Roger Federer

March 9, 2007

Roger Federer

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA

THE MODERATOR: Can we start with the English questions, please.

Q. You're pretty close to Guillermo Vilas' record in consecutive victories. How mad will you be if you don't come up with it?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean it's only one week I know about it so it's not the major record for me, you know. But so it's always nice to be close to the all-time great records you know. Obviously 160 strong weeks is very, very special.
Now, this consecutive winning streak record, you know, would be very nice, but it's not my focus here, to be honest.

Q. We were talking to Tommy Haas earlier about you and one of the gifts that he says you have is seizing that moment, the breakpoint, whatever it is that breaks a match open. Is that something that you can practice on or is that just something, an instinct you have?
ROGER FEDERER: No, I mean, I think it's -- it comes from belief, confidence, but also knowing the opponent's weaknesses and strengths and same game, you know, I'm playing, the right shots at the right time, and then believing that you can do it, you know.
And I was very good actually on bigger case, in juniors, then when I started on the tour. I was just struggling to actually win the finals. I'm, like, "Why didn't I continue to win all the finals in the beginning."
I'm obviously back on a roll in big occasions, especially the last few years. It's not something you can practice. I always believe in putting yourself into the position as many times as possible and eventually it's always going to go your way, you know. Up there. I think you've got to work on it know when you're on the court that you should win for some reason, you know, just because you worked so hard to get there.

Q. Since you played in the division, how do you feel coming back to the tennis courts of Indian Wells after being the No. 1? How do you feel about that?
ROGER FEDERER: It's always exciting to come back to a place I've won. Very, very successful over the last few years where -- it was tough when I came into first place, I didn't have so much success. But I played really excellent tennis over the last few years. I thinks this is a very fair surface. You can play all kinds of styles of play, and it really suits my game. And also I always, especially in the finals, I've played really well here.
So I have great memories and fans and, you know, the stadiums are great here. It's kind of a relaxing week. On top of that, if you're playing good tennis, it's even more enjoyable, so I'm really happy to be back, that's for sure.

Q. In the past, you've spoken about turnaround moments or points in your career, like Hamburg. But now your whole position on scene is more than a tennis player. You're really an international figure beyond tennis. Do you sense that things have changed somewhat since the Open and was that a key tournament?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I think since maybe a year or one and a half years, I feel, you know, I was not only compared to other tennis players because I've been able to control, you know, my on points, but then I was starting to be compared with other great athletes, you know. Maybe the first time I won the Laureus Award. When you get thrown into the greats like Tiger and Rossi and Shoemaker and everybody. And then that story came more and more, especially in the states, about Tiger. People would say who's dominating more and so forth.
And of course with the success I've had, the continued success, it's helped me to kind of go outside of tennis and some ways go outside of sports. You know, it's been very interesting and enjoyable for me actually to get away from the whole tennis thing all the time.

Q. You mentioned Tiger Woods. He says his biggest motivation is W's, wins. What motivates you most?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, for me, it's, yeah, the matches, you know, the battle with your opponent on center court, the fans, you know, the excitement. That is it for me. If I come through with a win, that's great, you know. But I just try to give myself the best possible chance. I always like the form of the knock-out system in tennis. Bad day, you're out. Good day, you can be in. But there's never guarantee.
So for me, this is what drives me most is the battle with the other players.

Q. You and Tiger have this bond of being great champions, but during your conversations with him, was there something he said to you, you said, wow, you know, I feel the same way?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I mean, it came right after the U.S. Open when I won, we sat in the locker room and he kind of wanted to know how I felt throughout the match and everything, and, yeah, we could relate very much to one another. You know, now I saw him play, what he goes through on the golf course in Shanghai and Dubai, he saw me at the Open, he might come out to Miami. I think especially in our sports, we have four majors each. We have a lot of expectations from everybody, so, I mean, we have a lot of common ground and it's good that we kind of know each other and can talk to each other about it.

Q. I've heard that he will be at Miami, he's playing the Doral the same time. Will he be at one of your matches there probably or --
ROGER FEDERER: Well, he's saying he might come by, so...
He might come on the opening Saturday night, so we'll see.

Q. When you guys are together, do you ever tell a joke about, you know, like I could dominate golf because there's not that many people or any kind of joking rivalry there at all?
ROGER FEDERER: A little bit.

Q. James Blake was just in here. He was kind of thrilled about getting a hole-in-one recently?
ROGER FEDERER: What's that?

Q. He had a hole-in-one the other day.
ROGER FEDERER: Oh, really?

Q. Yeah. He was pretty happy about that.
ROGER FEDERER: Nice.

Q. Have you had a good win in sports outside of tennis? Is there one -- have you had anything of -- what's the best you've done?
ROGER FEDERER: I won a soccer tournament when I was about 12. That was great. Seriously, I played soccer when I was 12 years old, yeah. I mean, played against my friend who is also a tennis player now. We played in the finals against each other two years. Once I lost in the penalty shootout, but I scored mine. He scored his, too, but we ended up losing. In the following year, we crushed them in the finals, so that's my --

Q. Your best attribute as a young soccer player was?
ROGER FEDERER: A striker. I liked scoring goals, of course, yeah.

Q. Why don't you play Davis Cup for your country.
ROGER FEDERER: Why I don't? I do play every year. But I'm going to play in September, so it's not like I'm not playing.

Q. In spite of your accomplishments, what keeps you grounded as Roger Federer? I mean you've accomplished pretty much everything in tennis.
ROGER FEDERER: Look, I don't know, friends and family. You have your own way of life. I mean, I've went through very interesting phase in the last ten years, tried to get to the top and staying at the top and facing many different things, you know. Media, sponsor, fans, big occasions, you know. And for me, I've never had a reason to kind of get crazy about it. I kind of had enough time to grow into the position, you know, because I didn't come up through juniors and then right away won Wimbledon. It took me a few years. Maybe that was the time to allow me a lot of time to grow as a person first.

Q. Which is different, getting to the top or staying up there? Which is harder?
ROGER FEDERER: For me, it was harder to get there.

Q. Imagine just a short while ago about the No. 1 ranking and breaking tournament records. Since getting there, have you had an opportunity to see him or exchange words with him or did he send you any message on breaking the record?
ROGER FEDERER: No. I haven't heard from Jimmy, no. Yeah, I mean, I don't expect anything, to be honest, you know. That was a record that belonged to him, you know. I heard of Sampras, you know. He wrote me a message. I saw him the other day, practicing together. But nothing from Jimmy, no.

Q. In Australia, your father was very entertaining when he was talking about your behavior as a junior, and then you made a major turnaround and he said at the tournament it was very relaxing now to watch you as opposed to when you were a junior. It was kind of a funny thing. What turned you around, because now you have just the opposite image, that you're cool, easy, comfortable? What turned you around?
ROGER FEDERER: I was too much of a perfectionist when I was young. I could never accept any mistakes. I would always commentate every point, you know. It was just terrible, you know. I couldn't control my emotions, you know. I would be very sad person on the court, very down on myself all the time. And eventually I just got it together, you know. But it took me a long time. I thought by the end of my teenage years I would figure it out, but it took me till the beginning of my 20s to really get to understand what I had to do.

Q. I'm not sure I heard you correctly. You say you practiced with Pete?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, we hit together for two days.

Q. How did he play?
ROGER FEDERER: Very good, surprisingly. Very good, you know. Not good enough to beat me.

Q. With the new system, with the round robin system?
ROGER FEDERER: Huh.

Q. If you agree with the new system, the round robin system?
ROGER FEDERER: I disagree with it. From the start, yes. So I'm happy something happened.

Q. Why? Can you just explain why?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I was against it from the start. I knew that that was going to happen, you know, that with somebody pulling out and something. You know, I'm not at all in favor of it. I think it's never gonna happen, but maybe one player helps another player to get maybe the top guy out, who then eventually could win the whole tournament, the whole thing.
I just thought there was too many problems with the whole system, and so I'm happy it kind of arise a problem. And unfortunately, you know, it always takes a few players involved that everybody kind of wakes up. It took a half a year, not even, to get the problem because they already start in the beginning the year.

Q. If you could describe a little bit about playing with Pete. I mean, you get some flashes of his great shots, the winning forehand. What was it like?
ROGER FEDERER: That was great, you know. Well, I knew I was coming to L.A., you know, so I'm kind of thinking, you know, who's around in L.A.? So, I mean, I rang up Pete and said, you know, "Any chance?"
He was like, "Yeah, sure."
I'm totally excited. So right away, you know, I had the idea, you know, anyway seeing how good he plays, you know, because he was one of my favorite players, you know, when I was growing up and, you know, beating him in his backyard in Wimbledon was so special to me, so, you know, I wanted to try to -- I wanted to beat him in his house, you know.
So it was very enjoyable to actually hit with him, you know. It would be kind of cool to maybe play an exhibition against him. We'll see. But he was playing very well.

Q. Did you play some sets or?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, we did play some games and sets and tiebreaks and --

Q. What was the score?
ROGER FEDERER: Can't tell you. But it was good fun.

Q. Would it be fair to say right now that having the streak going on, would it be fair to say that almost you've raised confidence yourself getting ready for these matches? Do you find yourself now seeking out new ways to keep motivating yourself?
ROGER FEDERER: No, not at all. I mean, motivation is so high at the moment because that's what I've always been dreaming about, you know, talking about coming in as a favorite, maybe. Winning tournaments, being excited, traveling the tour, you know, the hard work has all paid off.
And now I get asked if I'm motivated. It's so silly. I'm happy. The motivation is as high as ever, and it's not going to go away any time soon, that's for sure.

Q. We're aware that one of your major objectives this year is the French Open. Is it possible to do anything during a hard court tournament to prepare for a clay court tournament?
ROGER FEDERER: Absolutely.

Q. What can you do?
ROGER FEDERER: Work off court. Off-court work. You know, get yourself in physical shape, because points are played differently on clay court. Rallys are longer. So here I'm working, or before I was working more on the explosives, you know, so I'm really playing well on the hard courts now, already kind of preparing for the clay court season by actually practicing differently. And I think that's one thing, you could try and play like on clay, but I'm not the biggest fan of that.

Q. You talked about relations you had with Tiger Woods and now you've spent some time with Pete Sampras. Is there any similarities in the conversations you've had with the two guys, them both being legends?
ROGER FEDERER: A little similarities, but still very different, you know. Because with Pete, I can speak so much of that, you know, how is it for you, how it is for me, you know. And played the same tournaments, we even played against the same opponents. There's many more similarities with Pete than I had with Tiger, you know, off court. So you know, when we -- when I came up, you know, I never hardly spoke to Pete because you know, first of all, he was never around at the club, you know, hanging out. And when he would come into the locker room, everything was quiet, you know, because it was such respect from all the other players, you know.
And I only practiced with him once in Hamburg, and it started to rain. I was so disappointed. He was happy to get off, you know. You know, I'm happy now I played against him and it was great. And I'm happy to see that he's actually still enjoying tennis. He's actually back into tennis after probably being golfed out and the whole thing, so, you know, we'll see.

Q. Congratulations on the win last week in Dubai. And a couple questions about Mikhail Youzhny.
ROGER FEDERER: Sure.

Q. Were you at all surprised to see him in the finals and --
ROGER FEDERER: No, I wasn't surprised.

Q. You were not?
ROGER FEDERER: No, because he's an excellent player and I played against him at the Australian Open. I played a very good match against him, actually, the third round, and I didn't think he deserve -- or he got enough credit. You know he deserved people just saying, you know, another routine, kind of a low seed in the tournament, but this guy just beat Nadal at the U.S. Open, played the semis and almost beat Roddick, you know, and here, we are in the third round, nobody's talking about it, so I was a bit disappointed.
To see him win Rotterdam, I wasn't surprised that he backed it up so well in Dubai. That was a great effort. I knew it was going to be tough and it was. He's an excellent player and I hope he can crack the top 10 shortly.

Q. You spent a great deal of time traveling on your own without a coach and seemed to do pretty well. Now we're seeing on the WTA tour they're allowing some coaching on court on the coach side to come down to the court. What are your thoughts on that? Do you think it's damaging to the players in their pursuit to become a more independent thinker and learn to figure things out on their own?
ROGER FEDERER: For some reason, I'm always against all these ideas. I feel stupid, but seriously, why have it, if it's unnecessary. It's okay if it's in Davis Cup because that's a team competition. It's totally different. But whereas in a tournament, I don't see the reason to put in a coach now for the lime light to add excitement, whatever. It's not going to add anything.
I like the idea of -- it's like in school, you know, you work hard, you know, to be ready for the test and then in the test you can't call your mom up and say, "What's 2 plus 2?" It just doesn't work this way, you know.
So I just think it's a good. It's good the way tennis has been, and, I don't know how much they test on the women's side, if it's all over or not, but I don't like the idea at all and I hope it's going to stay away in tennis.
THE MODERATOR: Last question in English.

Q. Again, going back to last week but a different tournament, Vegas, there was a controversy. Do I understand correctly that you actually took part in the discussions with ATP that you called that you had to come back, on behalf of Korolev, on behalf of the rules maybe, did you take any part of the in that personally?
ROGER FEDERER: No. I got a phone call from Etienne de Villiers, who explained me the situation. I mean, I was far away, you know, so there was the whole time difference, the whole thing was kind of happening. I just remember going on the Internet and checking out the scores of Vegas and I saw that Blake was through, but I couldn't figure it out, because I thought Korolev should have been through, even though Blake was about to win, you know, the whole thing.
So I thought, okay, well, I guess I miscalculated or whatever, and then I got a phone call on the way over to the club, you know, from the de Villiers explaining the whole situation, kind of the whole back and forth, you know. I said okay. Well, let's see where -- your problem, you know. I'm over here, you know.
But I'm happy to see that finally we had a problem in this round-robin system, because I always told you I was against it in the first place. So, you know, he apologized and the whole thing that something like this had to happen with other players. You know, I think it's terrible, you know, what happened. So, no, I didn't decide anything here I was just listening.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

March 11, 2007

Roger Federer

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How much is it hurting you?
ROGER FEDERER: Excuse me?

Q. How much is it hurting you, the loss?
ROGER FEDERER: Normal as a normal loss, like I've had about 100 times on tour. So, I mean, I think that's normal to tennis. I have no problems. He played very well. I missed my chances, and I'll pay the price later on.
I think he played very well and I didn't think I was playing poorly at all. So it's okay.

Q. Was your ankle bothering you?
ROGER FEDERER: No, no problems.
Q. Your feet weren't bothering you at all? Then why the time-outs?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I just had to take the tape off. Both feet (indiscernible) sometimes. You have to do that.

Q. No blisters on the big toe?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, little bit.

Q. You had both ankles taped. Is that something you do for every match?
ROGER FEDERER: I do, yeah. That's nothing unusual. I tape up from ankles almost all the way up onto the toes. I've had -- many players do it, so it's not some crazy thing. The only problem was that sometimes it really starts to move the tape up front and the foot, and that was not sticking the way it's supposed to, so I just took it off. And the same time, I had problems with my toe, but it was nothing bad, so it was okay.

Q. You didn't seem to be impressed with going for the record, which is kind of admirable. Is it kind of nice in a way to have that pressure off, that you're human and that you don't have to chase a record and all the questions from the media?
ROGER FEDERER: No, I'd rather face it, to be honest, of course, you know. You think it's pressure. It's no pressure at all because I take it match by match. And you guys think it takes a win to break the record. I'm concerned about winning my first round match against a lucky loser. There you go. It just shows you how tough it is.
And today was just a grind for me from the start. I was struggling, but it was tough. First round match is always difficult, but I've had an incredible run, not losing in the first round for, I think, over two years. So I'm really happy about that. Sooner or later it had to happen, so it's okay. It's no problem.

Q. When you're as unaccustomed to losing as you are, you know, when do the alarm bells start going off? Do you always feel like you're going to come back or it's kind of an odd position for you to be in?
ROGER FEDERER: Many times in matches I win I have fear that I'm not going to turn it around or even I'm even, and I just feel this guy is playing probably better than me, and I need some kind of miracle to get out of it. And today was no different. Of course, if you're down a set and a break, you can start wondering if you're ever going to come back. But you doubt yourself and you just try, you know. But today wasn't the day I could come back for some reason.

Q. Was there anything that he specifically did today that took you by surprise?
ROGER FEDERER: No. I mean I played him here actually on this court a couple years ago, so I knew exactly what I was going to get. I haven't seen him play since he came back, you know. But right away I saw he played exactly the same way, which was kind of good, and I got into a good rhythm from the baseline. I really felt I missed all the big opportunities today, you know, to kind of come back, put the pressure on. I had set point, should have made that forehand, you know, and maybe things would have been different. Who knows? But it just didn't seem to go my way.
And he was playing really, really consistent, you know. He wasn't missing, and returning well, serving good, when he had to, you know, so it was tough.

Q. You've lost first sets before, but the second set you looked pretty flat, like you couldn't find anything out there. Just talk about that.
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, like I said, you know, I didn't really get into that second set at all, you know. I started okay, and, you know, after -- I mean, I hate taking time-outs, you know. It's just something I hate doing. Here it takes forever for the guy to come down, you know. By the time I got into the second set, you know, the whole thing was just dead, you know. And you're down a set. It's already not easy. You kind of try to get back up. It just wasn't meant to be.
Then I had to take another time-out. So it was just a lot of interruptions, you know. I mean, when you're up, it's no problem, but when you're down, it's kind of -- it really messes with your rhythm.
And even though it was easy to play later on, because the shadows were there, it was nice to play and not much wind, it was nice. But, yeah, like I said, it was just not right today.

Q. At what point in your career did you gain this so-called, what we call, like short-term memory of a champion? You stepped on the double court like nothing happened after this match.
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, I team up with a partner I like and face a few good guys, you know, I would like to play a good match. Especially shake it off after I lost in singles. It hasn't happened in a long time. It was really nice to get a standing ovation walking on double. People think I'm not going to show up for doubles or something, you know.
Robredo had the same problem. He lost playing doubles. It's something I had to face a lot of times in the beginning of my career, but it's kind of nice to get a big cheer off the court, and then another one when I walk back on the court for doubles.
So I feel good, you know. After winning doubles and doing an interview by losing the singles, it's okay for a change, you know.

Q. Why did you decide to play doubles in this tournament?
ROGER FEDERER: I played here the last few years, and because, you know, you don't play every day in singles, and, you know, with the new rules maybe, a friend of mine, there's many reasons why I did. I also played doubles in Dubai already last week, so we won a round there. Yeah, I mean, it's kind of cool sometimes, you know.

Q. I realize you've been dominating from the back court now for a few years, but the second set are you thinking, "Maybe I should come in a little bit more," or was he just pushing you back too much and the grounds were too penetrating?
ROGER FEDERER: No, no. All he did was just keep the ball in play, you know, and moving me around. And, yeah, I mean, I was definitely thinking of coming in. When you're down a set and a break, you definitely start to think about what you can do differently, you know.
Yeah, I just didn't serve right at the right times. I couldn't really get a good groove going on my forehand really the way I wanted to. But, you know, he scrambled well. I've got to give him a lot of credit. I just, yeah, didn't do well in the second set at all.

Q. Can you talk to anything more about rhythm? Is it just a matter of a feel on your shots? Is it just the energy? How critical is it to matches?
ROGER FEDERER: You mean this match today or --

Q. Just in general, the rhythm of the match. Is it an essential factor?
ROGER FEDERER: How important they are?

Q. Yeah.
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, look, when you -- I've come back so many times, you know, and every time it seems when I come back, it's normal. When I don't come back, it's like something -- there's a problem, you know. It's not the way it is, you know. It's just a guy put me away when he had to, you know. He played a perfect match in the end, you know. He didn't give me anymore chances. He served well. He didn't give me any unforced errors, and I was just playing too poorly in the end to come back, you know.
So the right guy won today. That's just a fact, and really, of course, it's important. But I've won 50 percent of my matches over the last ten years, you know. I'm not feeling well, you know. It's just a thing the opponent tries to do to you, is actually try to break your rhythm. And Santoro and some guys are a master at that, so you're always going to play feeling a bit awkward, always, it's always going to happen.

Q. Can you recall making 30 errors on your forehand side? You said you were having trouble. There were about 30 errors on the forehand in that two sets.
ROGER FEDERER: Happens all the time. Especially, some guys have statistics, I don't know where they get the unforced errors from, you know. Some tournaments, like in Australia, you have 10 in a five set and you come to another tournament, you have 60. I don't understand the guys. It's definitely not the same guys doing the stats, that's for sure. In this tournament, this is probably a bit severe.

Q. Could a loss like this actually end up helping you in that you get a little bit of a break in maybe seeing your legs sort of, the push on the clay court season?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, I'm a very positive thinker, and I think it's going to be good for me eventually this season, you know. I've had a very relaxed opening to the season and just playing the Australian Open and Dubai and having enough time to rest. So I definitely won't be worn out towards the end of the season, you know. That's a good thing.
And look over the last one and a half years, I've been in all the finals except Cincinnati and now here and maybe somewhere else, I don't remember. But it's always been finals. I've always been on the edge of having a break and, you know, practice and everything, matches. And it's always been a -- I was just pushing the limits all the time.
So something like this is actually maybe good for me, you know, just get away from it, have time to rest up again, and practice real hard before Miami. Hopefully win the early rounds over there.

Q. What did the other players say to you in the locker room when you came off, if there was anybody around?
ROGER FEDERER: No, they don't look at me when I walk in now too much (laughter).

Q. Suppose next time you're going to meet again him in a match, thinking now that he has the positive score, so to speak, 2 and 1 against you, is it going to be different for you in a match, or just like any other match?
ROGER FEDERER: No. It's a normal situation. I know I can lose to him. I know I can beat him. Yeah, I know it's going to be a tough match. I played him years ago in Toronto. It was really hot, and I was the favorite, too, ended up losing against him, and he ended up winning the tournament.
And then I played him here, you know, and I think if I would have played him in the third or fourth round, I would have beaten him, you know. But just not today in the first round, he was too tough.

Q. Does he have top-10 stuff again, could you see him getting back to the top 10?
ROGER FEDERER: I've got to see a bit more. He's been there, so I guess you always have to assume he can get back.

Q. Give me some thoughts when he was suspended for 15 months, whether he'd ever come back again? Are you kind of surprised he's been able to do what he's done?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, you know, I'm really -- I don't know how the whole process of how something like that happens. They always fight for it anyway, everybody that was tested positive, you know. That's, for me, just not understandable, you know. Everybody who gets caught always says, "I didn't do anything," so...
It's just not right, you know.
It depends on how long the suspension is. In the end, they always cut them short, you know. So I'm definitely not surprised to see him back, you know. I don't know what he's done in the off-season, you know, but he's playing like he was before. I'm not surprised at all. I think he can get back to the very top, you know. For him, what happened, you know, he must feel a bit awkward, but he's dealing well with it.
We'll see what's going to happen this tournament and the rest of the season for him.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.