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U.S. OPENAugust 29, 2013Roger FedererNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK R. FEDERER/C. Berlocq THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. When Serena left the court, she said it was really difficult conditions, very windy. How did you find the conditions today? ROGER FEDERER: Same as in the last match. For me it was pretty straightforward, to be honest. I hit the ball better today than I hit it I thought in the first round, but then again, I had different opponents, you know. Today my opponent was spinning the ball more, so playing with more height over the net whereas my first‑round opponent, he was hitting it flat and hard on each shot. So we had very little rhythm. Maybe it calmed down, but I didn't think it was crazy windy today. I think it calmed down I guess after the Serena match. Q. Pleased with the match? ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I'm happy. You know, I mean, it's one of those matches I expect myself to win if possible in straight sets, and, you know, gain confidence in the process. All those things happened, so, yeah, I'm pleased about it. Q. Can you talk about how fitness preparation and training have changed since you arrived on the tour? ROGER FEDERER: Well, thing is, in the beginning of your career you're trying to build a base that's strong enough to play every single day, strong enough to play five sets, strong enough to play, you know, for years to come; whereas later on you're trying to improve as a player. But that base you have, I don't want to say can't be taken away, but you have that, and so then you can work on maybe more specifics, maybe jumps, maybe, you know, more endurance and so forth. Then you go into more specifics. But I think that's where you really have to work on ‑‑ between sort of 14 and 22, let's say, is a very important age where you can really create a strong base. You're always going to be talented in some areas, maybe endurance or explosiveness or strength. So it's important to work on that, but then also on your weaknesses. That's what I did a lot when I was younger. Then eventually now, the last few years, I'm trying to get back to my potential and if I have enough weeks I try to increase that by doing the exercises I need in that very moment. Q. I heard that you have lined up Daniel Evans to practice with. I don't know whether that happened or not with the rain, but he's just beaten Bernard Tomic, so after the next round you could actually end up playing him. ROGER FEDERER: Uh‑huh. Q. Have you seen much of his game? What do you think of it? Would you normally line up someone to practice with who is in your half of the draw? ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, yesterday everything was all over the place. Then I was supposed to practice at 2:30 and then I preferred to wait, see if it was going to open up, and then practice later outdoors. At the end I said, I will just practice 4:00 indoor or outdoor. I didn't know who, you know, Severin or Paul lined up for practice. It was Evans. It was the first time I really got to meet him or play with him. Now I have an idea how he plays, which I guess is not a bad thing. But at the end of the day, I think we were really just trying to help each other out on a rainy day trying to get a hit in. I thought he played really nice; got a great shot. Still a little bit surprised he beat Tomic, because we know what Bernard can do. But great effort for him. To be in a third round of a slam is a huge opportunity. Doesn't get easier from here, but it should give him a ton of confidence. And it's great for Britain, no doubt about it. Q. Interviewed Maria Bueno. She had nice things to say about you, and said when you're in Brazil I have to see your backhand. Let's go out and hit some. ROGER FEDERER: Yeah. Q. If you could see some strokes or hit with some fabulous players who in the past you never hit with... ROGER FEDERER: It's just nice to speak to them and play with them. I'm always very interested in what they have to say and how it works for them. Bueno, she is from Brazil, and I wanted to see, you know ‑‑I'm sure she liked to hit. It was on the center court in Sao Paulo where we had the XO. We went out and hit some. Tennis is not always supposed to be like, Shall I work my forehand or work my backhand, you know. And pressure, how you're going to play in the break point. It can also be fun. That's what I wanted it to be, especially on that South American trip. The more I can play with legends and, you know, former greats, makes me happy. Almost doesn't matter if it was their best shot in the game or not. Just more about spending time. Q. As a student of the game, if you can play against Borg's backhand or Jack Kramer's serve, is there one or two that you might enjoy in your imagination playing, going up against and seeing what it's like? ROGER FEDERER: It's hard to imagine that. Times are different. I'd love to play with a wooden racquet, to be quite honest. I missed that time, even though my very first racquet ever was a wooden racquet. Yeah, I mean, you just mentioned a few greats shots. Yeah, of course I'd love to face those. I remember practicing first time in Dubai when I played with Bahrami and Borg, because I heard they were in town. I called him and said, Do you want to just hit some? We did, and it was great fun. Still, seeing how great their shots are, particularly Borg's backhand, it was very special. Because you never know if you're ever going to play again together it's very unique. Q. Business question. I see the famous Federer cap. So popular. Did you design that or who was the designer? How many units have you sold of it? ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, of course I'm surprised. It's nice seeing people wearing it. It's very personal to me. You know, the more I see the more excited, I guess. There's no doubt about it. Yeah, I mean, I had the idea that the logo could look somewhat like that, and Nike came up with, you know, many, many different alternative logos. They told me to choose one of them. That's the one I chose. Ever since it's been really nice that Nike has sort of a personal line, and I feel very fortunate. It's nice that people feel connected, you know, through the RF logo, which to me it is very personal to me. I tried to make it fun and different every single time we talk about it with Nike and the designers, and the cap clearly here in the States is a much bigger statement than anywhere else in the world. It's always important that particularly here the caps are good. Q. Has Nike told you how many units you have sold of that? ROGER FEDERER: I wouldn't know numbers, but if I wanted to see the numbers I guess I could have them. Q. Can you talk about what kind of influence Arthur Ashe had on you both as a player and your off‑the‑court endeavors? ROGER FEDERER: It was before my time, so not that much, honestly. I wish more so, so for me I feel mostly connected through the center court, you know, just that it's named after him and then hearing later on all the great things he did for the sport really. So, I mean, unfortunately like Borg or maybe before that, it's just a little bit before my time. I don't remember seeing him play, only highlights when he won Wimbledon and so forth, but just hearing what a great human being he was and how inspirational and influential he was. It's a pity he's not with us anymore. I would have loved to meet him, no doubt about it. Q. With your recent meeting with Nadal, how much did you take away from the state of your own game and the state of his game? Secondly, just when you look at the overall season by your standards, it hasn't been the best, the actions you've taken with the other tournaments and testing with the racquet. How much of that is your own sense of searching or questioning, you know, where you are? ROGER FEDERER: Well, for me, the racquet testing was just fun, you know, doing something I have wanted to do for a long time. It didn't go as planned, even though I was comfortable with the racquet, but with the back pain I had, I couldn't feel, you know, things the way I wanted them to be, and my focus then was totally elsewhere than with the racquet and with tactics and the way I wanted to play. I put that aside. I mean, for me, one match against Rafa is not going to, you know, make my season or going to make me super confident or not. It needs to be more than that. It hasn't been actually a terrible season up until Wimbledon really, and Wimbledon was just a disappointment. I wish I could have played better, but I thought Stakhovsky overall played pretty well. Let's be honest. Let's give him some credit, too. After that, I just, you know, really hoped I could win Hamburg and Gstaad back to back to gain confidence. Never really happened. For me it was just sort of like playing matches again, enjoying myself training really hard, and I really got the matches I was looking for in Cincinnati, and I'm still sort of, you know, hopefully gaining confidence match by match. As we know, it might not just take a match but might take just a few matches, and next thing you know you're playing really, really good tennis again and you're close to playing some really great tennis. I think that's kind of where I am right now, and that's where every match is really important to me now and that's how I play every single point right now. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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