Roger Federer Interview
Monday, June 2, 2008
French Open
Q. Do you think that around many end of the sets your opponent brought you to play really some of your best? Did you expect that today?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah. I mean, I expected him to get on a run at times. And, you know, he had a few bad moments, as well. Maybe that's why his ranking is not all the way at the top. So I relied on those mistakes, you know.
It was unfortunate I couldn't serve it out the way I wanted to in the first and second set, but I felt okay out there. You know, it was tough conditions with the rain delay.
He was under a lot of pressure serving at 5‑6 down obviously in the second set. That wasn't very comfortable for him, you know. But I was able to take advantage it and get the second set.
I thought I played an okay match. He was playing well, at times very well even, and that put me under pressure. And like you said, then I also had to raise my game.
Q. Overall, how do you feel that you're playing so far, looking back on your four matches so far in your campaign? Where would you put your level at the moment?
ROGER FEDERER: I mean, I think it's all right, you know. Today was a particular match, you know, against a French player, very streaky, you know. So you always got to be, you know, careful.
I didn't think I had my best serving day today, you know, unfortunately. But the last three have been good, so I hope the next one is going to be okay again, as well.
All in all, I'm very happy with the way I'm playing, and I'm looking forward to my next round match against González.
Q. What has been the impact of José Higueras' coaching on your game? Because today you played pretty much like you did before, very good.
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, important is to try to keep a good level up, you know, that I've shown over the last few years, and take the good advice José gives me from the last few weeks and months.
Maybe it's going to make a small difference at the end, and I hope it's going to go my way this time.
Q. The whole tournament, just the way you're playing, Rafa, and Djokovic, the fact that Davydenko lost, how do you see the thing just sort of generally shaping up?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, you know I think it's an open draw, you know, for Ljubicic, Monfils, Ferrer and Stepanek. I don't see a clear favorite, you know. In that match. I don't know if they've played already or not, but I think anything is possible in that section.
González hasn't lost basically on clay this season yet, you know, so it's a tough match. He had a great win against Stan the other day.
Obviously I'm the favorite in this section, so I hope I can make it through to the final. But I'm not there yet, so I have to be very careful with González, because it seems like he played a good match today.
Q. Talking about González in particular, is there something about his game? Obviously he gets on a roll and starts unleashing his bombs. Is it a case of standing back and waiting for it, or do you think he can sustain it?
ROGER FEDERER: You have to go against it. He doesn't blow you away from the first shot. He's also very streaky player. He can go on a great roll at times, you know. But you've got to go against it.
Important is to serve well, and also try to put him on the back foot. I think you also have to play aggressive. For me, it's an interesting match, because last time we played I lost.
So I hope I can turn around again in my favor this time.
THE MODERATOR: Questions in French, please.
Q. What about playing against a Frenchman in France? Is it more difficult than any other match?
ROGER FEDERER: It might be tough, but I think that the public was, how can I say, fair play. Here again, they were here when they were needed for Benneteau. Also, he broke me twice when I was serving for the set in the first set, so the pressure was going up. That's when Benneteau could start playing well, perhaps worry me a little, but I managed to play well afterwards.
Yes, it's different to play against the French here, but I enjoyed it today.
Q. Are you satisfied with where you are today and how you play?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, yes, as I said, I think I didn't serve in the best possible way today. But otherwise, the match was solid, was good. I waited for him to make more errors. He started hitting more balls in the court, and all of a sudden, you know, the conditions are very slow. So let's be careful about this, is what I thought.
But I managed to win the match. I found the means to win the match. That was very important. I was very happy to win this, because it was a difficult draw against a French. So I hope I can still play well next match.
Q. The next opponent is Fernando González. He's quite impressive on clay. He's not been beaten so far. What do you think about this?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, yes, he is a dangerous player. I think that clay's probably his preferred surface. He was born on clay, more or less, and his tournament was good. Today was a key match for him.
After the difficult match against Wawrinka he's still there. He has one day off to recover, so he's going to be fitter than I am today. We'll see what the match looks like. I practiced with him when I arrived here and he played well during practice.
I must say he's got one of the best forehands on the tour, so I'll have to be careful about this and we'll see what happens.
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