when Nadal broke Vilas’ record you phoned him up to congratulate him? FEDERER: No, not true.
Q: Will you come back here for a fifth time? FEDERER: I would
like to. It’s always in the stars what you’re going to do a year from
now. But this preparation has been working well for me. Queens is
obviously also an interesting tournament to play. But this has been
great for me. I will have a look into it. But I would like to come back
here. That’s for sure.
Q: You were serving for the game at 5:2 in the second. What happened? FEDERER:
I missed a few shots. The first backhand volley I missed was important.
To lose a game where you serve two aces, don’t make any double faults,
it’s kind of tough to lose that game. That should be enough on grass. I
was very disappointed to be broken at that stage. It’s not the first
time that happened this week. You have to be careful not to get too
down. Losing the tiebreak really hurts and you think ‘am I going to
lose the match too?’ And he’s jumping around on the other side of the
net and before he was walking with his head down. So, it was a pity.
But as disappointed as I was, I got up and said ‘let’s show that this
6:0 in the first was because I played excellent tennis’.
Q: So with that run of 41 matches and as much as you played in the
last year, you are injury free. How much is the work you have been
doing with Pierre Paganini on your fitness been a big factor in this
series of wins? FEDERER: You don’t feel it only on one match, but
you start to feel it during an entire tournament like this one. He told
me many times this week how happy he was that I came so far. And any
time I win, he cannot believe it, because he wasn’t too sure whether I
should play here and I told him that I would like to. I took him here
for a couple of days and we prepared ourselves. Once he left after the
first match, I played all these 3 setters. He couldn’t believe that I
came through. For me that’s a sign of paying off physical and mental
strength. I have never been as fit as today, especially after the
injury last year in Shanghai, I was struggling. So, I’m back in top
form and that’s important for the rest of the season.
Q: Can you compare each of the four tournaments here in Halle? FEDERER:
I think the last two years have been pretty similar because I came with
little preparation, came tired from Paris, mentally drained, but still
played and won. That was more like trying to get used to the grass a
quickly as possible and trying to survive the first couple of rounds.
Then take the momentum of winning along to try and win the tournament.
The first couple of years, I came here very early on the Wednesday
before. So, I had a good and long preparation. I always took Pierre
here. We worked a lot to make sure I don’t get injured or muscle pain.
So the first two were well prepared, the last two not really. I’ve
always had tough matches here. One final was one-sided against Fish.
Also before the four years I had a good run here in Halle. My first
grass court results came in Halle.
Q: Berdych said there is no way you can be beaten in Wimbledon? FEDERER:
We’ll see. It’s easy for him to say. I have to start an entire
tournament from scratch. Obviously he doesn’t quite understand how
tough a Grand Slam tournament is. It’s easy to come once in your career
into the quarters, but to do it on a consistent level is a different
question. I know I got the game to win Wimbledon, but to come out of
the blocks on Monday and then play good enough to come through that and
then to be strong enough not to let anything influence you, that’s the
part he does not know yet.
Q: That first Monday becomes extra special for you: not only are you
the defending champion but you are on the brink of a record that is
held by a tennis legend. FEDERER: It would be nice but I hope I can
get the win first, before we can celebrate. It’s very difficult to open
the tournament in Wimbledon. It’s maybe a privilege and an honour, but
at the same time you can be the first guy out of the tournament. So,
it’s a lot of pressure involved.
Q: What were you thinking when the tiebreak came? FEDERER: You
try and stay positive in such moments. I should have won the match 6:0,
6:3. But I fucked it up a little. I wanted to start well in the
tiebreak but doublefaulted. So, I was disappointed and had difficulties
to find my game. Especially with his serve, it isn’t easy. It was
difficult to get the balls back. But also after the lost second I tried
to stay positive and hope for a good third set. And that’s what
happened.
Q: Was this your toughest tournament week in Halle so far? FEDERER:
It’s difficult to compare it to the Grand Slams, but otherwise, yes, it
was one of the toughest. Directly from Paris, four 3-set matches, that
was tough. I once had a similar week in Gstaad after a Wimbledon
victory. It was a similar moment. That’s why it is a huge satisfaction
to sit here as the winner.
Q: There are many players, who after a defeat like at the French and
with the tiredness, would like to let a match go. But you always
succeed to think professionally and that you want to win. Do you hate
defeats that much? FEDERER: No. It’s just my attitude towards
tournaments that is different. I need to know that I can win a
tournament. In Hamburg that was not the case. I knew that it is
impossible for me to make it through the tournament physically and
mentally. And it would have been the wrong preparation for Paris and in
the end I might have paid the price for it. Here it was different. As
soon as I decide to play a tournament, then I know that I can make it
through the tournament 99% in case I make it to the final, physically
as well as mentally. I had the feeling that after the final in Paris, I
was fresh enough to play Halle. I don’t really like players who say, the
tournament is not important. Only the Slams are important. If I say I
come, then I will play tennis. Especially on grass it is good. Maybe it
was also good to come here after Paris to forget the match against
Nadal. Now, when I go to Wimbledon people will not ask me about Paris,
but about Halle. That’s also great mentally. So, there are many
positive aspects about this tournament. So, it paid off that I came and
that makes me even more happy.
Q: You said that you will go to Wimbledon early. Has anything changed? FEDERER: No. I will be in Wimbledon tomorrow.
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