TMS MONTE CARLO

April 13, 2005

Roger Federer

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I think so. Yeah, you're right. Yeah, you could see the difference between today's and yesterday's match. It's obvious. He plays much further back. The rallies are played very differently. Of course now I've played two lefties in a row, you know, so it was a change again to play against a right-hander even though I practice a lot with them. In the match, again, the rallies are very different. But, no, I thought it was a solid performance and what I needed today, so...

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, so for this reason, you know, it's good to play a righty again. Those are almost the classic matchups, lefties against righties. You always have the feeling that the rallies are very different. Yeah, so today was good, you know. He's got a very simple kick serve, actually, but it takes off and you have to get used to it to return it, especially on the ad side. I was struggling at the beginning but started to play better. I'm happy with today's performance.

ROGER FEDERER: No, no. Not really.

ROGER FEDERER: Well, not a huge concern, you know, because you got the cushion of two breaks. But, yeah, you want to have a good start on your last service game, you know. He messed up with the one dropshot he wanted to hit at 0-0, you know, 5-4. That would have put him in a good position, you know, if he would have won that point. But from then on, it was over. But, yeah, I'm happy to in the end come through. I've had some matches in the past over the years, you know, where you're up a break and you lose the game and you lose the set and, in the end, you know, could end up losing the match. So it kind of makes you a little nervous. But today I felt good on my serve. I think for this reason I wasn't really in a panic reaction. So it was good.

ROGER FEDERER: They haven't played yet?

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, so it's going to be quite different, I think. They play with much more power than Montanes today. Of course, Mario, I've played him now over the last couple months twice, so I know how he plays. Gonzalez is always good on clay. I beat him in Hamburg last year, I think in the third round it was. On any given day he can beat anybody on clay. So it's a dangerous matchup, you know, either way. Because you know Mario has got the big serve and puts pressure on you to hold your own serve. On clay he might be playing very different; I don't know. But he beat Kuerten, so it shows he's playing well. Looking forward to a tough match, of course. Now the tough opponents are really coming, so I'd rather make sure I'm playing well.

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I had the feeling, you know, it was more difficult to return but also easier to serve, you know. So those are the reasons. Yeah, it was quite a big difference to yesterday, yeah.

ROGER FEDERER: No, no, not really. It's just it's my favorite tournament. It's the one I've always looked up to. My idols, Becker and Edberg, this is where they played well. This is where I remember it was the most coverage on TV. Always wanted to, you know, maybe play myself there or be just like them. That was the obvious court, Wimbledon Centre Court. For this reason it will always stay my number one dream tournament to win. It doesn't mean for me the French is not important. In my mind, in the back of my mind, I know I've got the French, you know, and not Wimbledon. So I think that is also a good sign. It really shows the importance of the upcoming clay court season and the French Open, yeah.

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I'm waiting for the draw, you know, in a way. I think it's on the 3rd of May, is it, and see what happens. But I'm planning to play, so this is the plan for the moment.