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BNP PARIBAS OPENMarch 17, 2015Roger FedererINDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA R. FEDERER/A. Seppi THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Not a totally easy straightforward match at the end but must feel good to get through it, especially after Australia? ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, it absolutely was an opportunity right away to play him again and sort of erase it to some extent from the memory as the season moves forward. I don't think we both played very well tonight. We both struggled with the conditions, the balls. I think it's tough to get ahold of them, you know, the right way with the right spin. Maybe as you move along in the tournament, hopefully it's going to get better for me and for any player. It's one of those matches you're happy you're through, and I was happy it was over. Q. Is this year any different? Players have been talking about the conditions. Is this specific to Indian Wells, you have to get used to playing here? ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I definitely think the ball flies a bit more because of the thin air probably out here in the desert. But then I came from Dubai where conditions are tough to play in. I felt better over there. I feel like I also have to do quite an adjustment from all the tournaments I have played the last sort of five months. Conditions all felt a little bit faster where the ball comes to you a bit more often; whereas, here now I feel like I have to take a couple of steps towards the ball, especially on the slice. So I'm still figuring out exactly how the court plays and the balls, you know, react. So that's why I'm very happy to be in the third round to give myself another opportunity to play in these conditions and hopefully move forward. Q. Bacsinszky is another Swiss on a 15‑match winning streak now. She said she got to feel 10% of what you felt in the '04, '07 stretch. What do you make of her comeback and her great form? ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I think it's quite a fascinating story actually. I don't know her well enough, to be honest. She was still actually very young and stopped so early and came back again. I only followed it from afar, and now recently I got to see her play a bit more often. I'm very happy for her that she decided to just give it all she has and leave it all out there. She's a great fighter on the court. You know, it just goes to show if you're professional and you love doing what you're doing how far you can get. I don't think her potential is fulfilled yet. I think she still has higher hopes, and I think she's getting the match she was hoping for playing Serena I think tomorrow, tomorrow night. I think that's a wonderful ‑‑it's the best time probably for her to play her, being on a winning streak like this. I'm very excited for her. Q. Top four guys, all of you have won majors in the last few years. Novak hasn't had the kind of dominant years you had. Do you feel like the last three or four years it's kind of been Djokovic's era, or would you feel that way even though you have been very close and beat him recently? ROGER FEDERER: Yeah. I don't know what era exactly means. Ten years? Five years? Three years? Q. Maybe the last four years. ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, if you look at those years I think he has played best. He's finished No. 1 most of those years, right, year end No. 1? I don't know how many he has now. To me it seems he's been the player to beat in recent years because he's stayed injury free, played most consistent, and won probably the most slams in the last few years. You know, he's carried that throughout all surfaces, I mean, that we have gotten used to. Ten, fifteen years ago it wasn't so normal just to run through all the surfaces. He's made it a habit, like Rafa, myself, and also Murray. It's normal to play well on all the surfaces. He's done that very, very well. I don't exactly remember all five years what happened. I don't want to say anything wrong. But he's played unbelievably well throughout his career, but especially in the last five years, let's say. Q. You have Jack Sock next. What do you know about him? ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, I know a little bit. I know him off the court because we always chat in the locker room and we crack jokes and stuff. Other than that, I know he's got a nice serve; good forehand. I remember watching his match against Raonic in Toronto I think he played him. Lost in the third maybe. I remember watching that. All of a sudden I heard he's injured, and you just hope he comes back strong. Right off the bat he has a great start again. I'm very happy for him ‑ anybody for that matter ‑ who has been injured and is able to come back quickly. It's nice to see. Always a great story. He's clearly tough to beat, especially here in the States on the hard courts. That where he grew up playing on mostly. I don't know him very well. Sort of a tough match. Q. It's been said that players don't say as interesting things in press conferences anymore because a lot of them are trying to sound like Federer. Do you see... ROGER FEDERER: Okay. Is that a good thing or bad thing? I don't know. Q. Well, everyone is similar now. Do you see players trying to copy what you say? ROGER FEDERER: Not really, no. Honestly, I don't follow press conferences, but I guess it's true. Public eye can be pretty tough. Whatever you say can be analyzed. Maybe doesn't sound much like here but it might be a big deal in your home market or home city. You're always very careful at times, and for some I guess it's quite a burden to come here and sit here and say all these intimate things for some, so they just prefer to, you know, put the shield up. I try really not to have that too much and be somewhat open and honest about the press conferences so I always enjoy them to some extent.  I feel like I give the fans the story ‑ maybe you guys, as well. I try to enjoy as much as I possibly can, because clearly it's another one today. It's going to be another one tomorrow. I'm aware of that. This is like 10:00 and I know you're not going to ask me about the break point in the second set, so it's not all of a sudden you get carried away talking about things you shouldn't actually be talking about. You just have to remind yourself sometimes, Okay, what are you here to do? Just get rid of the press conferences, because I do believe we do do a few too many on the tennis tour, but that's the habit and the grind we've gotten into in recent years. So I don't know what the other players think of the press conferences, but the top guys now have to do a lot of them. Sometimes you're not maybe that inspired, but I try to get up for it and motivate myself when I come into this room. I'll tell you that. Q. One thing that Sloane Stephens said earlier was that she had gotten into some Twitter battle with Serena over the last year. What is your social media policy in terms of interacting with the public? Do you simply use social media to get your message out or do you have a lot of interaction back and forth with fans? How do you feel about that? ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, well, I feel like I try to give them a different insight. It's a different way to communicate with them. I just try to have fun with it. I've always liked them to take pictures. I probably enjoy that the most, besides interacting with fans giving them a different angle. I guess to some extent you can control the message, but I'm always very careful, as well, of what you say or do. It goes back to the same situation. I don't really get in trouble doing social media. So I'm still fairly new at it, but so far it's been a good experience and the vibe on the web has been nice I must say, very positive, very encouraging. I thought it was much tougher world out there, so I guess you have to use social media, Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook for that matter the way you feel it makes sense and makes you happy. I don't want to go crazy on it and just follow all the things because I have a life. I want to spend my time with my family and friends and not on the phone. It's a fine line, but no problem for me. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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