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ROLEX PARIS MASTERS

October 30, 2018

Roger Federer

Paris, France

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.

Q. Are you going to play tomorrow? Big question?
ROGER FEDERER: Yes, otherwise I wouldn't be sitting here. I would have left.

So, no, I'm happy to play tomorrow. You know, I feel like I recovered well from last week. So yeah, I'll give it a go tomorrow. I'm excited.

Q. So slight follow-up. So thoughts after winning in Basel, you took a rest. What were some of your key decisions on why you decided to come?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, mostly I feel like it's better for me to play matches rather than practice, and I think that's it. And then as long as I don't feel like I'm taking a chance on my health prior to London, that's the key as well.

So here, I have to listen to the signs here this week. But I'm happy how I got through the last four days of playing every day. And, you know, today I feel good. You know, I had a second day off so it's all good.

And tomorrow it's going to be against a big server. It's fairly straightforward, you know, in a way. And then I'll probably, obviously, know a lot more.

But I would rather play matches than practice again, which I would anyway, start practicing, I guess, by tomorrow.

Q. Is the way you fought back in some of those matches in Basel a further sign of encouragement that you were able to do that?
ROGER FEDERER: Do what?

Q. Sorry. The fact that you had to fight back in some of those games was further encouragement for you health-wise and fitness-wise?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, not really. I mean, look, it's definitely a way of winning a tournament for a change. Obviously I have my titles. I didn't win them all outright, straightforward, no problem. I had to fight for a lot of them.

But this one was sort of from the first match till the last match, I was a bit bumpy, but I was happy how I was returning, how I was fighting, how I was trying to figure it out in a different manner.

Yeah, I mean, look, I think I actually started playing better as the tournament went on. It's kind of logical, you know, that you always start feeling better as you go on.

But for me, I don't know. I always want to keep the door open for Paris, and I'm happy I'm here. And like I said, I would rather play on a nice court rather than going back to practice. I've already done enough practice this season. So I feel like if that helps me for London that's a great thing. And I have also not played in this city for some time. That was the excitement today as well to it.

But last week was special to win at home the way I did it, in a different manner. It was a good feeling, no doubt about it.

Q. Can I ask you about Wimbledon's decision to have final set tie-breaks? Kevin Anderson said in here earlier that Wimbledon asked him what he thought about it, and he thought tie-breaks were a good idea but he thought at 6-All. I wonder if Wimbledon reached out to you, and can you tell us what you said you would like to see happen?
ROGER FEDERER: It's done, isn't it? So what's the point? I mean, I don't know. I'm happy to give you my opinion, but, like, it's not going to change anything at all. So it's always a tournament's decision, like the court speed or if they leave the grass this long or not. I mean, at the end, we have no say, and that's okay. I know they try the best for the players any tournament out there.

And now if I give my opinion if it's better at 6-All, 7-All or 20-All or never to do it, it doesn't actually matter. But I do remember them asking me. I don't actually remember my response, to be quite honest, because I think they were debating between 6-All and 12-All. At the end of day, it's their call, so it doesn't really matter what I think.

Q. Historical question. Looking forward to London it's the 10th ATP finals there. Do you remember much about 2009 the first time you went to the O2?
ROGER FEDERER: It's a bit of a blur now because I've been there seven times. But, you know, it was a nice change after Shanghai. You know, similar in the sense of in terms of sort of size of the stadium.

I mean, it was exciting, you know, the whole idea of going down with the boat from the Eye all the way to the O2. And seeing the excitement, as well, that hit London when tennis came to London the second time during the year in a big way.

I loved it, and I thought it was a great choice. I was very happy that the tour decided to go to a place that had a lot of the history with tennis after being in different places many years before that which maybe doesn't have quite the same history like London does.

So that was exciting for me, and personally I was pumped and I thought it was a great inaugural World Tour Finals, what you call it now, at the time.

So I'm still happy we're there, and we'll see what happens in the future. But I'm excited to be back here again this year.

Q. So as a respected peer and friend to Rafa and Novak, have they sought any input from you concerning the Saudi exhibition?
ROGER FEDERER: No. Why would they?

Q. On that subject, were you invited to play in that?
ROGER FEDERER: They contacted me to, yeah.

Q. And what was your response?
ROGER FEDERER: I prefer not to play.

Q. Because?
ROGER FEDERER: Because I don't want to play. It's okay. I'm happy practicing. I'm happy doing other things, and I didn't want to play there at that time. So, for me, it was a very quick decision.

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