TENNIS ATP FINALS 2014 – Roger Federer d. Stan Wawrinka 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(6). Semifinal
Q. Tennis sometimes is cruel. But this was a big fight between two colleagues. Four match points. It was a miracle, one of your miracles?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, I thought it was a very exciting match, to say the least. I think the crowd got really into it. I mean, I really didn’t think I was going to turn it around anymore because Stan looked very good for a long time, was able to win the second set somehow by hanging around.
Then in the third, you know, I think he played very well. Maybe a serve let him go a little bit when he needed it the most.
You know, I mean, I clearly got lucky tonight. There’s no doubt about that. But you’ve got to keep believing that maybe there is a slight, you know, chance that you are going to be able to turn it around somehow. It happened today.
I’m very pleased. It’s very hard, obviously, against Stan. It’s been a long season for both of us. I’m happy we’re able to play such a good match. Maybe not always the best quality, but still I was very impressed by his shot making again, his capabilities of playing forward, just keep on going. I think if he would have served a little bit better today he would have won probably.
Q. Novak said he’s physically exhausted. How hard is it mentally for you to keep your cool in this phase of the season?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, today it was a shot here or there. But it wasn’t in my control anymore at the very end. I’m actually pretty good. Even though today I was like the first day it would be good to see the sun again to be outdoors more often, I’m locked indoors now. It starts to be a bit long now. I know it’s only going to be another nine, ten days now before I’m on vacation.
It’s cool. I can handle it. The season’s been long for all of us, there’s no doubt. But I think Stan and myself left everything out on the court today.
Q. It was a tough match, and of course it’s very late now. How are you going to recover for the match tomorrow?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, I’m going to try to get back as quick as possible, try to recover, stretching, massage, sleep, eat. Do all those things fast. The problem is it’s a bit of a drive home. So it takes a while. It’s not like it’s five minutes away like in other places. Going to lose some time there.
But the match is 6:00 p.m. tomorrow, which is good it’s not earlier than that, so at least it gives me the chance to sleep in in the morning.
Q. Saving match points today, you saved them against Monfils, against Mayer. How can you compare those comebacks? Was this less lucky than the other two?
ROGER FEDERER: This was maybe luckier than Monfils because Stan served three times and whereas Monfils served twice. Mayer, I was crazy lucky there. So maybe that was the most luck overall because I was out of the point and he had it.
But this is obviously huge in the semifinals of the World Tour Finals. It’s very big. Clearly it’s not the way you want to win. But I still kept my cool and tried to hang around. I got myself back into it.
I was frustrated being down in the third. But, yeah, it was definitely a lucky escape tonight again.
Q. What was going on between you and the umpire at the beginning of the third set? Did you not hear the overrule and the score until Love 40? Do you feel he should have told you more clearly what was going on?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I don’t know. I mean, I was right there on top of the bounce. I thought, Oh, it was going to go in. Net cord, maybe out. I thought it was out.
I heard something, but I wasn’t sure. I looked at him. There’s nothing. Then I checked out Stan, if he was going to challenge. There was nothing. So then I heard, Breakpoint, Love 40. I was like, Hold on, it’s 15 30. I would have played my points totally different than 15 Love, so forth.
Yeah, I couldn’t believe it that he wouldn’t ask me more clearly because it was clearly a very close call. I still don’t know if it was in or out.
I just don’t quite understand how he cannot be louder. At Love 15, if he tells the score, it would probably be too late anyway. He would have said, Oh, yeah, now you got to challenge, you smart guy. I would have lost it there anyway.
But in the moment, just to assume, you know, I think is not good enough, to be quite honest. I’m not blaming him. But I remember hearing something, but not loud enough for me that it was actually an overrule, I guess. That’s how it went for me.
