TENNIS ATP CINCINNATI – 16th of August 2014. R. Federer d. M. Raonic 6-2, 6-3. An interview with Roger Federer
Q. How tough was it to get ready? Looked like the match may be over a solid hour and a half before it ended. How tough was it to follow that, especially when you’re not expecting that?
ROGER FEDERER: You know, at 6 2, 4 Love, we still said, This can still turn, and it did.
What do you do? You kind of wait around. You hop around. We’re used to it. Rain delays and all that. That’s what tennis players are ready for.
For other sports who know exactly on that day, that hour it all happens with no interruption, it’s different. You really gear into that.
But as a tennis player you know that these things can happen. Obviously worse case scenario would’ve been if things had gone longer and rain came and because of that we couldn’t have finished. That wouldn’t be good for anybody, but that’s also what happens and you’ve got to deal with it.
Milos and me were both hanging around in the gym just hanging around really. Keep yourself active I guess I would say, because you never know if in the beginning of the third if somebody retires as well. You’re on the standby.
Q. Were you watching or just keeping a sense of what the score was?
ROGER FEDERER: No, it was on. We have like ten TVs at the gym and they were all running. There is no escaping that match, you know. (Smiling.)
Q. What do you feel like was the biggest difference tonight for you to get the win?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, I think the start was big again. Like at Wimbledon I got off a flier and sort of never looked back.
I think I returned well in patches. I would return really well one game and not for three games and then return well again.
I feel like because of that it matched up really well with how he was serving. I think because of maybe the problems I’ve caused him in the past he was pushing a bit too much on the serve or felt like he had to do something special.
That’s exactly what you want your opponent to feel. I was playing my pace. I was calm. I knew what I wanted to do, and when I did it, it worked well.
I think he had chances in the second set. It was close, and he was returning better and just getting into those rallies he was looking for. So I think it was crucial, that break I did get at 4 3 when he saved a couple.
So that was big, because otherwise maybe I am stuck in a breaker and then you never know.
Q. This is your second Masters 1000 final in a row. Just want to get your thoughts. Last week it was you and a bunch of guys, and this week it’s you and a bunch of different guys. Andy, Novak, and Rafa are sort of not currently that stage. Do you have any thoughts on do you miss them? Do you think about it at all? Or you just doing your thing?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, clearly I think we’re all interested to see what the decision is going to be about Rafa for the Open. I think that would be a bit of a letdown for the Open, for the tournament. The tournament is big in itself. It can cope with those kind of things, but clearly be more exciting having him around.
Novak clearly was surprising to see his losses.
I think Murray is getting back to where he wants to be.
Then there is always a bunch of good guys right behind them. Ferrer this week, Tsonga last week. Somebody inevitably has to win the tournament and somebody is going to have a run. That’s the beauty of it really. Never a dull moment in tennis.
The rankings keep changing and you got to keep defending your points. Rafa is losing a bunch of points now just by not playing. It’s a brutal ranking system, but it creates lot have entertainment and also news I think at the same time. So I think it’s really good.
But clearly the focus is more just trying to manage a tough schedule. I’ve played an a lot of tennis the last couple of weeks now. Got to be like ten matches in thirteen days or something with a day of travel. So it’s a lot and there is a lot on the line.
You can pick up a lot of points and win titles. That’s what I play for now. I really want to win the one tomorrow, so clearly the focus has been more on me making the transition from grass to the hard courts and then managing fatigue.
In the beginning I had a lot of muscle pain in Toronto last week from playing tough matches on the hard courts again. My body felt that.
Now I feel better than I have in ten days. That’s really encouraging, even though I played a lot of tennis now. Really hope I got one more good match here tomorrow and then I can rest next week.
Q. Does it feel like it’s been two years since you won a Masters title?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, yeah, because last year was a bit of a lost year, I guess. I don’t know if I was even in the finals of one. Maybe in Rome against Rafa. Maybe. I don’t remember. Then I came close in Paris and all that.
But, yeah, so, I mean, the problem last year was like just at one point I did get injured in the first Masters 1000. I did play Indian Wells where I might have had chances. I had Rafa in my quarter. That was always going to be tough.
That’s when things started to unravel for me. The thing is I was missing 10% or more, and knew it I was going to struggle against the best. If you struggle against the best you’re not going to win Masters 1000s, because those are the guys you’ll run into from quarters on. That’s why it was no surprise I didn’t win one last year.
Q. Would it be a significant milestone, sort of coming full circle to last year’s injury to lift one of these?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I love Cincinnati. It’s been my most successful Masters 1000, I guess. It would be great winning one more. Plus, I think I’ve lost three this year already, so it’s about time I win this one right now.
