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BNP PARIBAS MASTERSOctober 31, 2014Roger FedererPARIS, FRANCE M. RAONIC/R. Federer THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please. Q. I think you've never lost to Milos before. What made the difference today? ROGER FEDERER: Well, I think he played well. Clearly served well when he had to. I mean, classic indoor match, you know. Few shots here and there, few points here and there, and sort of went his way today, you know. No, I think he played well. Q. How does his serve compare with Karlovic or an Isner, for example? ROGER FEDERER: Well, he's not as tall, so maybe tiny bit easier to return sometimes; but then again, like I said, sometimes. Does a very good job on the first serve. Second serve is returnable, whereas some other guys serve bigger than he does. He backs it up maybe a bit better, especially in the first shot. But depends on conditions, depends on which opponent, and depends also how you get into the point. I think today he played very well. Q. Before the match you said something to the effect that Raonic takes the racquet out of your hand. Of his 55 points that he won on serve, 21 were aces. Is that how you felt during the match? ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, I created a few opportunities. But, you know, like I said yesterday, if he serves that accurate and that well over a long period of time, he's always going to remain in the match somewhat and he's going to stay out of trouble on the important moments of the game. 15‑all, rather than maybe missing his serve, getting second serve, chances, he just maybe touches the line going up 30‑15 and changes the entire game. So I think that's kind of what happened today time and time again, so really credit to him. When I did have the chance, he was there, as well. So from that standpoint I think that he served very well. You know, I didn't do much wrong, either. So, like I said, it's just a shot here or there, and that makes a difference. Q. You mentioned the margins being smaller indoors. Do you think that's why so many different guys have been able to win this tournament over the past few years compared to the other Masters events, or something else you think contributes to that different sort of result we see here compared to everywhere else? ROGER FEDERER: I don't exactly know what's been happening here, but, I mean, Rafa has missed it a few times; I have missed it a bunch, as well. I think the end of the season sometimes is grueling, you know, for some guys. Then we have had faster courts, slower courts, extremely slow, extremely fast, and now we're back to sort of medium. That also changes things around. I think Paris is looking at themselves for their own identity, to be quite honest. What kind of speed tournament do they want to be? And then maybe also coming from Asia maybe it's not as simple before. Before used to be Madrid. You know, so it's been changing quite a bit, actually. Sometimes you come off a long stretch. It's just hard to back it up all the way till the very end. And then a little bit of confusion maybe last year, whereas, you know, you had the World Tour Finals right at the back end maybe plays on your mind. Plus maybe the race for London, as well. All has an effect. There are many things that could be the case. And maybe just a guy getting hot and, just, like you said, maybe it's just an indoor tournament where margins are small and it's difficult to dominate this tournament like back in the day, really. Q. Does this change anything about your preparations going to London? Are you going to stay on the indoor hard for now? Anything else looking ahead to clay? ROGER FEDERER: No, I'm going to stay on indoors now. I mean, obviously two days more is big right now. So I'm looking forward to some days off right now, really resting my body to the max in a short period of time. Then, you know, I have plenty of days now to get ready for London, which is kind of nice, as well. So I can actually properly practice for a change as well again. I don't quite know my schedule, but I know I'm probably going to take three days off or something. Q. Looking briefly ahead of London, you have taken over for Rafa now as the sort of headline player in the Indian league, in the team. Can you tell us about that and the background to that? ROGER FEDERER: Well, I was not going to play really. I was going to see how the first year was going to play out. I mean, I was hopeful that it was going to work out, and still am, that it's going to be a success. It's nice to have XOs. You know, players coming to that part of the world and Asia, India, and the rest of the world, it gives, you know, the players a great opportunity to spend the offseason doing something they enjoy doing, you know: making a show out of tennis. Because some of us‑‑ you have to be so focused out on the court because margins are so small, whereas in an XO you can do so much before the match, after the match, during the match. I think the concept is quite interesting. When they approached me, I said, Well, I only have basically a couple days I can do. They said, Well, for us it will be the 7th and the 8th of December. For me it just works out fine, because I didn't know about the Davis Cup final, if that was happening. But clearly I was always going to take some time off after that and prepare, and only then would I travel anywhere for an XO. I wouldn't risk injury. It, you know, suits me perfectly because I travel from Dubai. It's not very far, and I can experience India while I'm still playing, which is also something I wanted to do, like South America a few years ago. I'm really looking forward to it, and I already sense there is good energy. I hope I can be part of a successful story after that. Q. Will you play in India and Dubai? ROGER FEDERER: No. I just been practicing in Dubai; I'm playing in India, yeah. THE MODERATOR: Questions in French. Q. What is your state of mind now that you're going to leave Paris? ROGER FEDERER: I feel pretty good. I think when everything is over, tonight or tomorrow, I'll feel a bit tired I think. But the match was not difficult physically. It was simple, like yesterday, too. So I feel good. I feel all right. And now I have maybe nine days off ‑ I mean without a real match. So I'll be able to manage my preparation. This is something I like to do, because I have been playing a lot lately. So every time I'm off I can stay with my family and I can decide when I go on the court instead of the tournament it's good for me. Q. Did you feel that if he hadn't served that well you couldn't have lost that match? I mean, if he's not as good with his serve? ROGER FEDERER: It wouldn't be respectful to say that. He's a top 10 player. He knows how to play tennis, too. He knows more than just serving. It was tight. I don't know to what extent he can play better or serve better. I did my best. I didn't play a bad match. I think that breaks came out of nowhere. Just a return, the ball bounced on the net, passing shot. As I said before, it hurts to lose that way, but he deserves credit for serving the way he did and doing those passing shots the way he had to do it. I mean, he played well. In the tiebreaker of the first set he took risks and it worked out. Q. You still can become No. 1 and you still have the Davis Cup. Do you still feel those two goals can be achieved? ROGER FEDERER: Well, I think so. I have nine days' rest now, and I know I will have a minimum of three matches, five matches. And this is in eight or nine days from you now. So I think I will be able to manage that quite easily. I'm relieved because I have no injuries. I have had no problems of the sort. With those two major goals it would be a problem if I was injured, but I don't have that. So I'm happy. Q. Fabrice was talking the No. 1 spot; you lost an opportunity maybe catching up with Djokovic. ROGER FEDERER: No, I'm accepting this defeat. Milos played well. As I said, I always thought it was going to get solved in London. Whether I am No. 1 at the end of this year or one or two weeks later next year, it doesn't really matter. Novak seems to be fit, anyway. What this does is I will have a good preparation for London. It's not that I didn't want to win here, but I knew it was going to be tough from the start. I accept that. Now I will continue to prepare for London now. It's the only thing I have left now. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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