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BNP PARIBAS MASTERSOctober 29, 2014Roger FedererPARIS, FRANCE R. FEDERER/J. Chardy THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please. Q. Just wondering, playing this indoor stretch of the season, does it feel like a full swing to you now? It's only a few tournaments you play here, but does it feel like a big, sizeable chunk of the calendar that's focused on this? ROGER FEDERER: Well, not really since Shanghai came into the picture, in my opinion. Because back then it was always the indoor stretch. To me now it's outdoor Shanghai, and then you come over here and maybe play one or two max, maybe three with the World Tour Finals. So not really. But still, nevertheless, I mean, I enjoy playing the indoor season as much as I can because that's what I did very often when I was younger in February, and then also at the end of the year. Q. You like the part of the indoor with all the light show and all the production stuff they can do at these tournaments now? Do you enjoy that, or do you like the more traditional... ROGER FEDERER: No, I think it's cool. I think it's cool to mix it up. I think it's nice to get a feel for a bit of a different atmosphere everywhere you go. Obviously indoors you're always on time kind of thing, which is good. Then you have the possibility for light show or music and all because most of the stadiums, they are not just for tennis but also for other things. From that standpoint I think is actually quite cool. Q. Can you tell me if you have a favorite from the challenge that you launched on Twitter regarding what you would like to do in India? ROGER FEDERER: Well, you know, like I said, it's going to be so hard to get around India. The country is too big, you know, that for two days I'm going to see, you know, things. So I think this is more about getting a feel for the people mostly, you know. That's also why I'm going there. And then hopefully one day I'll have a lot of time to travel India, because I think it's fascinating. Obviously the launch on Twitter was all fun and games. It was unbelievably creative what came back. I had a blast looking through them. I thought it was very funny. Q. Obviously your results suggest that you're still utterly focused on your career, but you're making possibly plans looking longer term ahead in the future with your management company and stuff. I mean, for now, are you involved in that much, or are you kind of a sleeping partner, so to speak? ROGER FEDERER: No, I'm just a client, like Grigor and Del Potro are as well. That's something I wanted to keep separate for the time being, but then obviously I'm looking forward to maybe doing more things as we move along. But for the time being, you know, I really need to focus on my family, focus on my tennis. Tony has done such a great job over the years, you know, protecting me and also, you know, staying in touch with all the partners and tournament directors over the years. It's been a great relationship. Yeah, looking forward to doing more things with him in the future. Q. Davis Cup final coming up. Do you think it's at all strange that it will be four men who live in Switzerland playing against Switzerland? ROGER FEDERER: No. That's something you guys make up. For me, that has zero focus, to be quite honest. They are French, truly French. Just because they choose to live in Switzerland doesn't mean one thing, in my opinion. Q. Do you ever see them when you're there? ROGER FEDERER: No. They're not there very often. They're traveling the world, so... As you know. Q. Can I just get you to talk about the match today and how difficult it was out there for you? Were you expecting such a tough match? How did you turn it around? ROGER FEDERER: Well, you know, I was expecting it to be difficult because it is a first round. Chardy has made it hard for me in the past. You know, this is France, after all. He's playing at home. He's already had a match before. I thought it could be tough, and it was. Could have lost the first, could have won the second, but it went the other way. So I think as the match went longer, the better I actually started to play and created more opportunities. I think I served well, which was quite a surprise for me, to serve this well early on in a tournament. But I'm very pleased how I'm feeling, to be quite honest, because it was a long week again in Basel. But I feel somewhat fresh, I must say, because the finals wasn't grueling, you know, physically in Basel, which I think was good for my first round here today. Q. You say you're feeling fresh, but I wonder, at any stage did you think about not playing here because of the busy end to the season? ROGER FEDERER: I thought about it after Davis Cup semis, and then I was always going to double‑check after Shanghai, depending on how I played there. One of the ideas was not to play Paris and to go on clay for a bit, maybe five days, but I did the clay after Shanghai just so I had it done. Then after that, after I won Shanghai, for me it was clear I was going to play everything I could. I felt there was always going to be a week between Paris and London and four days between London and the Davis Cup, and that's in case I win everything, you know. So every match I lose, it's going to give me extra days off, which is anyway going to be a benefit at some stage at the end of the stretch. Q. Was the world No. 1 ranking part of that thinking in playing here? ROGER FEDERER: Not after the US Open really. I mean, that was an opportunity there I blew really, to be honest, because Novak played before me. But I didn't even think of the rankings then. I was just trying to win the US Open. So that was disappointing, you know, losing in the semis there. But everything had to wait until the Davis Cup was over to see how long was the season going to be, what surface they were going to choose, etcetera. And then world No. 1 only came into play for me really once I saved all those match points and I beat Novak. All of a sudden there was talk, but then I knew I still had to win Shanghai. I knew I still had to win Basel. So I had my mind focused on that before anything else, really. So the No. 1 hasn't really changed anything, because I was always going to play Paris regardless at that point, yeah, after Shanghai. THE MODERATOR: Questions in French. Q. If you were a Davis Cup captain, would you choose Chardy in the French team to play against you? ROGER FEDERER: I could answer, but I'm not going to do that. I don't want to help the French captain. (Smiling.) Unfortunately we don't have that kind of problem. It's an advantage of course to have so many good players to choose from, which we don't have. We would like to have that type of problem. It's interesting to see who he's going to change, but no stress. We have time. Q. How can you explain the beginning of that match today? Were you not able to hit on center court before your match? ROGER FEDERER: No, I didn't hit on center court. I could have done that at 9:00 in the morning. It's not that early, but still, I had traveled on Monday, Tuesday, and I needed to sleep in a little bit. So, yes, indeed it was difficult to adapt. Jeremy was hitting hard. He played well. It was because of him I was down rather than because of my own level. He played well. But I'm happy I pulled it out. I thought I might lose that first set. I wouldn't be allowed to make any mistakes and he would start hitting even harder. Fortunately I was able to win that first set. It calmed him down a little. I could have won it in two maybe after that, but it was fair that we played a third set. He was playing so well. Q. You are going to play Lucas Pouille. Do you know him? ROGER FEDERER: Yes, I practiced with him once in Australia I think it was, or elsewhere maybe. But I saw him play a little. I saw the end of his match against Fognini. Q. What do you think of his potential? ROGER FEDERER: I can't tell you now. I have to play that match first, because I don't know him that well. I think if I play a match against him I will have more information. But he has a beautiful technique, like all French players. He knows how to do everything. He knows how to serve. He knows how to go to the net. There is a good tennis school here in France, and you can see it in his game, too. But now we'll see his strength and weaknesses in the match. Q. We are three weeks away from Davis Cup now. What is the atmosphere with the French players? Are you joking together when you see them? What happens? ROGER FEDERER: I didn't see them a lot. They didn't play last week, and here it's the first time I have come on‑site. I just prepared for my match. I didn't see them a lot. I didn't see Gaël. I didn't see Jo yet. We didn't talk much with Benneteau. I didn't have time. I needed to prepare. Maybe tomorrow we'll have more time. And anyway, today it was quite calm. Just because I didn't see them, well, that's it. Q. Before coming here in Paris you were in Basel at home, and soon you're going to be again with your co‑citizens in Davis Cup. You are the Swiss citizen that is the most famous in the world. How does it feel to represent Switzerland? Do you have obligations because of that? You have to give an image of your country? ROGER FEDERER: I try to represent Switzerland as best as I can. Well, you know, when I'm on the court, there is a Swiss flag. I'm Swiss. So I try to represent my country well if I can. I'm very proud to be Swiss. I grew up there. I went to school there. I learned to play tennis there. But I know I'm just a tennis player, too. Of course I'm famous. People like me. But I'm just an athlete, a tennis player. I know that can create emotions, but I'm not more than that. I think it's good to be able to motivate people and inspire people so they will play tennis. This is the way I see it. I'm happy I have a good relationship with Switzerland, with the fans, with people. They like to see me. They like to support me. It's good. It feels good. Q. But you also have a good relationship with France. They will be the opponents for Davis Cup. We couldn't find anybody criticizing you. It isn't normal? ROGER FEDERER: How do you want me to answer that? I always had a good relationship with all the players. I traveled in France a lot when I was younger. I was a junior then, and I learned how to speak French when I was 14 years old, when I was in the French‑speaking part of Switzerland. So I was able to talk with most of them, and I practiced a lot with them, too, because of that. You know, there are always groups forming. You know, I speak a bit of German, a bit of English, a bit of French. There are many people I can practice with thanks to that. I can't practice so much with the Spanish‑speaking players. So anyway, I was always welcomed in France and never had in problems. We had nice encounters in the past, and I'm happy that France is in the final. I think Davis Cup in France is something very important, which is not the case for some other countries. So I'm extremely happy and looking forward to this weekend in Lille where I won my first tournament when I was 16. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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