All-time men's leader with 16 Grand Slam titles, Roger Federer looks for new challenges at 29
TORONTO, ONTARIO, JUAN CARLOS CORDERO, UNO International News Service.- For Roger Federer, tonight’s quarter-finals match with Czech nemesis Tomas Berdych won’t be a piece of cake, even when he leads 8-3 in victories. However, during the whole 2010, the Swiss has not been able to defeat Berdych. He lost at the ATP Masters 1000 in Miami hard court in the round of 16 6-4, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (6) and the most painful defeat at Wimbledon in the quarter-finals of the green grass of the Tennis Cathedral 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 and 6-4.
Some say that Roger Federer looked a little bit rusty in his debut in Toronto, but current No. 3 actually seems determined to recover or at least reduced the distance with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who eventually could be his rival in semi-finals if he is able to win Berdych. As in sports, surprises are facts of life, Rexall Centre will be the stage where both men’s battles will re-enact. Berdych has a 70-48 record career, but Federer is the all-time leader in the ATP Masters with 211 match wins (Agassi was surpassed, 209) and also is the all-time men’s leader with 16 Grand Slam title and has won 712 matches vs. 170 defeats. He is away two wins away from No. 9 Boris Becker (713). His 62 titles is only tied for No. 6 with Guillermo Villas and his only one away from tying Bjorn Borg and two away from Pete Sampras at No. 4.
As you can see, there is plenty for Roger Federer still to accomplish, after celebrating his 29 birthday last Sunday in Toronto and starting a great family, changing diapers and playing with his twins, a new life to laugh, cry and enjoy.
ROGER FEDERER, Switzerland
Residence: Bottimingen, Switzerland
Date of Birth: August 8, 1981
Birthplace: Basel, Switzerland
Height: 6’1”” (1.85 m)
Weight: 187 lbs (85 kg)
Pro Since: 1998
Plays: Right-handed
Rogers Cup Appearances: 8
Rogers Cup Record: 27-6
Best Rogers Cup: Champion, 2004 and 2006
R. FEDERER/M. Llodra
7-6, 6-3
Q. Nice to play some old-school tennis again today?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, it is fun playing that kind of a style once in a while. Again, I kind of miss it, obviously. Having come through the rankings, you know, back in '98, '99, 2000, I was facing many of those kind of players, especially on the faster courts indoors. You had many more of the clay courters purely playing on clay or slow hardcourt, and hardcourt specialists on the grass and the indoors and the faster hardcourts, and then sometimes they would mix up, and today that's not the case anymore. Everything is much more open for everybody to play on all the surfaces, and it's a different kind of tennis today. But it was fun playing against Michael today. I thought he played well.
Q. Has anyone ever asked for your shirt after a match before? When was the last time you were on the receiving end of an underhanded serve?
ROGER FEDERER: It's the first time I got an underarm serve; third time somebody asked me for the shirt.
He said there was no chance to get a round, that he needed one for his kids. So it's like, Okay, no problem. I've known him 16 years, and he's older one year, so I couldn't say no.
Q. You know, I noticed maybe more than the past when you're ahead in the games you're starting to try and shorten the points, serve and volley. Is it something you focused on, or was it something that you've added with Paul Annacone or...
ROGER FEDERER: No, I think today again is one of those kind of matches, short rallies were always going to happen. This is how it was used to be played. You rather hit a volley than a passing shot.
And he's a good volleyer, a good athlete at the net, and that's why you want to try to move forward early on in the point, because otherwise if you play just one shot a bit passive, he'll be the one making the move, and then you have to come up with maybe a passing shot on the run.
That is not something you want to do. So I think that was obviously one of the reasons why I played offensive today.
Q. Who else asked you for your shirt, and did you give it to them?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah. No problem. Whoever asks, I give it, you know. It was not on the court. The guy one time, it was in the elevator coming back -- well, in the elevator coming back from the match. (Laughter.)
Q. It was another player?
ROGER FEDERER: It was another player in Bangkok. Yeah, it was fun. He was a Brazilian.
Q. Can you explain exactly how your association with Paul Annacone came to be? Who approached who? Did you speak with Pete or Tim to get their insider info on what he's like as a coach?
ROGER FEDERER: Spoke to Tim about it. Been in touch with Paul for many years, really, because he was always very friendly with our team through obviously work with Henman and Pete before that, so always got along well.
I contacted him after -- we had contact a year ago already, but it's really only this year now that sort of the LTA thing is phasing out that I thought it was the right moment to approach him. That's kind of how it went.
Q. I watched you practice a little bit in Miami this year, and you were with Severin and hitting with Dlouhy, I think. You were just having a great time. You were...
ROGER FEDERER: I like tennis, you know. (Laughter.)
Q. Looked like you like tennis. Today there were some points of levity, also. You kind of framed one shot and turned around and laughed. How important is that attitude for you throughout your career? How does it help you?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I think it's important in the long run, you know, that -- I mean, in practice, anyway, I'm obviously much more laid back than in the match, because in the match a point here or there can have huge momentum swing and you end up losing the match.
I'd rather be focused and be around for many matches than, you know, play the clown and be only here for one match.
It's always a fine line to know how much can you really laugh, how much can you have fun. But today, I know my opponent so well and having a lot of fun points, I think it was really a possibility to have more fun out there.
In the practice, I always have it. It's important regardless if you're playing well at tournaments or not that the practice, you always, you know, enjoy it, because if you don't enjoy those anymore, then the whole grind becomes really tough.
That's never happened to me, and that's why I'm happy to be here.
Q. Speaking of shirts, your choice of color has been generating a lot of buzz for some reason. Do you get to choose what you wear, or does Nike choose to put both you and Rafa in pink this week?
ROGER FEDERER: I think it was a coincidence that we're both in pink. I didn't even know he was going to be playing in pink, because we kind of decide the colors we are going to play probably over a year ahead.
I don't know where my head was when I chose pink, but I like it, you know (laughter). Honestly I've gotten a lot of praise for it, you know.
People apparently like it, you know. So that's a good thing. It's only for, unfortunately or luckily, only for two tournaments because I'm going to be changing again for the Open, and I thought it was going to be something fun for the summer. That's kind of how it goes.
No, I have a huge impact and input on what I'm going to wear. One time I think I was supposed to wear something yellow. I forgot that I said yes to it. I asked them if I couldn't just change it and play in the old shirt, so that's happened before.
Now I'm much more on top of it from my side, especially, knowing when the deadlines are and when to choose the colors and if it's a shirt or a T-shirt. We work very closely with Nike. It's a lot of fun, and they're great.
Q. You talked about having a fun match and some kind of fun shots. One that jumped out to me, it was like a half volley in the game that you won -- you went up 4-3. Do you know the shot I'm talking about? It was a half volley over the net and it kind of spun back and looked like it hit your opponent in the face almost with -- there was so much spin on it.
ROGER FEDERER: I don't remember it.
Q. You don't remember the shot? It was a good shot.
ROGER FEDERER: Anyway, it was a good one? Perfect.
No, but like you say, I think there were some good ones out there, some unusual shots, you know, like the lob, the passing shots, the little flick stuff. You have to come up with -- I remember that's how I played the whole time, coming up, and then I had to improve so much on my baseline game because all the guys leading the rankings sort of like Ferrero and Nalbandian and Hewitt and Safin and Roddick even, I mean, they were all playing from the baseline.
This is when I realized I also have to be more patient and not just approach on anything, because they were not coming in anymore. You have to maneuver the opponents around a bit more and be smart about it. So it was a really fun match. I enjoyed it.
Q. What are you looking to change -- I guess your next opponent, Tomas Berdych, you lost to him the last few times out.
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I definitely have to go back, and, you know, think what didn't go so well against him and what did work well. He's definitely on the run right now, so hope to stop him a bit. He played great in Paris, at Wimbledon, and also, he beat me in Miami in a tough three-setter where I had match point, so that was a bit of a pity, obviously.
So I hope to learn from those mistakes and come up with a good game plan tomorrow.
Q. You talked about how the game has changed in terms of the style. Llodra, you used to see a lot more of those guys. What about the depth? You see at an event like this, you don't have a Tsonga or Del Potro, and Roddick is not here, and yet there seems to be match after match -- the depth, do you notice a change over the past decade?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, what I see is that guys are serving harder in general, you know. Everybody's clocking the 200 quite comfortably today. Before, 200 used to be a big serve. Today it's kind of the norm.
Second serves, you know, we used to have a lot of guys serving 130s, 150s before. Now everybody is around 150, 160, 170, and that kind of neutralizes the point a bit more from the start.
I think also guys maybe return a bit better but then again maybe don't volley as well, so there's not much of those pressure plays like we used to have. Match is played on a couple shots here and there like we see indoors or on grass sometimes. Those you had much more in any surface, you know.
So I don't know if it's harder or not, but I definitely think the depth is big. Guys are hitting the ball bigger than ever. I think the string has been a huge change in how the guys are playing these days. Before, I remember you could hit hard and long. Today you can even hit hard and short cross, which is incredible, you know, the angles we can get when we hit the ball.
And I think that's been the biggest change is that you can just go from hitting long to hitting short cross all of a sudden with the same amount the space, and that's something that was not possible with sort of the all-gut string before when I was coming up.
Q. You've been quoted of saying in the past that you've created a bit of a monster when it comes to expectations that fans and the media have. After Wimbledon, losing in the quarters, you seemed obviously frustrated. Do you feel that sometimes you've created this monster in yourself, or do you think the expectations of fans and the media might be a little much?
ROGER FEDERER: No, I don't think I was frustrated after my loss from Wimbledon. I was disappointed that my body wasn't holding up and that Berdych played such a good match and that I couldn't defend my Wimbledon dream again.
So that was the point for Wimbledon. Obviously with all the success, you know, I got spoiled. Everybody around me got spoiled. So it's obvious when I don't make -- when I don't win the tournament basically or to the finals also not sometimes good enough for people and myself that it's normal that everybody talks a different way all of a sudden. That's something I have to deal with, and I'm looking forward to hopefully change that again and play well again here in the States, for instance, and in Canada.
Q. Could you just talk a little bit about the situation of actually hooking up with Paul Annacone and how it's going and what your expectations might be?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, Paul came to Switzerland after Wimbledon at some stage. I had vacation first, which is obviously key for me to just get back on my feet and feel normal again. It took me about 10 days to get over the aches and pains I have had over the three-week period from Halle until the end of Wimbledon.
I've always gotten along very well with Paul, him being obviously the coach of Sampras and Henman who were sort of friends to me and I know very well.
So I thought it was a good time to do a test, and this is our first test tournament we're doing. We're taking it slow, and we'll see what happens next week. We don't even know yet. He's got still some commitments with the LTA, and I respect that, obviously, and I want him to fulfill that, as well. He wants to do that, too.
We'll see how it goes, and we will take a decision maybe after the US Open and see what I'll do.
Q. Severin still...
ROGER FEDERER: Severin's coming to Cincinnati, yeah.
Q. Obviously you've been working with Paul. What else have you been doing with your time off?
ROGER FEDERER: Like I said, I had a great vacation after Wimbledon. Beautiful weather obviously in Europe, and we enjoyed that, and then it was nice to be home for like three weeks which is, for us, a very long time. I know it's not that long, but three weeks for us is a big deal.
So that was nice, you know, just get away from it all. Did a couple of sponsor things. Didn't do any media whatsoever. So it was nice to get away from it all, you know, also, just the people, like the whole scene I know throughout the whole year, and then, you know, you get very excited again to go back on tour and pack your bags and go on a trip again. So very happy to be back on tour obviously again.
Q. It's a big change for you to hire someone like Paul. What do you hope to get out of him? How do you hope to tweak your game to get back to the No. 1 ranking again?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, the goal has always been for me to improve as a player, and, you know, I won't just be happy of playing the same way for years and years and years. I've always questioned myself in the best of times and in, you know, in the worst of times, even though there were not many worst moments, bad moments, the last seven years or so. But I always look at new ways I can improve on. Paul, I think, with his experience can bring something to our team, and that's what we're exploring right now.
Q. Could you just maybe assess your season in general? You obviously got the Australian Open win off the top, but it's been a few struggles throughout the year. Can you just talk a little bit about what you want to do to move forward, and have you done anything to your game, any changes, any major things you need to work on?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah. I mean, I think it would be great to have more time off to work on my game, but it's the same dilemma for all the players. You know, the season is long. It's the way it is. That's why it, for me, was important to take a rest and really work on my game again.
I think, by doing that, I'm confident that the results will come back eventually. I'm doing all the right things with the last years and stuff. I was definitely disappointed, as well, that I couldn't play better right after the Australian Open, which I thought was some of my best tennis I ever played in my life, you know.
But I think the lung infection threw back a bit, lost a bit confidence, only played two tournaments in a three-month period and I got to clay and had a couple tough losses early on. I started to play better only when Rome came around, and I actually played okay in Paris and ran into, you know, Soderling who played great, and also at Wimbledon I ran into Berdych who played great.
It was a bit of a disappointing obviously Grand Slam run there as well for me. I thought the guys played great, and I have to make some adjustments just to make sure I stay ahead of the pack, and that's what I've been trying to do in the practice. I haven't played that many tournaments, after all. It's hard to judge.
Q. Can you tell us why you're not entered into the doubles here in Toronto this year? What's your take on the pairing of Nadal and Djokovic, the world's No. 1 and 2 players together?
ROGER FEDERER: Um, yeah, I think it's always fun when singles guys enter the doubles at tournaments. You know, I do it occasionally. Now having, you know, Paul around, I didn't want to spend extra time on, you know, warming up for doubles or thinking about it. I just wanted to focus on singles and getting back onto the tour, even though usually after six weeks' break or so I do come back and like to have that extra doubles match maybe.
But I didn't choose to, but I think it's great Nadal is playing with Novak. They know each other. We all know each other. We've been on the council, and they have the same guy who handles the press. So I'm sure they're very friendly and it's great for the fans, good for the game, so I'm for it.
Q. It's only been a short period, but have there been one or two things Paul has said that you've found insightful?
ROGER FEDERER: Sure. We've been spending two or almost three weeks together. It's been interesting, you know, with all the experience he's had with all the top players, and just hearing someone else for a change is good, too, you know.
It's also been interesting with the combination with Severin in Switzerland, you know, my coach who has been with me the last three years who has been looking at ways to adjust and play differently or play more aggressive or more defensive, use the right shots and also just handled the tour, you know, the daily routine that I'm doing. It's interesting that we're going through all the different things. It's been a long break.
It also gave me a lot of time to think about how I now want to approach and attack the end of the year and the next following years after that.
Q. You have had probably the most extended dominant run that any athlete has ever had, and you've been doing it for an awfully long time. You're 29 now. I think Pete Sampras only ever won one Slam after 29. You have talked during this kind of struggle that you still believe you can do this. Has there ever been a moment during this last year, year and a half where you don't think you can be No. 1 again and don't believe you can be the best player in the world for an extended period again?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, the last one-and-a-half years I've won like three or four Slams, and I got to No. 1, so I felt I could get to No. 1 because I was No. 1. So it's a funny question.
But no, I mean, obviously Rafa came back very strong. They wrote him off, too, which was to me surprising, especially because he couldn't play Wimbledon last year. There was a bit of negativity hype around him being awfully injured and stuff, but he also only missed six weeks. I missed about the same at the beginning of the year, too, but I only missed Dubai but he missed Wimbledon.
Sometimes, you know, the press gets too carried away too quickly. It's understandable with our success we've had, Rafa, myself, you know, but I think, you know, the last couple years I've been a bit -- especially when I wanted to practice, you know, I had mono, the lung infection, I had back issues a couple of times. So I just had to -- I was maybe lacking some practice and maybe all of that, then, you know, came together. Seems that I was not playing so well when I really wanted to, but at the same time I still had a great run I think in the last two or three years.
I did pick up a handful of Grand Slam titles I got back to No. 1 and had an amazing streak in Paris, to win that last year, and Wimbledon, as well. It was unbelievable what I was able to experience, you know. Now it's, you know, coming from behind again, you know.
Being ranked No. 3 in the world is something I haven't been in a very long time, so also gives me motivation and a drive to come forward again, and I'm doing all the right things and it's, to me, just a matter of time. But guys are getting good and it's inspiring for me also to get better.
Q. Just to add on to the doubles question quickly from earlier, do you feel you'd ever play with Nadal if he asked you to play doubles together, or like a Djokovic, or do you view that as a conflict of interest?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, Rafa asked me a few years ago to play doubles in I think it was Madrid indoors or so, but then I think our rivalry was so intense, I just felt like it was the wrong thing to do. Like you say, could be like a conflict and not something we should be doing.
It would have been great for the game, but I think it would have been a bit of a curveball for everybody. It was fierce rivals, now all a sudden they're being friendly. I don't think the press would have enjoyed that so much. They want to put us against each other, not with each other. But today I think we're much more laid back, me especially, too, because I didn't have a rival for a long period of time, and then Rafa came up and there was -- it was great, you know, but I just didn't feel like we needed to play doubles together.
No, I would see myself playing with Rafa. It's just, if I do play, I want to play with my friends from Switzerland, help those guys out, and I don't know, play with other top guys. I could imagine myself doing that.
Q. It's been a very long time since you've gone into a tournament ranked No. 3. I'm just wondering how that number specifically affects you mentally sort of preparing for your play this week.
ROGER FEDERER: Not at all. I didn't even know I dropped to 3 until I looked at the rankings once. I was like, Oh, didn't even know it happened. So it doesn't change my life if it's 2, 3, 4 really. Doesn't change much in the way that the draw is set up, you know.
Of course you could maybe play No. 1 in the world in the semis, but that's something I did in Cincinnati last year, too. I played Murray in the semis. He was No. 2 in the world, and that's just sometimes something that can happen, you know. Yeah, as long as you're not No. 50 in the world, there's no reason to be concerned.
Q. I'm interested in your thoughts on the importance of the tennis coach you've just started with, with Paul. Andy Murray is looking for a new coach. Interesting dynamic, isn't it, in tennis? Because in football the coach is the boss, but in tennis it's almost the other way around. What is the goal of a coach? How important is it as a coach?
ROGER FEDERER: Depends. I think it really depends on the character of the player. Some give coaches more weight; some don't, you know. I obviously have a very special sort of a career, you know, obviously from success itself, but also, I became No. 1 in the world having no coach, really.
So I went through a period of time which was very interesting almost at the peak. I didn't have a management company; nor did I have a coach. I thought that was a great learning experience for me, and that's why I think I'm super-stable today, you know, regardless if I do have all the stuff around me.
I know I can handle a lot by myself, but obviously at this stage now I do need help from all sorts of sides, you know, because my family has grown. You know, the business is much bigger than it has ever been. The success has been massive over the last few years.
I think it's interesting for players. They need to know for themselves what's most important for them. Sometimes it can be just a friend traveling with them, making them feel good, you know. Then maybe having the coach or a conditioning coach or a physio, I think the player needs to know for himself what that really is. Obviously if you can afford all of it, great. But also that can put a pressure on you thinking you have to make like a semis of a tournament to break even, you know, in terms of the financial part. You know, you do sometimes think of that, too, as a player.
So it depends on what kind of a personality you are. I like to give my coaches -- some people think I control everything, I'm a control freak. That's not at all the case. I like that actually the coach does have a lot of say, a lot of input. I never have arguments, have ever had arguments with my coaches, because I like them to criticize me. I need that, you know, to become a better player.
That's why I think all my relationships with all my coaches have been great. I have been very fortunate having great coaches over the years. We'll see if something is going to happen with Paul. I don't know yet.
Q. A year ago you were at your first tournament with the twins, and now, looking back, how have they changed your lifestyle both when you're on the tour and at home? One or two ways.
ROGER FEDERER: It's always been kind of busy at home, but now it's even more busy. I didn't know that was possible. We got that going, so it's a lot of fun, it's a lot of work. But we love doing it on tour, honestly. We're lucky we're staying at great hotels, so everything makes it a bit easier.
But, sure, the traveling is getting a little bit harder now with the kids wanting to run around. But obviously, now coming over here, the kids were great on the flight, and that's obviously a good sign for the future, too, knowing they can travel still a lot with me in the future.
And it's nice, you know, knowing that there's definitely something else, as well, than just tennis. I always knew that, because I had a very stable and great relationship with Mirka and we love spending time together. I knew tennis was just a part of, you know, sort of a short period of my life, you know.
But now with the kids it always has a great meaning and it's wonderful. They're doing great. I love spending a lot of time with them. Honestly it hasn't kept me away from hitting the practice courts and going to all the tournaments. I thought they might actually -- not pull me away but maybe just make me play maybe less tournaments, or maybe I will have to always practice in the morning and stuff, you know, but it hasn't happened. I've been able to follow my normal routines, and as a team and with Mirka, we've decided family and tennis come first, and we're able to juggle it because we have great help and it's been possible. So I'm very happy.
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