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BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL PRESENTED BY SUNCORP

January 9, 2016

Roger Federer

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

R. FEDERER/D. Thiem

6-1, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. That looked very comfortable for you. Certainly the first set. Are you feeling a lot better now?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, clearly I'm getting used to conditions, like is usually the case after couple matches. You understand the speeds more and you're more comfortable. Plus I'm definitely also feeling a bit better now.

Yeah, I got off to a good start also in the second set. He had a good spell there for a bit, and it was important to get the crucial break and serve it home. I was, yeah, very pleased with how I played. I think it was the best match of the week so far, or most consistent maybe.

Q. Thoughts on the final with Milos?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, I played some tough matches in the last, I don't know, I guess 16 months or so guess Milos. I thought he played really well against me here and Indian Wells last year. So he's been looking good, you know. Clearly with a serve like that things are always complicated. When you speak about the match it's hard to see the match play out.

You always focus more on your own game rather than thinking too far ahead, how you want to play tactically from the baseline once the rally is on. If he's serving, he's usually in the driver's seat. Same thing. I hope it's going to be the case for me when I'm serving.

Last year I played very well I thought, so we'll see how it's going to be this year. I have a little smaller expectations maybe just because of the toughness of the week it's been. Still, once in the finals, clearly don't want to lose that one.

Q. Health-wise how much better are you?
ROGER FEDERER: Here now? Of course I feel better. I think the turnaround from late last night to today was a fast one. I did feel quite tired this morning. But then that didn't show in the match, which was great. That I'm able -- once warmed up and everything I'm actually okay.

So I think it's good for me now to have a bit more rest before tomorrow's final.

Q. Is he one of the guys you like the least playing because of how big his serve is and how he doesn't give you rhythm?
ROGER FEDERER: I mean, big serving guys are always just tricky. I don't know if it's I don't like to play them. I always embrace the challenge of playing big servers. I have a really good record against them. I usually do a good job of getting the ball back and then finding a way. Sometimes it works and sometimes it hasn't.

But, no, I have no problems playing against him. Clearly I respect his game. I think he's done a lot of progress in the past few years.

Q. What do you expect from Serena this year after how everything ended? A bid of a thud at the US Open for her, that loss.
ROGER FEDERER: I guess if she's healthy, going to be really tough to beat again. I think she's in a similar situation like Novak, where if they're both very healthy it's going to be tough for many, many players to win against them. They've set the bar very high. Serena even more so because she's been doing it for a long time.

I wish she's going to be healthy now coming to the Australian Open. Yeah, that was a bit of a disappointment I guess for her at the Open. Was unfortunate.

Q. Can I can ask for your assessment of Bernard Tomic this week and what you've seen? His movement; his defense was quite good against Nishikori; may have seen some of the Raonic match today. Where do you think he is in regard to perhaps the top 10 challenge or his game in general?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, I think he played a really good week, you know. Beating Nishikori is always a good measuring bar, stick, I don't know what you say. It's just good to see where your game is at, because he makes you play a lot of balls. He's usually very tough to beat once you're in the third or fifth set. I've seen a record of him which is quite extraordinary from Kei. Usually by then he has his game figured out and he dials in and he doesn't miss anymore.

I thought that was very impressive. Today he stuck around and had his chances against Milos as well. Unfortunately didn't play two very good breakers. No, he's been good, but then top 10 is another story. The year is not just one month long or one week long. It's 52 weeks. It's every day.

That he's been struggling to show, to be quite honest. Many seasons now in a row we have seen or heard that top 10 is the goal, and he's missed out on it by a long shot. I think before speaking so highly, maybe it's good to take it to the next level, whatever that is. We shall see.

We all know how well Bernie can play; today definitely was impressive. I thought he played very well, and I hope he can do well at the Australian Open as well.

Q. You played Novak in quite a few slam finals. You mentioned how far ahead of the pack you think he is at the moment. Do you think he's underappreciated in a larger sense by the public or by the media?
ROGER FEDERER: It's so hard to say. I don't know. I live in Switzerland, so what do they think of him there? I have no idea what millions of people think. I think he's got the respect he deserves for his achievements, success, his records, streaks, whatever you want it to be.

I think there is no denying the fact that this guy has been rock solid for years now. He made a significant move. Maybe it's not jumping hundreds of spots in the rankings, but he jumped two, from 3 to 1, which is a massive jump for him. He figured out his game, his fitness, his health, his mental, whatever, you name it, and he's done a nice job of that. I think everybody respects that.

Then the other thing that only maybe comes with time or it's a natural thing, or sometimes you got to be patient. Who knows. Especially maybe with Rafa, me, and the gang, we had a long rivalry. He came up a bit later and we're still in the game. Maybe it's just a different player, you know, that people take longer to maybe appreciate.

They might just always be a Nadal or always a Federer fan and a Djokovic fan will always be a Novak fan. It's really hard to answer this question. But the respect, he has it from all the players and fans I think.

Q. You're going for title No. 89 tomorrow. Have you ever imagined the possibility of crossing your 100th?
ROGER FEDERER: I thought he was going to ask me like an easy question. Did you ever think you were going to win 88 or 89 wins? Now that I'm at 88, you would think that maybe 100 is a possibility.

Yeah, plus I've played really well now the last year and a half again, so all of a sudden you could start thinking of it.

But it's not a goal of mine, really, to like think of that right now.

Every title you win you get super much closer and it's exciting and could maybe also motivate and inspire you to keep playing or pushing harder. I of course also look for things to maybe still achieve. Maybe one goal like this could all of a sudden become a goal, which right now it's not.

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