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Saturday, October 21, 2006
Madrid AMS Semifinal
By ASAP Sports
R. FEDERER/D. Nalbandian 6-4, 6-0
An interview with: ROGER FEDERER
Q. Very bad match today. You lost your serve once.
What happened?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, what happened? It was great.
I knew it was going to be tough. Nalbandian, look at the record
between him and myself. I lost to him many times in the
beginning. We've had some close ones recently in Rome and
Shanghai and also at the French Open before he retired.
I'm really pleased with the way I played. I could really play
aggressive, play my game. I served pretty well. He's
obviously the best return player I've played all week. It was an
excellent match for a semi finals. That's for sure.
Q. What did you do better today than the other days against him?
ROGER FEDERER: You're just talking about David now?
Q. Yes, David.
ROGER FEDERER: I always feel like it has to do also with him,
how he plays. Sometimes he just returns way better, and
sometimes he just doesn't read it very well. That was what I
could do well today, served well in the beginning and then always mix
it up well. That's what happened also in the first round in
Shanghai, and it didn't happen in the finals. He picked all the
serves.
He definitely made more errors today, but I think I forced him to by
playing aggressive. It depends on how well I play and how he
plays. And today it all went my way, which is good.
Q. Did you also feel that you were able to move and hit more
freely after winning the first set?
ROGER FEDERER: You always kind of tend to feel better obviously
because the other guy is more under pressure. He makes one more
mistake and the match is kind of running away from him. I
definitely try to put the pressure on in the beginning. It
doesn't mean I'm hitting freely. It means I'm trying to play
solid, make the other player work hard.
Hopefully, when I have the chance to play aggressive, then I do, and
play well. The second set was phenomenal and I thought this is
when I could start to hit freely, hit the returns more, take more
chances. It all worked out. It was great.
Q. The second set, can you describe for us -- we are human
beings, you are not. But what was the feeling in the second set
when you were able to hit everywhere, every shot? What were you
feeling?
ROGER FEDERER: It's a great feeling. At 3-love you start
to feel like this is his last chance he has. If he plays another
average game, it's not going to be enough because by now I feel great.
Then you also feel the spectators start to wonder is this going to be
over in two minutes or is it going to be over in one hour.
They're all hoping for more. It's just more and more good shots
coming from my end. It was actually great fun for me of course,
because I make them kind of feel that they're living through something
special maybe. I don't know. In the end I told myself I
might as well go for it. And then it all worked out.
It's really a feeling you don't get very often. It's like what I
explained. He was tired and everything. It was good.
Q. You played three tie breaks, four matches in straight sets.
Is that the ideal way with which to go into the final?
ROGER FEDERER: It wouldn't matter really how to get to the
finals as long as you get there. I feel I'm tough enough
physically to handle all these matches no matter if they all go three
hours. Don't forget the seeds only need five matches to win
instead of six. So that helps us, obviously.
I think it's been a very solid and good tournament so far. This
was by far my best match. And I hope that with the best of five
match tomorrow I can have a good start and hopefully roll away.
It's going to be difficult. They're dangerous players, both of
them. We'll see what happened.
Q. You played great on the second set. I still have a
question for you. On your shots, which shots do you think has
the most margin to be perfected?
ROGER FEDERER: I play with what I've got. And I know my
strengths and a bit of my weaknesses. And I know what works
better for me and what doesn't work so well. And I think I know
when to go for shots and when I should play it a bit more safe.
I feel I have my biggest margin on my forehand just because it's always
been my shot I attacked with. It keeps me in the rally.
It saves me and everything.
My back hand has really improved in defense. It used to be on
the attack was a slice, and then I started to stay more back and my
back hand I had to be more steady. That was what I was
struggling with in the past.
I have gotten steady. I have got the variation of the slice and
the back spin. I definitely feel I can improve the return on the
drive, I play with what I have, and I try to improve bit by bit.
Practicing a lot with Tony. We're going to work on that again at
the end of the year, and hopefully I'm a bit better again next year.
Q. You were Junior World Champion, and for a while you didn't
get your game on top. I saw you lose the first round in
Challenger to John Barcells. Can you point out one thing that
got to you the pro level, to maybe jump to another level?
ROGER FEDERER: I think the juniors always have a struggle
eventually. You can't come out of juniors and win four Grand
Slams. Obviously you're going to be told you still need more
time. It's obvious. We're playing grown men who have
beards and who have been around. We're just coming along.
It's kind of tough.
I thought I made the jump actually pretty quickly. The last year
of juniors I was already playing seniors as well. I finished 300
to No. 1 in the world, after I was 65. The tournament that
helped me most was Marseille when I beat Moya when he was 4 in the
world and I was 200 or something.
I played quarter finals in Rotterdam as well and within two months I
went from 300 to 120. Then I had to struggle for a few months,
but then I finished 65. I always had a consistent improvement
until I became No. 1. Since I've stayed at No. 1.
Q. Do you watch your matches? Do you tape your matches
and watch them regularly?
ROGER FEDERER: The ATP gives the matches to me, but I have very
little time to sit down and watch my matches anymore. I used to
do that coming up. I just have no time anymore.
Q. There's a chance you will play with Fernando tomorrow.
What do you think about him?
ROGER FEDERER: He's been on a good run. He played in the
finals of Vienna. I know he can play very well indoors.
He just qualified for the Masters last year and should have won to play
against me, but ended up losing. So I played Gaston. I've
had some good matches with Fernando, even though I beat him every time.
I think he's improved over the last few years. He's
become more steady. His forehand is still as dangerous as
always. I think the indoor takes away that sun and wind and
everything factor. So he hits the ball even better. It's
a difficult match if it were Gonzalez. But the same for Berdych.
Indoors we can see what he can do. He won Bercy and beat
Nadal again yesterday. It will be a tough final.
Q. David Nalbandian had no coach at the beginning of the season.
Did you have at some stage in the match today of playing against
somebody without guidance, without game plan?
ROGER FEDERER: No. No. I didn't even know he
didn't have a coach. He has two guys travelling with him.
That is like a team as well. And I always said that a player
needs to decide for himself if he has only his girlfriend with him or
he travels alone or he has a coach or a condition trainer or physio or
whatever it is. He needs to know what his game needs. If
he thinks no coach, I think that's the right decision. For me it
worked out in '04.
I'm here this week also having no coach. I only have friends and
my girlfriend. It also seems to work out.
Q. Is to have a coach less important than in the Connors,
McEnroe, Villas era?
ROGER FEDERER: They didn't have coaches before that era.
Then the coaches came. Now sometimes they go again.
That's a normal way of going at things. It's just a coincidence
that there's times when many of the top players are looking for coaches
because maybe they've been together for a long time or something didn't
work out. But the coaching was definitely a trend for about
10-20 years, where I think today players realize that it's maybe not
always what they need.
Q. Any thoughts when Nalbandian challenged the last point in the
first set?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah. Might as well.
Q. Sorry?
ROGER FEDERER: Why not.
Q. But because you're opposed to Hawk-Eye, did you find that
funny as well? You said you found that funny in the past when
you have to wait. Well, this time the set was decided on a
review?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, it's obviously awkward. They're not
looking at you. They're looking at the big screen. So
it's okay.
Q. On the court you said you are not surprised that Berdych beat
Nadal on that surface. Can you explain why he's so dangerous on
such a surface, Berdych.
ROGER FEDERER: Not only on this surface. I played him at
the French Open. I played him at Wimbleton. I played him
elsewhere as well on clay in Hamburg, other places -- in the Olympics
obviously. I've played him basically on all surfaces.
He's got one of the biggest games out there. If he plays well he
can basically beat anybody. He's kind of a Safin type.
He's just got the big shots. It seems like his game really
matches up well with Rafa. That's why I knew it was going to be
a really difficult match for Rafa.
Q. I was taught that a forehand drop shot would be the biggest
weapon to compliment your thundering forehand against Nadal.
I've heard some mixed feelings for the use of the drop shot. You
told me once it would be great to use that as to have a forehand drop
shot. Then I've also read somewhere that you had mixed feelings
against the use of the drop shot.
ROGER FEDERER: No. What I meant is I don't need drop
shots to win a match. Because I feel in any situation I can
always hit a winner with my fore hand, so why hit a drop shot. I
can open up the court so well with my forehand, that I never really
used it or needed it.
It's just because other players played it, and sometimes it does work.
Then you feel like you've almost got to do it yourself as well.
I just use it for variation. Sometimes I use my back hand
because there I can disguise it more because I don't know if I can play
the slice long or short. On the forehand side I will pretty much
always use the classic forehand. All right.
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