AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 19, 2005

Roger Federer

THE MODERATOR: We can break from national language to take a question in English.

ROGER FEDERER: Yes, he did. I thought it was a great match. Everybody is talking about it right now, so it's fantastic. I thought it was very entertaining. He came to the net very often. I had to come up with some great passing shots to beat him. I thought he served extremely well. Even though he took a lot of chances, I have a feeling he played it quite controlled, which made it difficult for me. I really had to come up with a good match to beat him today. I thought he's a very good player. First time we played.

ROGER FEDERER: There's not many left, yeah. It gets more and more difficult. Players return better, pass better. You're not allowed to miss any easy volleys these days. They cost you quite quickly. But it's nice to see it still exists. He's not just a serve-and-volleyer who totally relies on his serve; he really comes up with good volleys consistently. I think that makes the difference.

ROGER FEDERER: Well, I knew it's going to be a tough match because a guy who keeps coming at you all the time, especially in the beginning of the match, it's never easy because you're basically warming up. Right away you have to hit passing shots. That's a difficult thing to do. But what surprised me is how he constructed his points. He used his slice very well and his movements and his serve. That made it difficult for me. I really had to come up with great passing shots to beat him. A good passing shot was just not enough today.