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Sunday, June 4, 2006
Roland Garros Fourth Round
By Roland Garros Official Site
R. FEDERER/T. Berdych 6-3, 6-2, 6-3
An interview with: ROGER FEDERER
Q. Do you think the first match at the Olympics
is not knowing him, and now you have a different mindset? The guy is a
pretty powerful player and you're much more ready to play him the last
two times. ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, that's one I think
‑‑ one thing that changes now obviously over the years. I know him much
better. I know usually, you know, where he hits his shots and so forth.
His serve is obviously huge and it's tough to get it back. I
also think, you know, the conditions there were extremely hard for me
to play in. Somehow the ball was bouncing all over the place and I was
struggling all match long to control my balls, you know, the shots from
the baseline. I remember in the end, I just felt in the third like, if
I get out of this one, I'm really lucky. In the end, he got a little
lucky, because he hit a few on the lines when he needed them and so
forth. I couldn't hit a forehand, I didn't serve well, and I
couldn't read his serve. He deserved that win. So, I mean, again, you
know, it's clay. I think on hard court he's a better player than on
clay. Q. Considering it's another tournament where there's no Americans in the second round here, no American men, what advice would you give to the United States Tennis Association to help remedy the problems we're having on clay? ROGER
FEDERER: Well, I mean, I don't know (smiling). I don't see it as a
problem as serious as maybe you guys see it. The players, they know
they can do good stuff here at the French Open. I really thought ‑‑ actually, I believe if Andy would have been in good shape, I would have seen him at least in the quarters, honestly. You know, Blake beat a good player. Unfortunately, he lost today. I mean, they all know they can play on clay. So
I just think it's a matter of being able to back it up match after
match, you know, giving yourself opportunities. And sometimes, you
know, when you don't play enough clay court tournaments leading up to
the French Open, that's hard to do. So maybe that's what they should be doing more often. But,
listen, I'm not going to start giving advice to the other players. They
know what they've got to do for their games. I don't think the USTA has to do much. Q. You think it's more bad luck than something systemic in the US? ROGER FEDERER: I mean, it's obvious that they all grow up on hard court because that's the surface they have in the States.
The weather allows it, too. It's normal that they feel much more
comfortable on hard courts. You have also other players now, you know,
who can't play on hard courts because of the movement and everything. I mean, you have to give the Americans
a break, too. They didn't grow up on this stuff, but they can still
play on it, they can still be dangerous. It's just maybe they're not
the big favorites like they are elsewheres. Q. Can you look ahead to Mario in the next round. ROGER
FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, what a match he played. Was a lot of drama.
Obviously, I was watching it because I was just following him on that
court. So, no, I think it's a little bit of a surprise he gets
through that section of the draw. He's been playing really well on clay
lately. I mean, I'm not going to underestimate him at all because that
happened to me in Wimbledon when I lost to him. That's
not going to happen. He's a good player. He can shorten the points. He
can stay at the baseline, rally, he's a tough player. Q. I know it's boring to mention Nadal's name, but did you watch the game yesterday and any comments on it? ROGER
FEDERER: I saw the beginning and the end. I mean, it was too long to
see it all, I guess. No, it was ‑‑ that's what I expected really. So
for me that came as no surprise. I knew that if somebody can really
give him a fright, that's Mathieu. That's what he did. I think he fulfilled my expectations, what I see in Mathieu. You know, Raf,
he's tough. He gets you in the end, maybe mentally or physically. I
don't know, he's got more matches, knows the game even more, maybe is a
little more talented. So maybe that got him through yesterday. Q. Obviously, Mathieu is a different game than Hewitt. How do you see Hewitt against Nadal? ROGER FEDERER: I think that's a danger match for Nadal because you could think, well, I mean, Hewitt has only played three or four matches in two years on clay, but that's exactly maybe why he's dangerous, you know. They have I guess one match, and that's the one that Lleyton won at the Aussie Open. That's to his favor, even though it's on Australia where Lleyton feels most comfortable. I think that is a tough match to have. Q.
You're down to three matches left. Does that seem sort of funny, you've
played eight days and you're down with three matches to go? Is this a
different sort of tournament that starts from now on? ROGER
FEDERER: Well, I mean, I already felt much more comfortable going into
this match today. I felt very calm when I was warming up. When I
started serve, right away I hit an ace. I already had a good feeling
about today. I think that's just by being here for so long now, playing
some good matches early on. I feel like I'm really into the tournament.
So I believe from here on, my form is only going to get better.
Yeah, I'm obviously looking forward. As usual now, it really gets
interesting. THE MODERATOR: Questions in French. Q. I'd like to ask you the same question in French as in English. You watched Rafael Nadal yesterday. What did you think of it? ROGER FEDERER: I think Mathieu played a very good match. That's what I was expecting. I think Mathieu is a very good player on clay. I knew he could be dangerous for Nadal,
and he was for a number of sets, even until the end of the match. The
match was very long. I only saw the beginning and the end. But I think
he can be very satisfied with his match. Q. Were you impressed by Nadal or is it what you expected? ROGER FEDERER: No, I think it was normal. Q. Mario Ancic, a few words about him? ROGER FEDERER: This is an unexpected player at this level of the tournament, but he's beaten very good players, particularly Robredo
today. Though he found it rather tough, he did an incredible job to
come back in this match and to finally finish. He had a few problems,
as we could all see. But I think the next match will be dangerous for
me. Everybody expects me to win. I know that this player is dangerous.
He's beaten me in Wimbledon before. I had underestimated him. That's the last thing I'll do after tomorrow. Q. Could we summarize by saying you spent an excellent afternoon today? ROGER
FEDERER: Yes, it was a very good match. I'm very happy. From beginning
to end, I had the feeling that I was in the match. It's always a good
thing to finish a match quickly, to save energy and to be happy with
your tennis. Q. Berdych is not completely at ease on this surface. That was good for you, too. ROGER FEDERER: I don't completely agree. I think Berdych won his first title on clay. He was in the final in Bastad against Nadal as well. He has had some good matches on clay. He's played some good matches in the Davis Cup on clay. He's a player like Ancic.
He's very aggressive. This sort of player can be very dangerous on clay
because you're always accustomed to taking your time on clay. When
someone is always aggressive, it's not very easy. I'm glad I won in
three sets today.
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