| Ultimate Fan
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 8,483
| ooh..pics! 
oh Roger..thanks for pulling out the win and saving my heart from another heart attack. I dont know what I would have done if monfils had won the 4th set  And even though it was rough to watch, as it was a very scrappy match, a tough one, I am actually rather encouraged by it. I think he needed to be pushed in the SF. In the past he hasnt been.
Rogers Interview
Quote: Q. Kind of same time, same place, same opponent, same emotions getting to the French final again and playing Nadal?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, this is what it's all about. I mean, I've been hoping for this to happen a few weeks and months back. I'm where I want to be and I'm playing well, so, yeah, it's a big, big thrill to play Rafa again the final here.
Q. Can you have a match like that with all the variety of strokes intervening like that on any other surface, or can it be as nice on any other surface as clay?
ROGER FEDERER: Like today, you mean?
Q. Yeah. Something about the clay and the sliding and the movement that makes it maybe the most beautiful tennis when it's played well.
ROGER FEDERER: Look, I don't know. I mean, I think grass makes you come in a little bit more, you know, so you see also more many passing shots and everything. Ball stays nice and low so it's always easier to hit.
Hardcourt is something sort of in between, so clay then comes to the extreme. But I agree that if you have, you know, two good guys playing against each other, you now, that sort of match up well.
So maybe me and Gaël today I thought was exciting. It's great, how you can dig deep, get back into the point, and you have to construct the whole point from zero again.
So I agree with you. You know, it can get very entertaining, but it can also be tough on the players, you know, because some rallies never end. If there's sort of a bad match you see only errors. That's sort of the bad part about clay at times, I would say.
Q. Novak today observed that Chatrier Court is playing considerably slower than Lenglen court No. Court No. 1, and this favors Nadal. He said it was so much harder to hit winners past him today him. Do you agree that Chatrier is a slower court? And if so, do you think something should be done to make it quicker, perhaps in time for Sunday?
ROGER FEDERER: Honestly, I thought it was quicker than Lenglen, so two different players, two different opinions, you know. So, I mean, it's always hard to tell. I guess today what didn't favor Novak was the wind, as well. I think there was a wind factor, as well.
Rafa, with his margin, is always going to have an easier time in the wind, I would think. But Rafa has been tough on Chatrier, you know. Nobody has beaten him before. I guess that's more the problem than the courts he's played on.
Q. You just said that you played well. Before you, Rafa Nadal who played unbelievable well, said that his match was quite perfect, but he said also maybe to be almost perfect is not enough to beat Federer. So what do you think about yourself? Do you think you're playing almost perfect to beat Nadal, or you need to play better?
ROGER FEDERER: It's going to be a different match, you know. So, I mean, you cannot draw too much out of the matches played so far. He can take more out of the match with Djokovic than I can out of Monfils, you know. Because Rafa is a lefty, you know, that changes the whole dynamics of the match.
So we'll see how it goes, you know. I've been able to get off to good starts in the last few times I've played against Rafa, and I hope I can do the same again on Sunday. I feel I have the right tactics, I have the right game, and I have the fitness to beat him.
You know, I wanted to be in this position, you know, like I told you a long time ago. That is, Rafa again across the net. I think it's the ultimate test on clay. It would be ‑‑ it's so much better to win the French Open by beating him, as well.
It looks good for Sunday, for me anyway.
Q. French people had a lot of hopes on Monfils today. Did you play the match in your head before the game? The match, how it evolved, was it pretty much as you expected it score‑wise and game‑wise? And later, do you think that as the sun was coming down, that a fifth set maybe could not be finished in time? Was there pressure like this over you?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, first, with the weather, I didn't know. I don't know what time it is now, actually. So, no, I was never really worried it was not going to not finish. So that was never the problem. And the first part?
Q. The first part is, did you play the match in your head before? Was the game as you expected it to happen, score‑wise and game‑wise?
ROGER FEDERER: In the way the points were played, yes, this is what I expected. Gaël is not going to change overnight. I was lucky enough to have played him in Miami and Monaco, so I played him just recently, which I could see, you know, how well he was playing, actually.
I didn't have easy matches against him. He plays from really far back in the court. He has a fantastic serve and great athletic abilities, so I knew that part was going to happen.
It's exactly the way I imagined the match to go, you know. I had to be the one, you know, leading, you know, taking the chances and, you know, mix up my game, and I think I did it very well today.
Q. Especially in light of the fact that you have a new coach, how important are tactics versus just form of the day, that sort of thing? You just said, for instance, tactically you have everything. So where does the coaching or any change of tactics really fit in, if anywhere?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, look, I mean, against Rafa, obviously there is some sort of ‑‑ the way the points are being played. It's normal, you know, because of his forehand. Same with me, you know. If I serve and I come attack with my forehand, points are played in a certain way. You try to make it to go your way, and that's by, you know, choosing the right tactics.
I think maybe three years ago when I played him the first time, you know, in the semifinal here I just ‑‑ I guess I just came in and I thought I could blow him off the court. I didn't expect myself to win necessarily, but I really felt like I had the game ‑‑ you know, by just playing my style of game, you know, I could win. I was very close. I was up a break in the fourth to push it to the fifth set, you know. So it was close, after all.
So just, I think, today over all the years I've been able to improve. That gives me more variety, gives me more opportunities, and, you know, varied more with my tactics. And I think that's why in the end, when two such big guys clash against each other, comes down a lot to who's got the better day.
Yeah, because, I'm the one probably pressing again, you know. It should be entertaining to watch.
Q. When you're second on like that, how closely are you watching what goes on on the court? When you went out there and knew Rafa won and won pretty handily, how did that affect your mentality out there?
ROGER FEDERER: I thought of Gaël, actually. If he wants to win the French he's got to beat me and Rafa. I didn't necessarily think about me, but...
I enjoyed the match, you know, to be honest, to watch it. You know, it's easier when you play second, because I could enjoy the entire match watching it. If I would have played first, you know, I would have been sitting in press conference, trying to get back to the hotel, and maybe only seen one set.
So by them playing first I saw everything, and I thought Rafa played fantastic for basically the entire time, you know. He should have put him away earlier, you know, but Novak hung in there and got very close.
But I think Rafa was, yeah, was supreme on the day.
Q. I know nothing is 100%, but you said in Toronto in 2004 that you didn't believe in the dropshot. (Laughter.) Have you changed your mind a little bit?
ROGER FEDERER: I guess I have a little bit, you know. No, I mean, look, it's something I always knew that was probably necessary on clay, just to have the option. It doesn't work against everybody, you know.
Because some guys play really close to the baseline. They play shots in a way you can hit a dropshot. There's other guys who play really far behind the baseline, like Gaël today. I think it's good to mix it up sometimes and have this extra option.
I've been trying to do it for the last three or four years, but it's just something that didn't come very natural to me because I always thought the dropshot was a panic shot, you know. I tried to just end the point early.
But I think this season especially I've been able to use it in a great way. Today it came in handily again, you know, to put Gaël under pressure. We'll see if I'll use it again against Rafa.
Q. Do you ever feel guilty now when you use it?
ROGER FEDERER: No, I feel like it's actually fun, because I'm not missing them in the bottom of the net. I just feel a little bit better about them.
Q. You had the 5‑1 in the first set in Hamburg, 5‑2 in the second set, and at the end you lost that final.
ROGER FEDERER: Against whom? Rafa? (laughter.)
Q. Yeah.
ROGER FEDERER: I played many Hamburg finals, that's why.
Q. Yeah, the last Hamburg final. The other one you won it. Did you think about that situation? Did you think about a way to avoid the repetition of such a situation against Nadal?
ROGER FEDERER: Honestly, I prefer to be up 5‑1 and lose it, but it's not going to come back every time, you know, to be pushed up against the wall like that.
He did well to hang in there, you know. Maybe a shot here and there could have changed the whole match around. It was unfortunate, you know, I couldn't at least win a little bit more, you know, and push him a little harder. But I think the match in Hamburg was tough, and hard‑fought. You know, anything could have won there.
Monaco, I think I deserved a set at least, but didn't get it. Look, I haven't thought about it. I just came from winning against Monfils. But I think it's something I just have to keep on doing what I've been doing against Rafa, you know, and then play better on the day.
Q. Do you get a sense, as the years go by and as these meetings in Paris go by, that you do have a better chance this time? As every one has gone by, you've improved your chances? Do you see a much more confident man than even perhaps last year?
ROGER FEDERER: I mean, I feel better every year. It's no joke, you know. I really do feel well. I mean, I'm fitter than ever. I mean, how you want to feel on clay, anyway.
Rafa has been, you know, sublime this tournament, you know. He hasn't had any problems whatsoever. It isn't like he's not been improving, you know, so I think it's great what's happenings in the game. We have similar guys always at the very top, and we are testing each other, you know, over and over again.
So I think it's very entertaining. Of course, I believe. I believe very strongly that this is my year. I did the hard work so far, but I think the toughest test is yet to come.
Q. To follow up Tom's question, I saw Starace hitting 12 winning dropshots against Nadal in Hamburg. I'd like to know if you're thinking that they could be effective against Nadal, too, the dropshot, I mean? And the second question is, today most people expected a more balanced first semifinal than the second one. Instead the second one, yours, was probably more balanced. There were break points for Monfils and so on. Were you surprised, too, or did you expect the other way around?
ROGER FEDERER: No, I mean, with the dropshot we'll see how sort of the points are constructed from both ends, you know. Like I said, if Rafa or me, we have length, you cannot hit a dropshot. You need the guy to hit it short to do it. But then when it is hit short, you know, the options open up. This is when you have to take the right decision at the right time. I'll make that decision on the court, and we'll make a call beforehand, you know.
Now with the matches today, I wasn't particularly surprised, you know, that Rafa beat Novak, you know, pretty handily today. I knew that ‑‑ I mean, Rafa is tough to beat here. I mean, I've had it three times in the past, but I got a set off him every time, you know. I think Novak really let his head hang a little bit for quite a while, you know, and Rafa just ripped through him.
So, for me, it was very interesting to see, you know, them play, of course. Because I thought he was much, much closer in Hamburg, where today I didn't think he had a chance, you know.
My match, honestly, I knew it was going to be always tough against Monfils. He stands far back, doesn't make many mistakes, and he's got a great serve. That puts a lot of pressure on you. If you cannot move him around enough it's always going to be hard, so I always try to press and put him on the move.
Unfortunately, I didn't win the second set after being up a set and a break. So it was tough, you know, but I think it was always me who was in control of the match. It was fun. I had a great time.
THE MODERATOR: French questions, please.
Q. One question: Rafa was very impressive in this tournament, but after his defeats in Hamburg, don't you have less pressure for this final?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I don't think what happened before the clay season matters very much. Matches in Hamburg and Monaco were good for both of us. It was good for us to see where we stand with regards to our game. We learned positive and negative things, both of us.
For me it was rather positive even if I lost, because I have had more of a more difficult season than him so far. So for both of us it's a good clay season. He had a fantastic season on clay so far.
At this moment, at this stage, I want to focus on the final. I don't want to think back on what happened. The past is the past. Now I need to believe I can do it.
Q. At the end of this match you showed lots of emotion, so what crossed your mind?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I had a break ball to win, but then he started serving at 220 kilometers per hour and you go into a tiebreak. Honestly, I felt relief I came through. I played extraordinary points and games to make the difference. I was just happy about my performance.
And then five seconds, ten seconds afterwards, yes, I started thinking about another final. That's where I want to be. Great satisfaction.
Q. What did you think about Gaël Monfils? Was he a surprise to you?
ROGER FEDERER: I have great respect for such a beautiful player. He started off not playing well in the first game, didn't play the first games very well. I took the lead immediately, and then I played a very good first set. I put pressure on him all the time, played very well with my forehand, just the opposite as against González.
So I hoped I would put more pressure on him during the second set, but then I was a break down. That was a bit stupid, because I made lots of mistakes and I almost gave him that game.
But then I started feeling Gaël was starting to put pressure on me, started playing better and better. At the end, I never felt I was going to lose, but at one stage in the fourth set I felt anything could happen. I had to save many break balls, and this is when you think, Well, anything can happen. This is the danger playing a player playing at home. The crowd is always supporting him. This is why I had more pressure at the end.
Q. It's not very often the entire crowd is against you. Some players like it. Hewitt said he likes it because it's quite motivating. How did you feel about it?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, this is not what I felt. I think they were very fair play. I was playing Gaël Monfils in a semifinal in Roland Garros, and I really expected the situation to be far more uncomfortable for me.
I was very happy to realize that I also had people supporting me. I knew that in key moments they would make a lot of noise, quite normal, but they were very fair play during the whole match, and it was a great pleasure for me.
I've played in far worse conditions, and it was a pleasure for me today. I also like it when the public shows their emotions, whether for him or for me.
Q. Can you say a few words about the final? Do you feel more confident than the two last years? And if so, why? Can you tell us why you feel more confident this year?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I think Rafa is going to tell you exactly the same thing. I think I'm more confident because we both made progress over the last two years. You find new solutions to win.
Today I have ‑‑ well, I have won many matches because I have more experience and I have a greater variety of shots available, so I have a great chance. I'm very confident for this final, but I guess he is, too, so let's wait and see.
Q. Nadal said...
ROGER FEDERER: You like telling me what the other one said, eh? Okay. I'm ready. Go ahead. What did he say? (laughter.)
Q. Well, he also said that the best Roger he had ever seen on clay was the Roger who played against him in Rome during the final. I wanted to ask you if you agree with that or if you felt you were better during another match?
ROGER FEDERER: I think it was a very close match from the first point to the last one. I think it was 7‑6 in the first set, 7‑6 in the last one, so it was very close. 7‑6 in the last set, it's very close, even if you have match points.
I played a very good match. I was very aggressive. I made very few mistakes on my attacks, on my volley shots, and it's in Hamburg that I managed to dominate him totally.
And then there were other matches that were very close, very ‑‑ in Monaco when we played four hours, tiebreak in the fourth set, and I was leading in the tiebreak. So I think I've played quite a few good matches against him on clay, which is his favorite surface.
So I like this challenge, playing against him on clay, and I really am in a position to win. I'm the only player who managed to win against him on clay, and I hope I'm going to do that again on Sunday.
Q. You said you had fun during the match. During the whole tournament, I thought you were very focused, but almost a bit worried sometimes.
ROGER FEDERER: What do you mean, worried? I don't know. I need to work probably more than in the past, so perhaps I'm not as present with the press and the media as I used to be.
But I'm not 19 anymore, and I'm a bit tired of answering questions. Maybe next year when I'm back I'll do a bit more. I don't know.
But over these two weeks, I wanted to leave the headlines to others, and maybe this is why you feel what you feel. But I'm fine. I play well. I'm happy.
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some more pics..
On to Sunday.
No doubt Nadal will be the favorite, as well he should be. Roger has what it takes to win but he has to execute it perfectly for a long stretch. I think the key to winning for Roger is that he needs to play freely. The moment he retreats into his defensive position, "I am going to be stubborn and beat Rafa at his game" it's over.
Lets hope the 3rd time is the one. Remember when Sampras failed to win the final of the US Open in 2000 and 2001, he cames back in 2002 to win it after a 3rd attempt? Lets hope for another great moment like that, from Fed 
What do I want to happen? I want Roger to come out on Sunday and CRUSH Nadal, and if he plays his very best, I think he can.
Last edited by *Catherine* : 06-06-2008 at 12:49 PM.
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He attended the Champions' dinner the night before. 
Never thought that I'd see him so thoroughly dominated, both physically and mentally on the court. I hope/know that he'll use this as a motivation to be an even better all-court player. He'll chase down the elusive French title in no-time, now onto the Wimby 
