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BNP PARIBAS MASTERS

November 5, 2015

Roger Federer

Paris, France

J. ISNER/R. Federer
7‑6, 3‑6, 7‑6

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. It's always difficult to return Isner's serve? Is it even harder indoors when there is no wind or sun or anything to disrupt him?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, potentially. I don't know. I don't know. I mean, I think he serves consistent throughout the year. I think with him it's more can he serve big when he really needs it the most? Does indoors maybe help him there a little bit? Potentially. He's got the size, got the power, got the angles.
I thought he did very well today when he needed it. The breakers, he served great. Those are the ones he needed. Yeah, that was the difference.

Q. Where did your game fall short today? You have been playing so well indoors. You're coming off winning in Switzerland. Where did you fall short today?
ROGER FEDERER: Picking up a couple of serves at 230, here and there. That's it. Didn't get a break.
Yeah, it's tough to get out of the tournament not having lost your serve, you know, but that's how it can go against John.

Q. Very rarely do we ever see a trainer have to tend to you during the course of the match. What was the problem out there today?
ROGER FEDERER: I was just feeling my arm. I had an issue in Basel already, so I just felt it coming. So I just took some anti‑inflammatories, and I played with no pain in the third. That was not the reason for losing today. It's not serious. Thankfully.

Q. Do you feel any fatigue after Basel? Perhaps a factor in this evening's defeat?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, maybe the eye was a thousandths of a second slower. I mean, what do you want me to tell you? I was definitely not tired from last night. I was ready to go today.

Q. A lot of players talk about cities they like, tournaments they play well at. I know you have won this one, but do you feel this is one of your less happy hunting grounds?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, yes, because it's on the back end of Basel. That's my priority. My Paris preparation is not always ideal. It's still indoors. Played so well in Basel for so many year, I usually come in with confidence here.
You know, at the very end of the season, going two tournaments in a row after playing a lot of tennis in Basel the week before with a lot of pressure and tension. Fun as well at the same time. There's maybe a bit of a letdown after Basel.
At the same time I think if I look at the matches in previous years, I always lost to good players. They always had to play really well to beat me. There is always very little in between.
Again, today. Clearly frustrating and disappointing, but at the same time, it's just how it goes indoors sometimes. I wish I could have done better here in Paris over the years, but I still enjoy coming back and I'm still happy I came again this year.

Q. When do you think you'll go to London?
ROGER FEDERER: Let me speak to my wife, let me speak to my coach, and then I will let you know (smiling).
THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. This pain in the arm is worrying for London or just because you played two weeks in a row?
ROGER FEDERER: In the semifinal in Basel, I felt it, or the quarterfinal. I don't remember. And then it was gone. Today, during the match, I felt something, although it was not serious. I just needed to take something for it to go away. At the end I played without any pain.
So I'm not worried at all. Now I have some days' rest, and if it's the last tournament of the year, it's going to be okay.

Q. It's frustrating to play John Isner, and frustrating to lose against him when you didn't even lose your serve. Can you talk about this disappointment.
ROGER FEDERER: In the US Open, I won my tiebreakers. Here I lost them. It's a pity. I didn't play a bad match. I haven't been broken during six sets against him, and I lost the match.
This is how it happens against John. It's always in his racquet, especially indoors. And today he served as he had to, 230 on the very important points. Everyone would like to have what he has.
But we have other weapons, too. It's a pity I wasn't able to win that match, because it was very close. Especially in the third.

Q. Although you played well here, it is not the Masters place where you have had most success. Is it just because it's just the week after Basel or is there another explanation?
ROGER FEDERER: No, it's because of that. It's a very difficult week just after Basel. I always said my priority was to win Basel because it's my home. I was a ballboy there.
I come here not as prepared as I should be, but I was confident. When I lose matches, I often lose to players who are at their best, which was the case today, too. Maybe I should have changed something, but I don't really understand what I had to change. I couldn't do any differently.
In the beginning, like in the French Open, here I had problems adjusting to the conditions, but now I am used to it. I would have preferred to have better results here. But I didn't play bad matches, either. I didn't even lose my serve today. So it can't be a bad match.

Q. You're going to have extra days to prepare for London. Can you talk about this tournament in London where you had so many successes? Is it the main goal for the end of the season?
ROGER FEDERER: Yes, this is the major event that we still have to play. I have been there since 2002. It's one of the tournaments that I enjoyed most and that I had a lot of pleasure winning. I'm happy I'm qualified. We'll see the groups, the round robins.
Anyway, I'm very eager to go to London and get prepared as well as I can. I'm in good shape. I'm healthy, so I want that tournament to start. It's not very far away.

Q. So since the US Open, there were good things and less‑good things. I'm thinking about Shanghai. How do you assess your game since the US Open?
ROGER FEDERER: In the Davis Cup, I couldn't lose against the Dutch at home. And Shanghai was a pity. You need to adjust to the conditions there. I didn't play bad. I believe I played better here than I did in Basel. Otherwise it went well.
Well, the result is not the one I was hoping for, but I believe my level was the one I wanted to reach.
Shanghai is a disappointment. I shouldn't have lost that match. I won more points than Ramos. I had many more opportunities, and he played well in the important points. I should have converted my opportunities.
That is the disappointment of this fall.

Q. Apparently the conditions here are very different from one year to the other. Usually it's very fast. This year it's slow. Is it typical from Paris or the same in all indoors tournaments?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, there are not that many tournaments indoors, first of all. Basel is now more or less always the same, and London, too. Paris has changed. But I believe they are not in an easy situation, because there is London just after and there are other tournaments before. So they need to find a speed that is agreeable to more or less all the players.
If it's too slow, it doesn't deserve the name "indoors" anymore. If it's too fast, then players are frustrated, because they say it has nothing to do with what we are playing on the rest of the year.
My opinion is that in the Masters 1000, there should be some changes. It should not always be the same everywhere in all the Grand Slams and Masters 1000s. I mean, if you watch someone, well, playing 25 aces, well, it's good to see, of course. Some players also can improve if they play on different surfaces, slower, faster. I think you have to play differently on different surfaces.
So Shanghai is no longer like it was in Madrid, and etcetera. So with Shanghai now we have an outdoors season, too. Not only indoors. I know they don't want a surface that is too slow here. Also, London is slow, so it doesn't allow Paris to have a faster surface.

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