|
August 19, 2007
Cincinnati AMS Final
By ASAP Sports
R. FEDERER/J. Blake 6-1, 6-4
An interview with: ROGER FEDERER
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. 50 titles. Is that significant for you?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, it's not a goal I set myself in my career, but
it's definitely a nice number to get to, especially in terms of titles.
You know, it's really a lot, you know, so it's great.
Q. Half of them being Grand Slams and Masters Series, are you proud of that as well?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, that's usually what I play the most, so I expect
myself to win those a little bit on the way. But I used to have tough
times in Grand Slams and Masters Series, believe it or not in the
beginning of my career.
So to come through and win that many Masters Series and Grand Slams,
that's a great surprise, and I hope to keep it up from now on.
Q. Not to talk about the Pete Sampras Grand Slam record but, do you think about the overall singles titles, being 109?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, not really.
Q. Is it just too far away?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah. It's way too far away. I'm not even halfway. They
had some different type of tournaments back in the day when Connor
still played. I don't want to say they were easier to win, but maybe
they used also to play many more tournaments than I did.
It's not something I'm gunning for at all. Try to have consist seasons
with a lot of titles, as many as possible, and try to focus on the
Grand Slams and the Masters Series.
Q. How much do you think you've changed as a player this week going from your first match here to the last match?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, it was quite different just in terms of the
feeling I had on the court. You know, it's always a hard to analyze a
first round match and then analyze a final. You look at things totally
different.
I was mentally much more relaxed today than I was in the first round. I
was playing really worried in the first round this week. So obviously
you're going to come into the press room saying, you know, It was 3 3.
I mean, I won, which is great, but deep down I know I didn't feel good
because every point I played I was worried that I was going lose it.
That was totally different today. I felt I was going to win every
point, and that's just huge change of the maybe mental ability, I don't
know. But I've had many tournaments I've won happening this way. I
didn't feel great in the first round and towards the end of the
tournament I played the best tennis of my life, and that was similar
today.
Q. How much pressure were you feeling in the first set on your second serve? Was really gunning those returns.
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, I knew that the first serve, to get that
one in was key. If it was an ace, even better. I knew that James was
going to take huge chances on my second serve, and that's why it was
important to mix it up and try to stay calm and actually really believe
that those first serves were going to come eventually.
I really won all the big points today and I played good at the right
times. Took the right choices, so I thought it was a very smart match
today.
Q. What about the last two service games, second serve aces to finish the match.
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah. Was it Roy Emerson who said, "You're only as good
as your second serve." I feel I've always really been very tough on my
second serve. Not giving away many double faults or easy returns for my
opponent. On top of that, if you can mix it up with surprises once in a
while, why not?
It's tough to do under pressure, but today it worked and I was delighted about that.
Q. Did you know there was that many Swiss people in Cincinnati signing autographs after the match?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah. It was exciting see the Swiss cross with the
national anthem. That's not something you hear every day, so that was
very definitely very special. People showing colors, it's good.
Q. Are you feeling exactly where you want to be going into the US Open?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah. I mean, it's been my best summer here. I've won a
tournament and then either lost first or second round, or then I didn't
play and then I won Cincinnati.
So this is the best run I've ever had. Plus, I mean, last week I was so
close that it was a pity I lost, but I did play, you know, great the
entire week there. I played too well in the opening matches and didn't
get it together in the finals.
But maybe that was a good thing, too. Made me want to win here this
week, too. So to come through and play ten matches in, I don't know how
many days it was, it's a great effort for me. Yeah, now I'm confident
I'm going to be fine at the US Open.
Q. Earlier in the week you talked about trying to construct a schedule
that would allow to you play until you're like 35. How do you go about
doing that? ROGER FEDERER: Speak a lot to my conditioning trainer.
We decide together what tournaments I want to play. I don't do it with
my coach. I don't do it with anybody else. My condition trainer is my
girlfriend, si we sit down ask say, What do you want to play next year?
These are the options and these are the weeks I want to work and these
are the weeks when I want off time.
I know my schedule all the way until the end of 2008 already. That's a
good thing for me mentally knowing what's coming ahead, you know, what
to expect. Because the unexpected is hard it deal with. I also just
always make sure I have enough of everything: Enough matches, enough
preparation, enough practice, and then also enough vacation.
So I really take a lot of take it very, very serious. And I don't ever
want to overplay so I get the chance of becoming injuries.
Q. Where do you keep all these trophies?
ROGER FEDERER: In my trophy room.
Q. How big is the trophy room?
ROGER FEDERER: It's grown to about office size. So it's great, yeah.
It's great. Yeah, it's great. I have what do you call it when it's
behind the glass?
Q. Display cabinet.
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah. So you don't have to dust them off all the time.
So I got that problem served by having them behind glass.
Q. What do you hope to achieve outside tennis?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, at the moment I'm still very much in it, you know.
The Roger Federer Foundation gives me an opportunity to do something
else. You know, UNICEF Goodwill ambassador. For me those things are
important, you know. I've grown also into much more of a business,
Roger Federer Management has become very interesting for me. Not
working with IMG for a couple years and now I'm back together with them
and it's going well.
Just thinking of many different options, so I'm very much involved in
the day to day decision making. So maybe that's going to affect me
later on in my career, so we'll see.
Q. Am I right in saying tomorrow you'll be No. 1 for the same number of week as Steffi Graf, 186?
ROGER FEDERER: I don't know.
Q. What does that mean to you? Pushed ahead to be the best ever, man or woman?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I'm not competing against her because then I'm
still a long way of everything. But it is definitely special to break
such records. The women's tour is much more extreme records for some
reason, because when they dominated they dominated forever.
In the men's game it was a bit different. So, yeah, records like this, yeah, don't mean the world to me but they're nice.
Q. Assuming you're in the No. 1 until your 35, can you envision trying
to fight to get into the top 20 like Moya or Agassi when he fell way
back? How is that going to be for you? ROGER FEDERER: Well, look at
your ranking. As long as you get into the tournaments, that's what
matters. The Moyas and the Agassis, and back then even the Samprases,
they were No. 1 in the world and have Slams to their name.
What matters is that you get all the tournaments without a problem. The
higher you're ranked the better it is to be seeded and to get a more
favorable draw.
But if you look at, you know, making the big break or still having one
of those bigtime tournaments left in you, that's what Moya has been
doing, and Agassi was giving himself a chance. Moya is fighting back
again, so I don't think ranking matters much at this stage. You start
to aim more for titles and what's left in you.
But for me, as long as I'm No. 1 and close to it that's when where I
want to be. I'm in a different position than maybe five, six, seven,
eight years from now.
|
