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THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 2, 2018

Roger Federer

Wimbledon, London, England

R. FEDERER/D. Lajovic

6-1, 6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I don't know if you have to congratulate more because of your win or the $300 million deal with Uniqlo until you're 47 years old.
ROGER FEDERER: It's good you know my contract or you have no clue and you're just saying something (smiling).

Yeah, I'm very happy on both ends, absolutely. I'm happy to be back at Wimbledon. I was really able to enjoy the match out there because I got off to a good start. When you get off to a good start in set one and two, you're able to just enjoy the moment more than when you're struggling early on, especially at the tournament like I explained yesterday. There is always pressure and nerves when you go into a first round.

Also I was excited to wear Uniqlo today. I must tell you, it's been a long time coming. I felt very good out there. It's also crucial to play well, so it was helpful.

Q. You've been saying for quite a long time that you wanted to play until your kids could remember seeing you play. We've seen the twin girls and also the twin boys in the box today. Could you say that is definitely mission accomplished? Do you have the feeling the boys know what their dad is doing out there?
ROGER FEDERER: I mean, they know I play a lot of tennis, but I'm not sure if they know that -- I don't know. They won't know what my ranking would be. They wouldn't know what I'm actually maybe trying to do really. They know that there is a trophy involved at some point if I do play well, because they get most excited about the trophies.

I think probably it would be helpful a few more years for the boys to really remember. The girls, they will always remember at this point, of course. I'm not sure about the boys.

It was nice to see them there today walking out, walking off, seeing them there. It means the world to me, also to my wife. Yeah, it's definitely a special day today in my life again.

Q. Yesterday you spoke about the importance of the first six games of a match, you get settled. How did you feel about your first six games today?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, it was good. I was nervous in the warmup, in the five-minute hitting. When the match started, I really felt like nerves settled. I returned well quickly. I felt my legs were moving. That's then what gave me the confidence quickly to see like, Okay, I think I know very quickly within two to four games what I need to do to cause problems for Lajovic.

I also watched some of the match I played against him last year. My legs were really not moving. Also Severin and Ivan gave me good advice. I think that all settled my nerves.

Yeah, took me faster than six games to figure everything out. Court played great. It's wonderful. Wonderful to be back here.

Q. I wanted to ask you about your Nike hat, the Roger Federer hat. I hear they still have that, but you can't use it right now. Will that end at some point? What happens with it?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, so the RF logo is with Nike at the moment, but it will come to me at some point. I hope rather sooner than later, that Nike can be nice and helpful in the process to bring it over to me. It's also something that was very important for me, for the fans really.

Look, it's the process. But the good news is that it will come with me at one point. They are my initials. They are mine. The good thing is it's not theirs forever. In a short period of time, it will come to me.

Obviously we also need to figure out with Uniqlo when at one point we can start selling clothes for the public as well. All this has just gotten underway. We're hopeful the beginning of next year people can also start buying my stuff. For the moment, as fast at retailing as they are, as great as they are, it just needs a bit of time.

Q. Overnight Tennis Australia announced that the World Team Cup is going to be happening in about 18 months time, the Davis Cup is also supposed to potentially become a November event. I think it was said it would be insanity to have the two of them so close. What do you think about this team event mania?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, it's very new news. I've only just gotten all the details just now before the press. I don't look totally silly in here not knowing the facts at all. Honestly, I was a bit out of it the last few months. I wasn't really totally involved in anything.

I think, look, what tennis needs to do and look at is probably something that works also against other sports, not just the internal battles that we always face with politics on the inside of our sport, maybe think more what's good for our sport to rival big events. World Cup is going on right now in soccer for a month. It just basically takes over. Not here, because Wimbledon has established themselves as an amazing tournament. I think that's what needs to be the goal.

In Australia, I'm sure it would be very successful, what the ATP and Tennis Australia are trying to do. The question is now, like you said, what is going to happen with the Davis Cup and the ITF, how are they going to react to all of this. I'm not sure.

In a perfect world, you want to coexist, everybody be successful. Maybe this is going to lead to something extraordinary in the future. I don't know exactly what. Maybe not in five years, maybe in 20 years. There's always a process to everything.

That's how I feel right now. I'm also intrigued to find out how good all these events are going to be, what Davis Cup is going to do now.

Q. Andy Murray obviously had to withdraw yesterday. What would be your advice to him about scheduling to prolong his career as long as possible?
ROGER FEDERER: I mean, I'm not going to tell him what to play and what not to play. I think most important is if he does return, he's fully fit, because then anything is possible, especially for a former top guy. You have it. You don't forget how to play tennis. It's like riding a bike your brushing your teeth. It's not like you're going to all of a sudden rock up and forget about it all.

I think the body just needs to be there. Seems right now it's not the case. You wonder, Why did he then play Queen's and Eastbourne? Only he and his team know.

Look, that's the only advice I would give. I've realized that, that if you do come back too soon, it's always a problem. I feel like it lingers more. I'm hopeful he's going to feel better and better as time goes by. If that means he comes back in a month, that's great. If he comes back in a year, well, so be it.

I'm hopeful to see a fully fit Andy Murray again. That's what I care about really as a fellow rival, friend, guy around who has been there before. That's what I'm hopeful for.

Q. You've gotten a lot of records recently. One of yours is going to be broken at this tournament. Lopez will get the record for most consecutive slams played. Have you talked to him about it? Could you also just address your shoes, if you have a contract for the shoes?
ROGER FEDERER: So, I haven't spoken to Feliciano about it. I'm happy for him. I had a good run. I don't know. It wasn't like my number one concern. But it's nice that more and more players are able to keep themselves in shape. Especially I think as Feliciano and me, we go way back to the Junior European Championships under-16 here in Hatfield, all the way to today, that we can talk about breaking each other's records, him breaking mine. It's a great thing.

It's a testament for both of us to keep yourself in shape, loving the sport. I hope that many more players can achieve such a thing.

Obviously also the slams have grown in stature over the last years now. Everybody now wants to play everywhere, at all slams. Not like when I came on tour, people would skip Wimbledon, because grass wasn't their thing, clay, vice versa.

With the shoe situation, I don't have a shoe deal. I'm looking forward to see what shoes I will be wearing in the near future. For now, I will be wearing Nike. They have shown interest to have a shoe deal with me, as well. Ties are not broken there. I have deep roots with Nike. I've had a great relationship over the last 20 years. But everything is open. Yeah, it's very exciting also again to see what's out there, who wants to do something with me.

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