TENNIS ATP CINCINNATI – 15th of August 2014. R. Federer d. A. Murray 6-3, 7-5. An interview with Roger Federer
Q. You clawed your way back from a two break deficit in the second set. Take us through how you get yourself back level and then win.
ROGER FEDERER: I’m not going to take you through the whole thing point by point because I got other things to do, so…
No, I think he was hitting the ball a bit better midway through the second set. I think I was in a bit of a slump there for ten minutes. He took advantage of that in a big way.
The second break probably shouldn’t be one, in my opinion, when I go down 4 1. He hung tough and I think he had momentum. That’s how I get broken there.
Then I just said, Maybe I can sneak in a quick break. Maybe I can hang around. I did. I played an okay game. He was maybe a bit sloppy, I don’t remember.
But I just felt like from the start I was hitting the ball well and even when he was playing well I was able to counter that.
I figured like at 4 2 if he has to serve twice to get out of the set, I was going to get another shot. That’s when I started really believing again. That was, looking back now, clearly a big moment, you know, that 4 1 game, 4 2 game as well. They were still kind of closer games, and the match should have been three sets.
Also the first set, even though it was more one sided. Still Andy had his chances, and I think overall it was quite a close match.
Q. Is it ever in your head at all when you play a player who has maybe wobbled a little bit more often than not this season? He’s had trouble closing out matches.
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I don’t know how he is closing out matches as of late. If you look back at the Tonga match, I think it was me down a set and a break, number one.
Credit to him to actually crawl back in the match and then be up in the third.
No, I didn’t feel like I could bank on him not closing it out. Maybe when a guy is not as dominant in the past maybe I believe that a little bit extra. At the same time, when you play a player of the caliber of Andy, it’s also on his racquet.
As much as I would like to say it’s on my racquet, against him it hasn’t always felt that way, particular not in the Olympic final when he crushed me.
So from that standpoint, I’m just happy I didn’t give up. I fought really bravely. I kept pushing forward. I’m very happy how my level of play is now. It’s at a more solid level, to be quite honest.
Q. You’re playing the second semifinal tomorrow night, quite a few hours after the first one. Is that a disadvantage at all?
ROGER FEDERER: I mean, it’s not an advantage. Is it a disadvantage? I don’t know. I’ve been in the situation before I think then when Novak played late, but then the finals was earlier, too. They installed sort of a rule where there needs to be at least 18 hours between, and that’s what we have now, right?
THE MODERATOR: Yeah. 19 from semi to final.
ROGER FEDERER: Right. So there you go. It’s all fair now. No, I think it’s important. You can’t like finish at midnight and then come back at 2:00 the next day. It’s realistic, but then it’s not fair. Then you have a disadvantage.
Clearly the scary part is in the case of rain. We don’t ever talk about that, but that can have a huge factor on Sunday.
And then having it back it up twice. The other guy is easily finished. I hope no rain tomorrow. Look, focus is clear trying to win that semis and not worry about the finals. I know I got my work cut out with Raonic.
