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August 11, 2007
Montreal AMS Semifinal
By ASAP Sports
An interview with: ROGER FEDERER
R. FEDERER/R. Stepanek
7-6 (8-6), 6-2
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. How did you find Stepanek, and are you pleased with the
way you played today?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I was very happy the way I played. I
thought it was a tough match with a lot of crucial points, you know,
with a lot of shots played on reaction. I couldn't really dictate
play, you know, because he kept coming at me.
And
you know, I did well. I came up with some really nice passing
shots when I had to. And after while I also started to serve
really well, and pick up his own serve towards the second set, so I was
really happy with my performance.
It
was a bit easier physically again after yesterday's tough match against
Hewitt. So I'm happy with my performance, yeah.
Q. Why weren't you able to break him in the first set?
ROGER FEDERER: Messed up. You know, he served well
twice. And once on the second serve, I thought he was going to
come to the net and, yeah, he faked me. So I thought I had to go
for it more on the return. And instead of chipping it, I hit it
and I missed it, so that was my only chance, really.
After that, I was actually happy to make it to the tiebreaker.
Q. When you were down Love-40 in the first set, it just seemed
that you just kind of raised your level for a second. Is that
what happened?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, well, I don't know. I guess so.
But, look, he missed the return, I hit an ace, and maybe hit another
good point, you know. But I mean, it wasn't really my hands
there, Love-40. Would have also help somehow from your opponent,
you know. He's going to miss a couple of shots and the first
serves come when you need them.
And
I didn't go through it with three big aces, so I had to fight for
it. And it's always hard, Love-40 especially, because the
opponent can go for it once or twice, you know. And he's got less
pressure than the situations I was in. I was just at advantage,
you know. You can turn around much quicker from there.
Q. Any adjustments from the first set to the second set?
Seemed like you were handling a little better in the second set?
ROGER FEDERER: No, I thought I started to return better.
That was the key for me. I actually read his serve pretty well
through the entire match, you know. I think I really got very few
aces against me, which I was very happy about.
And,
yeah, from the baseline I thought I always had the upper hand, and that
was a good feeling to have, especially on my own service games, and
once if I would get into the rally against him. Also on his serve
I knew he was under pressure. So I did well today, I'm really
happy.
Q. You may not want to tempt the fates, but is this the best
restart that you've had post Wimbledon? You've played four very
good matches, and you seem to be not cruising, but certainly playing to
a very high standard. Is it the quickest and best restart you've
had post Wimbledon?
ROGER FEDERER: This match today?
Q. No, over all the years?
ROGER FEDERER: Through all the years?
Q. After Wimbledon, is this the best restart you've had?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, hard to tell. I mean, look, I played
twice Gstaad after, and then I took a break after that. So I
remember missing Montreal one time, and then I won Cincinnati. I
played pretty well there I remember, too. But I struggled against
Blake in the early round but that was a tough draw.
So I
think this is very good. I'm very happy because I was a bit
worried, you know. In practice I wasn't feeling all that great,
but I came through it, and like usual, once you get on the match court,
you always play better than the practice courts.
Q. Without Tony, did the practice go in any different way?
Did you do anything different?
ROGER FEDERER: It was obviously, yeah, practice was
different. I mean, I loved doing the practice sessions with
Tony. He was so intense, and we were on the same level. So
of course it was a pity he wasn't around, you know. But I've
managed to do it well with my Davis Cup captain was there, my condition
trainer was there. Two juniors flew in, and Yves was there as
well. So we had like a little camp there. Well, weather's
always going to be hot. So that was good looking ahead to next
week now.
Q. Players talk about you staying up there three and a half years
now at No. 1. Is it a question of maintaining? Or are you
still trying to improve?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, I'm still trying to improve
otherwise I wouldn't go on the practice courts. There is
still -- I think in tennis that is the fun part. Maybe in
golf or in -- maybe in soccer as well, I don't know, I can't
really relate to that so much. But I think we can always work on
something. The volley, the serve, the movement, forehand and the
backhand. There are so many shots you can hit in tennis, you
know, because it always comes a different way at you.
And
for this reason, I always strive to improve. That's also up with
of the reasons why I haven't had the same coach for 15 years, you know,
ten years because I always wanted to improve as a player. And
hopefully I can still do that in the years to come as well.
Q. What do you do for shoes on hard courts? It is pretty
grabby. Do you have to break them in or do you use a new pair
every time?
ROGER FEDERER: I try to break them in one time. I mean, a
half an hour warm-up would already be enough. And you know, Nike
did special custom shoes for me, you know, because I had foot problems
a few years ago. So it feels better now, so I don't have to kind
of play with them for like an hour to get into it.
Yeah, I go through probably two or three pair of shoes per tournament.
Q. Your possible opponents, if you could analyze the two?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I think Novak's really playing well at the
moment. I think that was a huge win for him against Roddick, you
know. They're the next group chasing, you know, Rafa and
myself. So I think that was a big win for him. And now with
the prospect of playing Rafa, who he's beaten in Miami, even though
he's lost the last two, but that was clay and grass, so I guess the
hard court maybe he feels a bit more comfortable. And at
Wimbledon he wasn't a hundred percent. And at the French Open,
had to imagine he was going to lose that match.
But
I think he's really done well this season. Played really well in
Miami and Indian Wells. So I think he's absolutely a tough player
at the moment. He's got an all-around game, he's got a good serve
and good return. Always makes you work hard.
And
Rafa, of course, I've played him on numbers of occasions and yeah, I
mean, the way he battles and the way he plays, how he was able to
improve his game over the years, I'm not surprised at all because he
got the better of me right away in Miami. The first time we
played, okay, I was coming back from a sun stroke, but still I was very
impressed with the way he played, and had some great battles over the
years with him. So it would be fun also playing against him in
the finals.
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