ATP MEDIA CONFERENCE

June 17, 2002

Roger Federer

GREG SHARKO: Good afternoon and evening for some of you. Thank you for joining in today's conference call with Roger Federer, who joins us from 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, where he is the No. 2 seed in the Ordina Open. Earlier this afternoon Roger advanced to the second round with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Richard Krajicek. This year Roger's enjoying the best season of his career with titles in Sydney and Tennis Masters - Hamburg and runner-up finishes in Milan and the NASDAQ -100 Open in Miami. He's No. 4 in this week's ATP Champions Race and No. 9 on the ATP entry system. Last year at Wimbledon, Roger broke Pete Sampras' 31-match winning streak at the All England Club with a five-set victory in the Round of 16 en route to the quarterfinals. The seeds were just announced earlier this evening in London, and Roger will be No. 8 going in to next week's Championships. So at this time, we'll open up calls.

ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, I've always been -- I'm looking forward every year again to go back to Wimbledon. And this year is kind of special to me because I've played my matches now on Centre Court, which was always my dream. And, plus, with that nice experience from last year beating Pete, I'm very happy to come back. And, yeah, I'm one of the favorites. Hopefully I can play well.

ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, grass court is a tough surface, you know. I mean, sometimes the matches get decided just on a few big points. So I just really hope that I can win the first few rounds, then I can find my way into the tournament. But I've played already well the last week in Halle, and also this week again I'm playing another lead-up tournament for Wimbledon just to have enough grass court matches for the tournament. I feel like I have a good chance of winning, but there's just so many players out there which also want to win so it's going to be very tough to win.

ROGER FEDERER: Well, it's true a little bit what you say, I was little bit unknown. I mean, I guess in Europe I was quite known because I had some results. But I think that gave me kind of the international breakthrough last year in Wimbledon, and it was just huge for my confidence. I mean, unluckily, I was injured right after that match - or actually during that match. I was already injured coming in to Wimbledon, but I was playing with painkillers and all this. So I had to sit out for like a month to the US Open. So when I came to the US Open, I really felt like I was more known, especially in the States, because I beat you guys in the Davis Cup and then I beat Pete in Wimbledon. So, I mean, for me it helped me a lot just, as you said, for press and my -- everybody knows me better now than before.

ROGER FEDERER: Well, it's always, I think, the same story. I put the pressure on myself. It's never -- I never feel like I have pressure from somebody, like I really have to play well. I just feel like I have to perform, you know? But now I always feel better when I'm in a favorite's position where I know I can win almost every tournament I go to now. So it's better when I know I'm not the underdog, and this actually helps. So that's why also I think I'm playing much better this year than years before.

ROGER FEDERER: Well, what happened was I got -- had the idea once to go. Actually, I think my parents asked me when I was like maybe 13. I said, "No, no, no, no, I want to stay at home," and all this. But then I saw a tape again like maybe a half a year or a year later, and suddenly I got interested. I told the press that I'm actually quite interested to go there. My parents read it through the press. And we started talking about it, we looked at the positive sides and the negative sides. And I went to play there and they thought I was -- had quite some talent, so they took me. And that's actually how I went. It actually was almost my decision, just my parents helped me with the decision a little bit.

ROGER FEDERER: Yes, in the beginning. The first six months were very tough because I'm from the German-speaking part and I couldn't speak French, so I didn't have any friends down there. I was in a family which was very nice to me, but I didn't have any success. It was very tough in the beginning. But then I got to know all the players and the coaches and everybody down there, the language also. That helped me a lot. Actually, still now. I can speak three languages perfectly and that helps a lot.

ROGER FEDERER: Well, I definitely think that the conditions are getting slower just in general for tennis, because they want to see more rallies. So I can see in the future that a guy like Hewitt can definitely win Wimbledon - if not this year already. Because I give actually Lleyton and Agassi also a very good chance of winning. So, yeah, I mean, he won at Queen's one more time, so I think he's playing well. I think not only on grass, he's a favorite on any surface. So I could pick him for any Grand Slam, he could win it, so... But, how do you say, the challenge is very big from so many players right now and it's going to be tough. But I give Lleyton a good chance of winning Wimbledon, again, this year.

ROGER FEDERER: Well, actually, I had no idea how they were doing the seeding in Wimbledon this year. I just know it's different than the other Grand Slams. I think the seeding is quite fair, what they do. I think they take it over the last year or two on the grass court results, the points you have, and they add it and then you get your total points. I think that's very fair. Yeah, 8th seed is, I think, very good so far.

ROGER FEDERER: I always get more attention now than before - especially in Switzerland, in my home city. All over Switzerland people knoow me almost everywhere I go. So I don't quite look at it that it's annoying. I think it's a good thing that -- for me, it's just important that I'm well-liked in my country, also just around the world. So I don't see this as a negative thing. I haven't had actually very bad , how do you say, experiences.

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah. I mean, yeah, I get the feeling also a little bit that people are really expecting me to break through in a Grand Slam now - very soon. So, I mean, I'm also putting the pressure on myself. I thought I had a very good chance in Australia to do really well. Unfortunately, I couldn't make the matchpoint against Tommy Haas. Now French Open was a tough one for me. I think Roddick played really well. I was still little bit tired from Hamburg. But what I'm very happy about this year already is I made a breakthrough on the Masters Series, which I always thought was very important to do well there because everybody's playing and they have to play. I really hope now this year either in Wimbledon or US Open I can make a breakthrough. This is also what I'm expecting from myself also really.

ROGER FEDERER: Well, in the moment, I think it's at an unbelievable high level right now because -- or maybe it's also because it's not really somebody totally dominating, you know, even though Lleyton is quite a bit in front. But I still think there's a lot of players who can beat him, you know? It's not like maybe the years before. I actually quite look at this as something very interesting, and I'm actually enjoying the time. I hope that -- it's like a few young players like Roddick, myself, Ferrero, Safin, Hewitt, I hope really that I can be one of these five players that can really make it to the top in the future. I'm looking forward to a good challenge.

ROGER FEDERER: Well, I think somebody from Wimbledon came up and spoke to me in Monte-Carlo and they asked me just what I thought about a one week longer grass courts. I mean, I had to say that of course I think it would be better to have a longer grass court season because it's kind of a really short season, you know? I mean, you play one tournament, you lose first round, and then you don't play the next week and you're already in Wimbledon. So I told him that I would like to have a longer grass court season, but at the same time I have to protect the Swiss tournament in Gstaad which is the week after Wimbledon. It's actually worthwhile thinking about having one more week of grass, I think. Otherwise, the season looks really short to me.

ROGER FEDERER: Well, I think now it's a lot of players - again, like five to ten players - who can really win this Wimbledon or are major favorites. As you said, I mean, Rafter is not playing, Ivanisevic is not playing, the both finalists from last year. So that obviously helps myself and other players for the possibility to win. But, I mean, we'll see who can take the chance and win it so...

ROGER FEDERER: Well, when I was very young, when I started playing tennis -- well, I started very early, when I was three years old. But I was always swearing around the court and throwing my racquet - but really bad. So, I mean, my parents felt embarrassed and they would tell me to stop because they said they wouldn't come with me to tournaments anymore. So I had to kind of settle down. But this actually took me until I was maybe 19, maybe one or two years ago, which I really started to make improvements. Before I would still, like, complain on every point I would lose and all this stuff. So I don't now how I got over it. I kind of thought like I'm losing too much energy by always getting upset with myself. And now I'm totally calm. I got very good press at the French and Wimbledon for my behavior on the court. Yeah, but now I have to almost watch out that I'm not too calm sometimes on the court.

ROGER FEDERER: Well, I've seen Pete play now in Halle last week. Obviously, he's still struggling a little bit because he hasn't had too many matches this year. But I still think he's for sure one of the guys to beat, even though he's maybe not a favorite like he was last year - just because he didn't win, you know, last year. But Pete is so dangerous on grass. I mean, the draws in a Grand Slam are much bigger, so he can play against less good players, you know? So he can find himself into the tournament, then he's going to be in the quarterfinals or semifinals again. This is when it's getting very dangerous. So I still give him a very good chance of playing really well or winning even the tournament.

ROGER FEDERER: Well, I've known him for maybe four years now - three, four years now. I've been traveling with him privately for maybe a little bit over two years. Well, it's going really well, as we can see with the results. For me, it's just important also that the coach for me is at the same time also a very good friend. I spend with him a lot of time, I go with him to dinner every night. We call even each other when we have time off. So this really shows how good friends we are. Plus, he was a player before. He tries to teach me what I shouldn't do, you know, because he did some mistakes maybe in his career before. So he just wants me to not to do it. And he has helped me a lot over the -- since we working together. It's going well. I'm happy to have him as a coach.

ROGER FEDERER: Actually, I was actually a big fan when I was young. Always with my friends I would watch. Now, because I'm traveling so much, we hardly get the channel to watch it. But after, for a little bit. My coach, he doesn't like it at all so...

ROGER FEDERER: I always liked The Undertaker a little bit. Now I like The Rock a lot. But I hardly see the guys. So it's tough to follow it up.

ROGER FEDERER: Okay. See you all, bye-bye.