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DAVIS CUP FINALS: SWITZERLAND v FRANCENovember 20, 2014Roger FedererStan WawrinkaLILLE, FRANCE THE MODERATOR: Questions in English. Q. Roger, Gael just said, Whenever Roger steps on the court, he feels 100%. Do you feel 100% or different? ROGER FEDERER: We'll see tomorrow. Only the match gives you all the answers really. Today in practice, it wasn't the goal to go to 100%. I never do in practice the day before a potential match. So I'm just really pleased that I'm actually able to play tomorrow. I'll give it a go. Definitely looking forward to playing against Gael. I think he's a great player. Very exciting to watch. I like to play against him, too. Yeah, so things have been going very well for me the last week. It's been a difficult week, but I'm happy where I am today. Q. Roger, I think you've had some experience playing Gael with a back problem. And then, of course, all your experiences last season. Does that give you something to draw on and give you some idea what to expect? ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, no, absolutely. I've had back pain many times in my life, in my career, not just only in the last few years, but also already back in almost junior days. From that standpoint, yeah, I can definitely draw from some experience. I know what's possible, what's not. I know how much I need to push, how much I can push. I think that's what's going to be interesting to see tomorrow. Obviously if I'm stepping out on the court, that means I can play. That's most important. It's a difficult match regardless, for anybody, for me as well. If I would be 100%, it would be tough in itself because of the crowd, because of the opponent. It is like at the first round at a tournament, nobody quite knows what's going on yet. Indoor clay is something we quite don't know. There's a lot of question marks for everybody, including myself. Q. Roger, when you were growing up, how much interest did you take in the Davis Cup, and in particular 1992, did you take much interest in that? Do you remember watching it? Did it inspire you seeing a Swiss team get to the final? ROGER FEDERER: I don't remember much other than the pictures. Even though it was the same year when Marc Rosset won the Olympic gold, which I remember where I was, a tennis club in Basel. It was like, Marc Rosset won the goal. I don't remember watching the match point. But the Davis Cup final, I don't remember. Over the years, I've heard so many stories about it, what a great year it was, so forth. My recollection is very minimal, to be quite honest. Q. Roger and Stan, after what happened last Saturday in London, is there more pressure on you, some more troubles? Is it more difficult for you to win, or it doesn't change anything at all? STAN WAWRINKA: No. For me, for sure, was tough to lose against Roger with four match point. But I took a lot of positive from that week. I'm feeling great from London, a lot of confidence from there. Playing really well tennis. I had five days here to change surface, to play on clay. I did what I could here with some good practice. I'm feeling ready for the weekend. It's going to be a long weekend. Doesn't matter what, you have to be ready for three days. I think I am. Physically I'm feeling fit. It's great that Roger can play tomorrow. Q. Roger, can you tell us when you actually decided you could play, and what kind of treatment have you had the last few days? Specifically, have you had a cortisone shot in your back or anything like that? ROGER FEDERER: If I did, I would never tell you, number one, but thanks for asking (smiling). Yesterday we had a long conversation after the practice. Clearly that gave me some first information how I was feeling. Then this morning the idea was to practice early before the draw so we have the best options, I guess, to select the players, so Severin can select the players. Am I going to play on Friday or not, that was the whole idea. We thought if I continue with my progress today, then there is a chance that I should give it a go tomorrow, which is what happened. Otherwise, we would have come up with an alternative game plan this morning. But things were very good out there this morning. I was very happy how I felt. From that standpoint, I'm actually clearly very relieved, yeah. Q. Stan and Roger, I know how important it is for Switzerland to win the Davis Cup for the first time. How do you look at it personally? When you're done with tennis and look back on your career, how important is it for a player to have won Davis Cup? STAN WAWRINKA: For sure it will be amazing. That's not a question. But I think I'm more looking about the weekend. I'm more focused on what I have to do this weekend, how I'm going to play, what I'm going to do this weekend. Before that you cannot think about winning or not, or even the title of Davis Cup. You need to just be ready for the fight, be ready for that. We did everything good. If we finish the weekend as the winner, maybe not... We have more chance in the future. So far it was a short week after London. We didn't have so much time to be ready. But I think we did the best with what we have, and we're ready for a long weekend. Q. (Question off microphone having to do with importance of winning the Davis Cup.) ROGER FEDERER: We'll see. It's pretty similar. We can tell you all about it once it's all said and done, when it's over. Had a great year so far with some really interesting ties. Obviously arriving late in Serbia after Stan's epic win in Australia. Two pressure home ties in front of 16,000, 18,000 people, quarters and semis. Now here we're in front of an unbelievable crowd in France in a country that really cares dearly about it. So clearly it's a cool year for all of us who spent a lot of good times together. Yeah, of course, it would be very special to win here. But 'once in a lifetime,' I don't know. There's so much more than tennis in life, but clearly it's a big deal, no doubt about it. Q. Switzerland is playing in Belgium in March. Will the Belgian fans see you there or will that depend on how this week turns out? ROGER FEDERER: I'm happy already I'm here and I'm able to walk on court tomorrow, let alone think of three months ahead. I know it's not that far. But, yeah, I mean, I don't know yet. I wish I could tell you. My entire schedule for next year is still undecided, what the goals are and everything. That will all come after this week is over, after vacation, then when I start practicing again. THE MODERATOR: Questions in French. Q. Stan, do you believe the experience you had in Australia will be useful before this tie? Do you see something similar in terms of pressure here? STAN WAWRINKA: No, it's different. It has nothing to do with a Grand Slam final. You can't compare. A Davis Cup final is played with a team. What will help me is all the experience I accumulated with the year. I feel good, ready mentally. I'm confident, playing well. We have a very good atmosphere in this team. Everything is going well. I will just need to be ready tomorrow to play against Jo on the first day. Whatever happens, it is going to be different from everything I've known before. The crowd will be behind Jo. I believe the match will be interesting. Q. The French crowd, Roger, is waiting for you. They always liked you. Do you believe the crowd will be shared between France and you? ROGER FEDERER: I have no idea. I don't know, honestly. In Toulouse, it was the only time I played Davis Cup in France. It was a nice atmosphere. It was great. I just like the way they support their players in this country. They are always behind their players. There are so many people, nobody knows how it's going to go. I hope people won't be too cold. It's a bit cool in the stadium. But I hope the weekend will go well. If they support us, it will be nice. But I know many people are mainly coming just to have a good time and enjoy the tennis. Q. Roger and Stan, now that the draw is done, you know who your opponents will be, could you give us your analysis on the opponents. STAN WAWRINKA: It's simple. We are now ready for tomorrow. As far as I'm concerned anyway, I'll just keep quiet and be ready for tomorrow. I believe I will play at 2:00 against Jo. I played him several times. We played twice in five sets on clay in a Grand Slam. Every time it's a tight match. It's always difficult. Tomorrow it's going to be totally different anyway. It's clay court, but indoors. It's a bit faster than usual. There will be pressure on both sides. He will have pressure, too. He needs to win that point. As far as I'm concerned, everything is going well. I'm happy. ROGER FEDERER: Are you talking about my match against Gael? Q. Yes. ROGER FEDERER: I think it's great to play him. He's a great player, a great athlete. I played good matches against Gael recently. The last matches we played were always very tight. We'll see what happens tomorrow. But I like matches best‑of‑five. It's cool. We'll see. We'll see. Q. I would like to ask about Dave Macpherson. And Stan, can you talk about your association recently in Paris with your doubles partner Paes. STAN WAWRINKA: It was interesting to play with Paes. It's always interesting to talk to him about the doubles. He's been playing doubles for years, and he's used to it. This week I didn't practice a lot with him. We had discussions rather. It's important for me to understand how he sees doubles, how he prepares. You know that it's very precise ways of playing in doubles. I hope it's going to be good. Since he's been here this week, everybody is positive about it. It's interesting to have extra advice. Q. After what happened Saturday, everybody knows what happened, there were many emotions and feelings. Is four or five days enough to have a fresh start and think about something else? STAN WAWRINKA: It was easier than I thought. Clearly on Saturday night I was destroyed. It was difficult to accept that loss. I did everything I could to win that match. I wanted to be in the final in the Masters. Maybe I will not have another opportunity. Sunday was also a difficult day. It's always difficult to take. I was hurt. When I came here with the physio and everything, everything was different. It was a new week, a new state of mind. So mentally it was easy for me to switch, to forget about this big disappointment, start on something positive. Q. Roger, do you feel you're taking a risk playing tomorrow? Would you play if it was not the final of the Davis Cup? ROGER FEDERER: I don't know. It's a good question. We'll see. Honestly, I don't know. If it was an enormous risk for the rest of my life, I wouldn't take the risk, of course. But I already had these kinds of problems. I know how much worse it can get. I know what can happen. But if you start thinking about that, you don't play anymore. You need to stay positive and prepare. I did many things so I would be rarely injured. I trust my body. There are not really chances for me to get injured again. I mean, playing tennis is what I do best in my life. This is where I feel best. Of course, an injury can always happen. I felt well the whole year. It happened suddenly. I can happen to anyone. But the moment was a bad moment for this to happen. But now it's happened. I'm more confident, positive. I'm not being negative. Well, Sunday evening, Monday, I was more negative. I was wondering about the percentages of risk, but now I'm on the positive side. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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