|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
MUTUA MADRID OPENMay 9, 2013Roger FedererMADRID, SPAIN K. NISHIKORI/R. Federer THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Seemed at the outset today you were just a little off with your shots. Is that a fair reflection? Just missing a little bit today? ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, a little bit is I think the right word. I was lacking control from the baseline, and that pretty much carried through from start to finish. It was a bit better in the second set, and then in the third set was better than in the first set. But it was tricky conditions. It was breezy, and the sun obviously with the shade and all that stuff. But overall, I mean, I'm pretty disappointed with my play. I'm not sure how well Kei thought he played. I didn't think he had to play his very best either, which is even more disappointing. It don't change my mindset to go forward. I'm going to go back to the practice court, train hard, and make sure I don't have these kind of days anymore. Q. I presume some people will make more of the fact now that you had an extended break. Perhaps if you had played more you might not have played like that. What would you make of that argument? ROGER FEDERER: Who knows? Could have lost the same round last year. (Smiling.) I was very close as well. Sometimes you win them; sometimes you lose them. Obviously I rarely lose matches having no chances, and I had chances in the beginning of the third but just struggled overall, you know. So just at least I'll come out with some ideas of what I need to work on. Clearly the ball flies here and it's faster, so that makes it sometimes more tricky to find your rhythm. We're so accustomed to always finding that rhythm eventually, so it's even more disappointing if you never really find it, which was the case today. Credit to Kei. He got it done and was more solid in the wind. He played better than I did, so the better guy won today, that's for sure. Q. Roger, he said that in the second set he got a little bit worried because he thought you played more aggressively. Then in the beginning of the third set he thought you were very aggressive also. But then as the match went on you seemed a little bit more defensive. Do you think it was because of his game or yours? ROGER FEDERER: I mean, probably more mine, you know. Obviously when you're down you're trying to get the ball in first of all before you're going to go for it instead of just handing it over. So there is always a fine line between how aggressive you want to play and how safe you want to play. That's the bit I think I struggled with the most today. Q. How about the debate about Madrid and its place in the calendar at this stage. Obviously it's nothing like playing in Paris. If you're going to prepare well for Paris, is this one of those tournaments you think maybe I should or shouldn't? Because the conditions are so different from Rome or Paris that you would consider whether it's actually worth playing here? ROGER FEDERER: Paris is not the only tournament on the calendar. Q. In terms of clay court preparation for the slam. ROGER FEDERER: We're not playing for the French Open. This is early. It's nice to have the French Open as a tournament on the calendar, but not everything is sacrificed for that. We're weeks away from the French Open, so for me, people who talk about this being a leadup tournament and all these things. Yeah, for that particular player or for the media or the fan, the French Open is the ultimate thing and the only thing they care about. Then clearly Madrid is the leadup tournament. That's not how I see it. For me, every tournament counts. So I'm as disappointed losing here as the French Open. There is no difference really. For that reason, we already switched Madrid and Rome around, so I think it works well this way. What else you want me to say? I think that's it. (Smiling.) Q. Would you like to have another rest or better to get on to the next tournament? ROGER FEDERER: Another rest of seven weeks? Why not?  I feel like I want to go to the practice courts this afternoon, but clearly I'm not going to do that. I'm going to make sure I'm going to be as well prepared as I can be for Rome. I'll sit together tonight or tomorrow with the team and discuss what the plan is for the next few days and weeks now. So I'm excited for that, because clearly I have no choice but to hit the practice courts. And I like to do that, and I'll do that well and hard if that's the route I choose. Q. In past tournaments you feel a little bit of pain in your back. It all right, the pain in your back? ROGER FEDERER: No, no pain today. Q. And during this week? ROGER FEDERER: No pain this week. (Smiling.) Q. So you're pain‑free? ROGER FEDERER: Pain‑free. Yeah, it's nice. Not like Indian Wells. Q. Here in Madrid, you have titles in hard court and now in clay. You have three titles. It was enough or a concession to Rafa, or Nishikori is really an upcoming player? ROGER FEDERER: What's the question? Q. That if you needed a little rest or it's Nishikori. ROGER FEDERER: Why I lost today? Q. Yes. I tried to‑‑ yes. You lost today, so then your perspective is that Nishikori played great or it's good to have a little rest or you have many titles in Madrid? ROGER FEDERER: I'll try. I thought Kei played okay; I struggled. I've been playing well here in Madrid in the past, yes. Blue clay, red clay, indoors, doesn't matter. I've been very successful here, so clearly I'm disappointed and wish I could have done better this week. I was pretty upbeat after my first‑round match. I thought I was in the tournament; I was playing pretty well. In practice I was hitting the ball well, so this comes as a bit of a disappointment for me, my performance and my match today. Like I mentioned, I thought Kei did very well under the circumstances. I wish him all the best. Clearly the favorite for the this tournament is Nadal. That really doesn't change if I'm in the tournament or not. Regardless if I'm in the tournament or not, I think it's going to be an interesting end to the tournament. Q. Madrid is gonna miss you. ROGER FEDERER: What did you say? Q. We are going to miss you here. ROGER FEDERER: Thank you. Thank you. Q. Do you have the impressions that the young generations are pushing harder this year than they used to do, like Dimitrov and now Nishikori? ROGER FEDERER: I mean, new players? We know them, but clearly I think the extra year on tour last year helped them. I think they all started pretty well. Has Kei won a tournament already this year. I think he might have. Dimitrov played the finals at the beginning of the year. Raonic has shown that he can do many things as well. Then there are other guys similar age who are doing better. But that was to be expected, to be honest, you know, that they were going to have a bit of a breakthrough this year. That's nice to see. But we're still missing the generation of teenagers. We'll see what happens there. Regardless, I think it's exciting and good for the game that not‑so‑well‑known and younger guys are beating the top guys. It's good to see. It means they believe in it. I hope we'll see more of it in the future. Q. Roger, congratulations for your career. After that, maybe is your last Madrid and your last year playing tennis? ROGER FEDERER: No. (Smiling.) I think I'll see you next year here. That's my feeling. That's not at all my plan. My plan is already past Madrid next year, so, no. I'll see you here. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|