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U.S. OPEN

September 4, 2010

Roger Federer

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

R. FEDERER/P. Mathieu
6-4, 6-3, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You told Mary Joe in the prematch interview you might have to adjust your match for the wind. Did you have to adjust your game? How brutal was the wind?
ROGER FEDERER: The wind was very strong. Tough conditions to play in, especially if you're down in the score. I think you could tell Mathieu was really struggling after being down in the score. His serve, his returns, everything kind of falls into pieces.
That's what the wind can do to you. It's really hard to stay positive when you're down and the wind is the way it is, like today.
I kind of felt comfortable, you know, because you can also use it to your advantage and play really great tennis. You have to be careful with it. Maybe not aim at the lines as much. After, like I said, four games or so, I knew what I could do and what I couldn't do.

Q. How would you compare your class to win the French Open and complete a career slam with Rafa's pursuit of the US Open and a career slam?
ROGER FEDERER: I guess it's somewhat similar. I won the other three Grand Slams rather quickly, as well, like he did, as well. There's a bit of similarity to that.
Yeah, I mean, the only difference so far is that I lost, what, two finals before, plus a semis before; whereas he's never been in a finals here. But there's a few similarities I would think, yeah.

Q. Last night Rafa said that in his mind you're the best player in history. If he is able to complete the career slam, given his head-to-head with you, how young he is, what are your thoughts on his chances to eventually be the best player in history?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, clearly has a chance because he's young enough. He has already so many, let's say, French Open titles to his name just alone at his age is an amazing accomplishment. Plus he's had some incredible clay court records that are going to be very hard to beat.
Then again, obviously I guess he would need to win the US Open, put himself there. He's won the Olympics, done some amazing things. So he'll have a shot at it, I'm sure.

Q. How much better a player are you because Rafa has been such a rival for you? What are the two or three things specifically you've worked in your game to try and deal with Rafa?
ROGER FEDERER: It's hard to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes you a better player. I just think maybe your work ethic, maybe you're more professional, try out different things, the mindset. Those kind of things to me stand out and a particular shot that I had to work on to beat Rafa or play against him.
The thing is, you can't just start working on your game just to play Rafa, you know, because we're No. 1 and No. 2 for so long, and we are again. So we only play each other in the final. To get there, we have to beat four, five, or six other guys to get there. They play nothing like Rafa, like me for him, as well. That's why it's the wrong approach to focus on one player.

Q. But he has made you a better player?
ROGER FEDERER: I said that multiple times, and him as well.

Q. What do you think separates players who are successful in fifth sets from those who aren't?
ROGER FEDERER: I mean, the five-set record is obviously a bit of a tricky one, you know. It depends on, I don't know, if let's say I go five sets today in the first two rounds, obviously I'll have the experience, the fitness. I'll be such a huge favorite in a fifth set. But I don't go five. So then I miss a chance to have maybe a better five-set record.
Early on in my career, I went more often five sets. It was 50/50 or I wasn't maybe the favorite to win in five just because of the experience, maybe lack of fitness, you know, pressure and all that.
It depends on how it kind of starts. I don't think James Blake is, how you say, not a fit guy.

Q. 4-13.
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, well, he lost his first whatever, 10 or 12. Maybe it becomes mental at that point obviously.
I don't think you can just put it down to fitness. It depends on who you play, where it was. That's why that record -- it's great if it's positive, but what I just like about five sets, it gave me answers if I was fit enough or not and if I had still some stuff to work on.
For a very long time, I hardly ever went five until the match where I lost against Safin 9-7 in the fifth. I had match point in the fourth. I played great, but it was good again for me to see, you know, can I last for that long period of time, because practice is not the same like a match.

Q. Changing subjects. As you are a great fan of soccer, I would like to ask you about your thoughts about the last World Cup, and specifically if you saw any games of Uruguay and have you ever met Diego Forlan?
ROGER FEDERER: I think I've met him during the Madrid tournament briefly walking by. I don't remember what we were talking about. But I remember shaking his hand. I think he's quite a big fan of tennis because he's been to the tournament multiple times when it was indoors and also now since it's been outdoors.
I saw him play a little bit, but honestly I didn't see any World Cup from the quarterfinal on. I missed that part. Obviously, I was cheering for Switzerland, South Africa, just hoping for a good World Cup. I thought it was a good one. The best team won. Spain played fantastic.
I still think it was a very successful World Cup for many teams.

Q. You might play Ferrero in the next round. How much do you think you influenced his career in the sense when you guys are from the same generation, he used to be a No. 1, then he started losing lots of matches, not fighting for the big titles. How much do you think you affected him?
ROGER FEDERER: I don't think I played him the amount of times I've played against Roddick or Rafa. I don't know how many times I've played him, but I think a guess is maybe like 10. But I don't think I played him 20, you know. I never played him in a Grand Slam final.
So I don't think, you know, I had a big effect on him playing better or worse really. I think we actually pushed each other up, if we did anything. I always thought he was a wonderful player. Had some big matches against him in the past. Australian Open semifinal, I had to beat him to get world No. 1 the following Monday. Then I went on to win the Australian Open in '04 against Safin in the final. I mean, he was the best player on clay for a while there.
It's hard to dominate the clay court season every single year. It's obviously if you're not going to win the majority of the clay court tournaments, at the French Open your ranking will slip maybe from 3 to 8, and then from 8 it can slip quickly from 8 to 15. I think that's what happened to him. I think he also had some injuries. It's good to see him playing well again.
We still get along well. We practice once in a while. I'd love to play against him here, even though Melzer is a good friend of mine, too. I played him in Wimbledon, so we'll see.

Q. Those conditions, how successful could you be hitting high, loopy, soft balls?
ROGER FEDERER: That's the thing. If you just played soft into the court, as well, it's kind of tricky then to measure the ball well and let the other guy dictate play. You just go with the pace of the other guy. It's not so easy to create pace when it's so windy.
So sometimes, you know, you try to just hit a slow ball in there, you know, and see what happens. It's uncomfortable for the opponent, but it's just not the way to go in men's tennis. Guys have too much power. The thing is, like once the other guy figures you out, how you're playing, if you're just really pushing the ball in play, it's so hard from going, playing like that to playing offensive again. It's almost like a thing of impossibility. You have to hit the ball otherwise. It's not a good thing.

Q. I wanted to ask you what you think of the new, slimmer Mardy Fish? Still remains to be seen how he'll do here. He says he feels like a completely different player now.
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, his talent was never questioned, was it? I played him back in maybe was it 2003, 2004, when I won my first couple Wimbledons. He was the only guy to take a set off me.
I always thought he was an incredibly good player, regardless of his weight, to be honest. I think it's great to show maybe other players, too, to see what's possible at a later stage in your career, if you come up with some new ideas.
You know, let's change it up and see what happens. I think that's what he's doing. That the results follow, it's not always a guarantee. But with him now, it's happened. Obviously this is the big stage for him now, the US Open. So the next 45 minutes will be huge for him.
You know, this is what it's about for him now. This is where it's really going to pay off for him, not in Washington or something. It's great to see him playing well, doing well. He's a nice guy. He's always been talented, so we knew that.

Q. Did you see Francesca Schiavone's shot between the legs?
ROGER FEDERER: I think I did see it. I'm not sure.

Q. Is it more difficult for a girl, in your opinion, to do it?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, yeah, because they never come to the net, so they'll never be lobbed.
No, I've seen her hit some very good shots in the past already, you know. She has a great ability to come up with some different kind of variation for a woman's player, which is nice to see.
I think she played incredible at the French Open. She is not scared of trying out a few things, you know. That's why I kind of like to watch her.

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