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BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL PRESENTED BY SUNCORPJanuary 11, 2015Roger FedererBRISBANE, QUEENSLAND R. FEDERER/M. Raonic THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. What does 1000 mean to you? ROGER FEDERER: I don't know. It's a lot of matches. A lot of wins thankfully. A lot of wins, the 1000 we're talking about. Yeah, clearly it's a great feeling. Couldn't have done it without so many people. You know, number one, just even started to play tennis, and then all the coaches and everybody, conditioning coach, Federation, my wife, who probably sat through about 800 of them, wouldn't of been possible without them. So I had great support staff throughout my whole career. Every one of them has made some sort of a sacrifice for me to be there today. Clearly it's a special day for me, winning a title plus getting to the magic number of 1000. Yeah, it feels very different to any other match I've ever won, because I never thought about anything, reaching 500 or 800. All those numbers didn't mean anything to me, but for some reason 1000 means a lot because it's such a huge number. Just alone to c0unt to 1000 is going to take a while. Yeah, it's funny emotions right now, but clearly very proud and happy. Q. Is there something you can remember from every single win of those wins, are they just a blur? ROGER FEDERER: Some I've probably forgotten in the meantime. It's happened to me already in the past. I probably remember I would say 800 of them at least. I hope I do. Don't start testing me. (Smiling.) Q. It's a physically demanding number. The match tonight looked like it was a lot of hard work. ROGER FEDERER: I mean now looking back it's almost nicer winning this way through a tight match with nerves and humid conditions against a great player in a finals. It means so much more than just running away with it with the score maybe winning 6‑4, 6‑4, which was looking very likely at one stage. I guess I was much more happy having to go three sets in the end rather than winning in straight. Q. You're currently trending worldwide #roger1000. Do you ever get overwhelmed with the support across the globe? ROGER FEDERER: Well, you know, social media is a different world. It is what it is. But I've definitely thanked the whole team and everybody, but the fans also take a huge part in our game. I've seen the game grow over the years. Seen new stadiums that didn't exist when I started my career. Couldn't even play Brisbane in the beginning of my career. I didn't say it on court, but every time I do see Rod or Roy I'm thankful for them paving the way for us, having played I don't know how many exhibition matches promoting tennis in the world and giving us this platform. And then it kept improving, more people were able to come, and it became a professional tour. We were able to make a living out of it. Now so many players have an opportunity to make it, you know, from anyplace in the world. Fans have a huge impact on the game today. To win in a packed stadium is clearly very nice as well. Q. If you won in Melbourne I think you would be the oldest Australian champion for about 40 years. You think you got another one in you? ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I do believe that. Then again, it's just talk. At the end, I've got to do the running. I've got to do the clutch play when it matters the most, like tonight. See how it goes first. I need to recover. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's match with Lleyton in Sydney. Actually that's something I am really excited about. Then I'll be in Melbourne getting ready. Clearly I do believe I have a shot in Melbourne otherwise I would go home on Tuesday. Q. Jimmy Connors got 1250 wins. Given how long and much effort has gone into getting 1000, do you think you could keep playing long enough to challenge his record? ROGER FEDERER: Never even thought about it, because like I said, it's not been a goal of mine to reach any of those guys. Next thing you know you're in the top 3. I know how well they've played over the years, how much they've played, and how successful they've played. So it's not a goal of mine in any way. Clearly at this point I doubt that it's going to happen, but you never know. I have no idea, like I said, how long I'm going to keep on playing. The goal is to remain in the game as long as possible. For that I need to stay injury‑free. I need to be hungry, motivated, and all that. For the moment I am, so that's more of a concern than reaching that number. Q. You said some encouraging words about Milos out there. Do you get excited when you see the level of talent coming through, players like him? ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I like seeing guys improving. I like seeing him play maybe sometimes differently than they normally would. I think he's definitely changed his way of playing since the I started working with Riccardo and Ivan. I think it's interesting to see him adapting and changing to that coaching staff. Then I think the fitness is something everybody can control themselves. He seems he's doing a good job there as well. Only time will tell. Same with me about Melbourne and same with him about the year. Clearly we're both feeling good about our chances for Australia, but only one guy can win. The other guys are all going to go home with a loss there. It's a frustrating sport sometimes. He's going to have a good year. He's already had a very consistent season this year, but I think he'll probably step it up a bit. Q. How high can your girls count yet? To a 1000? ROGER FEDERER: No, they can't count to a 1000. In any language. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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