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BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL PRESENTED BY SUNCORPJanuary 10, 2015Roger FedererBRISBANE, QUEENSLAND R. FEDERER/G. Dimitrov THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Do you have a dinner appointment or something? Didn't seem to want to hang around tonight. ROGER FEDERER: No, you know, I was able to play straightforward tennis, like yesterday, just really aggressive. I'm happy how well I adjusted to these conditions, because I've been playing at night now a couple. Last year I struggled with the transition. There is the sun from the side and everything. Against a really good player, it's a great result. You know, happy I didn't waste much energy like this. I'm fresh for the finals. Probably got a slight advantage over Milos in that regard. Q. Obviously a win would see you get to a thousand tour wins in your career. Does something like that motivate you, or do you think about it at all? ROGER FEDERER: I mean, it's a goal for the season, so I still have time to get to a thousand. (Smiling.) No, I hope it's tomorrow, clearly. I mean, it's a really big number, no doubt about it. Love to get it tomorrow, especially in the finals in an ATP event where most of my wins have come. If not tomorrow, I hope it happens at the Australian Open. Been a lot of the matches, a lot of toughening out plays. I don't know if it's a goal, but it would definitely be an incredible milestone to reach. Q. Jimmy and Ivan are the only two players that have done it. Pretty rare company. ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, they were very consistent for a long time, very match tough, and definitely players and athletes you could look up to because their longevity was incredible. They did a lot for the game as well. It would mean a lot to get to a thousand, but they're still ahead of me. Still got some work to do. It's not really a goal to get to any of those numbers, it's just nice reaching milestones. I'm not there yet, so let's not talk about it. Q. Can you name one match that stood out of the rest in your 999? ROGER FEDERER: Who knows? Maybe my first Wimbledon finals. You know, beating Mark Phillippousiss in 2003 at Wimbledon was clearly so magical in so many ways. The disbelief of actually being Wimbledon champion for life, it is a very cool and great feeling to have at once. And a big relief as well at the same time. A lot of pressure. I handled it well and played a great final, so that one kind of stands out maybe. Q. Obviously you did the job today on Grigor; chance to take on another young rising star in Milos tomorrow. What do you expect? ROGER FEDERER: I expect a different kind of match. His game is based more on the serve, but he's making improvements from the baseline and taking bigger cuts at the ball now. He's not just waiting for mistakes from the opponents, like he did at the beginning of the his career more often. I've played him quite a few times now. He also beat me in Paris a few months ago where he played very well. He's always a tough guy to play and to beat. I expect him to play well. I think he played a really good match against Nishikori today himself, but also Kei played well. One guy had to win, and Milos was clutch when it mattered. Yeah, I expect little time and little rallies in tomorrow's match. Q. Talk about the comparison between how the conditions play day and night. You have a night final tomorrow. ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, I think the transition of this one is going to be different just because of the player more than the conditions itself, day and night. Today I didn't play that long, so I don't feel like I've been out there for three hours. Gotten used to day session conditions. I think last year what threw me off as well a little bit was the doubles. I played on the outside court the semis, I think. We lost that match against Colombians with Mahut. I came out of the Chardy match, the doubles match, and I couldn't hit a ball anymore basically from the baseline. It was just all serve and return. Against Lleyton, when I had to go into the grind, I just didn't have any more rhythm. So I think it's going to be different this time around. Then, like I said, tomorrow's match is not about rhythm either. It's more about serve and return. I've got to be quick in reaction, clear in my mind, and make sure I protect my own serve. Q. I have a tricky question: Do you know how many titles you have won on the tour in different... ROGER FEDERER: In how many cities? Q. Yeah. ROGER FEDERER: I don't know, maybe 30. I'm not sure. Q. 28. ROGER FEDERER: Okay, so I hope to get to 29 tomorrow. Definitely be nice to win in a new city for the first time, no doubt. Q. For somebody who has been on the tour so long and won in so many places, is that something that still is sort of a little bit of an extra drive, to go somewhere where you haven't won? ROGER FEDERER: Yeah. I mean, it's good when there is an ATP event in a new place, like here in Brisbane for me. But also exhibitions. I like to go tour the world and go see new places, play different places. Or for good causes, like for my foundation or any charity, for that matter. It's nice to get around and get a feel for new arenas, new cities, new countries. If these a new country that's even extra special in my opinion. Like playing in India recently. New cities are very cool as well. People are very knowledgeable about tennis here, and it would be great winning this year. Q. Just generally, Roger, coming into this year compared to last year, given 2014 was a much better year for you, how much better do you feel about your game than 12 months ago? ROGER FEDERER: I actually played pretty good in the off‑season and also coming into Australia. I think I was still a bit insecure about the body, just how much can it take. That's why I played singles and doubles, to get as much information as I could early. I had just started to work with Stefan Edberg, as well. I had a new racquet, you know, which can play tricks on you, I guess, to some extent. You might play well for a long period of time, but then all of a sudden when it comes to the crunch you're just not sure if the racquet is going to be there for you. And it was, I think, you know, for me. So I think I handled all those changes very well. Also the tough season in 2013. But let's not forget I did actually play well at the back end of 2013 through Basel and through the World Tour Finals. I think that gave me some confidence, knowing that, Okay, maybe I am not playing my best, but at least the body is holding up now. I'm getting fitter by the day and confidence is rising. I think I surprised myself a little bit how well I played at the beginning of the last year already. Q. Talk a little bit more about Milos. Do you think he's gotten better in the last year? Can he be top 5? Is he that good already? ROGER FEDERER: Better than? Q. Milos. ROGER FEDERER: The year before? Q. Yeah, yeah. ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, no, I definitely think he's had a very solid and consistent year. I believe he protected his ranking, as well. Made sure he got into the top eight at some point, and then always went sort of quarters in a lot of the Masters 1000s, which is important to stay within the top eight and give yourself better draws. Then with his kind of game it's normal to sometimes maybe struggle against just a normal guy on tour. With his serve, he doesn't break so often, he doesn't get broken. Next thing you know is your caught in breakers and you can't always win them all. But I think he did a nice job of making sure he got through those matches almost with routine. I think he created opportunities. The more you create, the further you go, and you start‑upping the confidence. At the end he actually played very solid. It was almost easy for him to go deep in any tournament. I think credit to him to, under pressure in Paris as well, to make the run he had and get to the World Tour Finals. He was playing injured there, so that wasn't ideal, but I was very impressed how well he actually played on all surfaces throughout clay, grass, and hard courts. We know he can play well in the hard courts, indoor and outdoor. But I think this is a big year for him to back it up and actually take it even to the next level. He's doing that this week already by beating a rival for him in Nishikori. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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