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November 17, 2007
Masters Cup Shanghai Semifinal
By ASAP Sports
R. FEDERER/R. Nadal 6-4, 6-1
An interview with: ROGER FEDERER
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. Couldn't be nearly as easy as you made it look tonight. Do you want to tell us about it?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, thanks. Yeah, I mean, it was one of those nights,
you know, when I played really well and, you know, felt good. Similar
as yesterday in some ways, you know.
I expected it was going to be a different match, you know, because of
the different type of opponent I had to play today. I was really
pleased with my performance for the last one and a half sets. Before
that it was tough. Rafa had a bit of the upper hand. But after that, I
got in the zone and played incredibly.
Q. This is the fifth matchup against Rafa this year. What does this matchup mean to you? Is it proving No. 1 or anything?
ROGER FEDERER: The end was?
Q. Is it proving No. 1? ROGER FEDERER: No, I mean, I
don't think one match proves the whole thing, you know. But it's
definitely to some degree important for me to always beat the second
best player in the world. We've been up there for so long now. Our
rivalry has really grown, especially with the finals we had in
Wimbledon, which was really, really close, you know, where he showed
how great he also is on different surfaces yet again.
So for me to beat him on hard court indoors is a great result. And the
way I played today, I wish I could play every time like this against
him. But it's not that easy.
Q. In the first set, you were behind Love-40 and hit a lot of aces. How could you manage to do that?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, you know, you always fall behind in scores. All
you got to do is think positive. I was serving really well throughout
the week, so I knew if I hit a few good first serves, maybe I mix it up
a little bit, it would be tough for him to win the game after all.
I was happy to serve I think it was 3-All, I don't know if it was four
straight aces, because I think he might have touched the last one.
For me it was a great comeback. I was really pleased with my serving performance today. It was key to beating Rafa tonight.
Q. Some people were suggesting after you lost your first-round
match and after you'd lost in Paris that maybe you were starting to
slip a little bit. Did that motivate you at all? Because you've been so
dominant the last three matches. ROGER FEDERER: No, I mean,
look, I didn't read the press that closely and listen to what the
people said that much. You know, I mean, I hear rumors, you know, that
people are talking to some degree.
But I nearly hear nothing really from what is really is probably going
on. That's the way to do it for me. I knew the reasons why I lost in
Paris. I knew the reasons why I lost my first-round matches. It's very
important to analyze it frankly and openly to yourself.
I'm very honest in my losses, why I lose. I think in the long run that
is a good thing. I turned it around. That was also key. I played a
tough match against Davydenko, you know. After all, that wasn't the
easy one to win, you know, in some ways because of the way he played
also against González.
I'm happy to have proved myself, you know, yet again. It was similar at
the US Open. I was sort of struggling a little bit to get to the last
16 or quarters, and then I beat everybody in straight sets. Davydenko,
Roddick and Djokovic. So here a similar thing.
But, you know, the big picture was trying to win here, not winning my
group or anything. I'm exactly where I wanted to be. I got a shot at
the title now so it's a great feeling, yeah.
Q. Another question about your service game. How big an improvement
do you think you made in your serve compared to three or four years
ago? Do you think you rely on your serve much more than before?
ROGER FEDERER: No. I mean, I think I've been serving pretty much the
same than maybe still three or four years ago. I've had better times
and worse times obviously. But my second serve has always been very
consistent, very solid. I don't serve many double-faults. I have a very
good kick, good variety.
For me key has been, you know, serving close to the lines and, you
know, serving consistently over 55, 60%, you know, that's on a good
serving today. So today I was way higher than that. I was way over 80%.
I don't like to read too much into the statistics in any way, but it is
important to serve well, especially indoors. It's going to give you a
huge advantage.
Q. Watching last night's match against Andy, one was tempted to
conclude he really lacks the tools and variety to challenge you, at
least at the moment. If you compare tonight's match with yesterday's
match, it's a similar pattern. When you're playing like this, are there
any answers to your game you see on the horizon in the men's game? Is
there any difference between the challenge you felt in the course of
the match between tonight and last night? ROGER FEDERER:
Well, look, it's always been my big strength. Once I get on a roll it's
hard to stop me. It's always been like this. Even in my young days, you
know, as a junior, I was always so talented. Back then I didn't work
hard enough yet to put it all together, you know, for, I don't know,
let's say six games or, you know, two sets or something.
Now I can. Now I can even pull it even through even longer and against
the best in the world. I've beaten Rafa before 6-Love in a set. I've
beaten the best very convincingly. But for me it's great to do it over
and over again, you know, over many months, many years.
When it happens again for me, it's not as big of a surprise because
this is why I work my tail off basically. That it all pays off in the
end, it seems it's paying off again, you know, with my good
preparation, my good scheduling. It's always nice when you can beat
guys like Andy or Rafa, obviously.
Q. Now you're facing David Ferrer, who is the best performing
player in this tournament. Your record against him is 7-0. Do you think
you're going to beat him quickly like this match, within one hour?
ROGER FEDERER: I don't think one hour. If I would, that would be a big,
big surprise because it's best-of-five sets (smiling). I've never
kicked the one-hour barrier. Seems like I'm aiming for it, but...
David has been the best player of the tournament. He's been beating
unbelievable players along the way, you know, to get so far. I've had
my fair share of experiences, you know, with guys who beat the best
beating me also in the end. I tried to stop that trend this week.
With hopefully the great record against him, I can use that to beat him
tomorrow. But I've practiced with him actually before the tournament
started. We had a great practice session where I thought he was already
playing very well.
In some ways I'm surprised he made it to the finals, but in the end
after all probably not. Because the way he played in the round robin
and really beat Roddick today was fantastic to see. It's going to be a
great match tomorrow with long rallies, tough rallies. Yeah, that's
what I'm looking forward to anyway.
Q. You talk about it's important to analyze when you have the
setbacks. Can you be pragmatic about it? Us mere mortals, if we have a
bad day at work, we go home, worry about it, maybe toss and turn, sleep
is a bit difficult. Can you put it out of your mind after you've
analyzed it? ROGER FEDERER: Well, what is a bad spell or a
bad time? Losing against Nalbandian who just came off winning Madrid
and stuff, for me that's not a bad time losing back-to-back matches. If
I could have lost one match the entire year, it was probably the one
against González I could really afford it.
It didn't really set me back that much like maybe people have thought.
I wish I could have played better. But, honestly, Nalbandian was
playing unbelievably in Madrid and Paris. Sometimes people don't like
to face the truth. But when he's on, he's on. I've got to feel that
eight times, you know, unfortunately.
So finally has been able to play against Nadal, because Nadal never
played Nalbandian when he was at his best, and other players as well.
So I'm happy they got the experience of playing against him.
For me, honestly, I was aware of how good my season has been, you know,
how good I felt. I didn't have physical problems. I've been playing
actually also pretty well. I was playing with confidence during Madrid,
Basel and Paris, and now I'm playing again with my strengths, you know,
with my best game.
Then obviously the best shots come out of me when I really do feel well
actually, not just playing with confidence. That's usually when I
actually do play very well. Sometimes after coming from a long layover,
beginning of the year, I've had two, three weeks of practice sessions,
and then I come in and I play my best. Look at the Australian Open this
year. This is really when I could show my best.
No, I mean, maybe it takes a day, like I told you, a day or two. After that you move on, yeah.
Q. You're now playing David Ferrer. The head-to-head with him is
really in your favor. Which parts of your game make it so difficult for
him to play against you? ROGER FEDERER: Well, yeah, I mean,
not to overrate, as well. I played him many times when he was just
coming up, indoors, you know. I was No. 1 in the world, he was 50. I
mean, you don't expect him to beat me right then, you know. So I've had
probably three or four matches like that. After that, I had some tough
ones. I had a tough one in Basel I think last year. I had a tough one
against him in Hamburg this year, which was really close. I mean, of
course, it was on clay, but I've beaten him on clay on many occasions
as well. It's open on any surface I think.
He's really improved on the quick courts. He's improved his serve. He's
way more consistent. Mentally I think he's also stronger, whereas
before he would get down on himself very quickly. So I really look at
only the last couple matches we've played, and they have been close.
Yeah, I mean, I think my variety, slice, being able to come to the net,
you know, having a huge forehand, you know, being able to take, you
know, time away from him, that's my big strength against him, against
everybody. So we'll see how it is tomorrow because he's been practicing
really well, like I told you.
Yeah, I'm also excited to see actually how we're going to match up this time around after him playing so, so well.
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