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MIAMI OPEN PRESENTED BY ITAÃº

March 27, 2019

Roger Federer

Miami, Florida

R. FEDERER/D. Medvedev

6-4, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How do you feel about your next match with Anderson?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, I think it's going to be a bit tricky, you know. He's got a great serve, so you go back to big-serve mentality to try to hold your own service games first before thinking about how to break Kevin.

Had a tough one against him at Wimbledon when I lost. Was able to come back and play a good match against him in London when I really had to in that round-robin match.

But, you know, I think I'm feeling really good. Today's match I can be really happy with. I hope it's going to give me some confidence for tomorrow.

Q. Can you take us through the end of the first set and just how pivotal that was to fend off the three breaks? I think you broke him right away in the second set. Just how pivotal those few minutes were?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, I think when you want to go deep in tournaments, sometimes you need those 15 minutes, you know, that go your way and you're able to pull away with the score, too.

It's not always simple. Margins are super slim. You need a bit of help sometimes from your opponent. But you can definitely, you know, fight your way in that position. And I did. I got the break to go up 5-4, and then, sure, he had Love-40, but he's still under pressure. He has to break. He knows that. Maybe with that pressure, to some extent, you somehow find a way. And I did.

Maybe a bit of frustration kicks in, and next thing you know instead of it being 4-All you're up 6-4, 2-Love and it's tough. I spoke about that in the press the other day about how these best-of-three-set matches can be very tricky.

Today I showed why that is. I'm very happy how I played today, especially in that spell.

Q. Novak last night conceded that he has been distracted by everything that's been going on, particularly with this new search for a new head of the ATP. Are you feeling that at all, as well? How are you fighting to keep the off-court stuff off court and the on-court stuff on court?
ROGER FEDERER: I mean, look, there is always, I think, a lot going on regardless of ATP politics or not. In the life that Novak or me or we live in, I want to say there is always stuff going on. So from that standpoint, it's nothing new.

But sometimes it can get a bit much or you get tired of it or you get tired of having an injury or tired of -- I don't know what it is. Maybe there is negotiations going on with a sponsor, with management, I don't know what. All that stuff can sometimes take some energy away from you, takes the mind off things.

So this maybe he felt a little bit more. I don't know exactly what he's talking about in details, but, yeah, he's not the only one. I have had that in the past, too. But, you know, I think it's normal. It's not an excuse. It's just a fact.

Q. This question is for the audience in Chile. A few days ago Nicolas Massu said that you are the most complete player in the tour. And he's actually coaching Dominic Thiem. We want to know what you think about him, his new role in the tennis as a coach, and what do you think about his future?
ROGER FEDERER: About Nico?

Q. Yeah.
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, look, I know him obviously from the juniors, actually funny enough. I played him when he was No. 1 seed in Milan. It was one of my big, big wins that I had way back when.

I also played him on the tour afterwards, and it was amazing what he did at the Olympics, winning singles gold. Now seeing him back on the tour, coaching, I always enjoy that when great players from the past come back and almost can't get enough of tennis.

He seems like also back in the day how he used to get hyped up for his games and stuff, I'm sure a lot of players can learn something from him.

I appreciate the nice things he said about me. I think we have always had a lot of respect for one another. We saw each other in the locker room after the finals in Indian Wells, and I was really happy for him. He was very respectful, you know, towards me, too. He came to just say "Congratulations, great event. Look, I'm sorry."

But he was very nice. I'm happy to see him on tour. I'm sure he's going to do very well.

Q. The way the quarterfinals shook out, two of them were between guys in their 30s and two between pretty young guys. There's Borna versus Felix and Denis versus Tiafoe. Curious what you would look for in those matchups of young guys who haven't had too many chances in a Masters quarterfinal especially against someone like themselves?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, definitely one making it into the semis. Borna has been there, obviously. Shanghai being one of them. But especially on the Shapo/Tiafoe side, I think that's a huge opportunity in that quarters now, knowing that, you know, the tournament will go on and you're going to have a shot at the finals.

So I think it must be very exciting. That's exactly where you want to be at, this stage of the competition, feeling great. I didn't see everything, but the Tsitsipas/Shapovalov match yesterday was great. I loved seeing them slug it out, and I'm sure they are going to have big matches down the road.

I like when they also have to play each other a little bit, because they don't look across the net and see a guy ranked whatever it is. It's just another guy they know from the juniors and I'm just going to beat you up now.

So it's interesting how they go about it differently against one another, and I think they really have taken it to the next level now, all the bunch of guys we are talking about right now, and it's really nice to see.

Q. One different thing, Hopman Cup announced today officially is ending in Perth and will be replaced by ATP Cup. What do you think of that event officially being sort of homeless now and having a very uncertain future?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, similar to this situation here, you know. We're not in Key Biscayne anymore. But let's say you're not in Perth anymore for Hopman Cup, and this is where it has always been. This is where the spirit is or was, will always be.

Maybe in 50 years we'll talk differently. Right now obviously it's a bit sad news that that's happening. Has it been announced Perth gets the ATP Cup, though?

Okay. Well, that at least maybe redeems things a little bit, but, yeah, I mean, look, I enjoyed the last three years playing there. I played there with Mirka, too. With Martina. I look back, always had a wonderful time. Yeah, I don't know what to say. I'm a bit torn. So that's it.

Q. You used that chip forehand slice approach a number of times today, and the backhand seemed to have a tough time. These guys who are 6'4", 6'5" and taller, do you find you personally are using those chip and slice shots more to give them trouble?
ROGER FEDERER: I'm not sure if I really do that against bigger guys more often than against the other guys. The chip approach on the forehand side was more about sort of trying to fake a dropshot and then not doing it, seeing how he was going to react to it, if he was going to sort of bite, like fishing or not. And it worked both times. But it's not a play you can use all the time, because I never practice it, to be honest. It's a bit of -- it's not the most solid play out there.

You know, against certain players, slices work better than others. And today I know that if I do slice, I have to run a lot, I have to work a lot, which is fine at times. At the end of the day I have to come over and have to try and make the plays, too.

So I don't necessarily use it against bigger guys more often, I don't believe. Sometimes I have to get into the point through a slice return more often against the bigger guys because they serve bigger, so I choose to go on the chip. That's about it.

Q. Speaking of tall people, Kevin Anderson, your next opponent, can you talk about him, what you expect from him and what challenges he poses?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, he's got a great serve. Look, I'm happy he's playing again after his injury. I mean, I think if you beat me at Wimbledon, you've got my attention.

So from that standpoint, I know what I'm about to expect tomorrow. The matches I have played against him I know can be extremely close always, just because of his sheer possibilities that he has on the serve. I believe that probably the best surface for him is this kind of a type of hard court here in the States where he's spent a lot of his time practicing, as well. Coming from South Africa, I'm sure this is the kind of court also he played on.

Similar to today, I've just got to make sure I protect my serve very well and slice maybe sometimes, get into the rallies, and then find a way. So it will be interesting to see how it's going to go.

Q. You just mentioned that you love seeing when guys come back to the tour after they have retired, whether it's a coach or in another role. Any chance you will be one of those guys? They can't get enough of the game? Is there any chance you'll feel that way?
ROGER FEDERER: Possible but doubtful, just because I have four children and I'm happy to be home after traveling for 20 years or more, 25 years. I just don't see myself doing it for 20 weeks of the year coaching. I just don't see that happening, you know.

But then again, I think Edberg also didn't think he was going to coach again. And I don't have to do it right away, either. So I can maybe mentor more or have players come around.

Who knows? I would love to stay involved in the game but probably not 30 weeks on the road. Let's be honest (smiling).

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