ROGERS MASTERS
Date: 2007-08-11

ROGERS MASTERS

August 11, 2007

Roger Federer
MONTREAL, QUEBEC
The Moderator Questions, please.

Question How did you find Stepanek, and are you pleased with the way you played today?
Answer Yeah, I was very happy the way I played. I thought it was a tough match with a lot of crucial points, you know, with a lot of shots played on reaction. I couldn't really dictate play, you know, because he kept coming at me.
And you know, I did well. I came up with some really nice passing shots when I had to. And after while I also started to serve really well, and pick up his own serve towards the second set, so I was really happy with my performance.
It was a bit easier physically again after yesterday's tough match against Hewitt. So I'm happy with my performance, yeah.

Question Why weren't you able to break him in the first set?
Answer Messed up. You know, he served well twice. And once on the second serve, I thought he was going to come to the net and, yeah, he faked me. So I thought I had to go for it more on the return. And instead of chipping it, I hit it and I missed it, so that was my only chance, really.
After that, I was actually happy to make it to the tiebreaker.

Question When you were down Love-40 in the first set, it just seemed that you just kind of raised your level for a second. Is that what happened?
Answer Yeah, well, I don't know. I guess so. But, look, he missed the return, I hit an ace, and maybe hit another good point, you know. But I mean, it wasn't really my hands there, Love-40. Would have also help somehow from your opponent, you know. He's going to miss a couple of shots and the first serves come when you need them.
And I didn't go through it with three big aces, so I had to fight for it. And it's always hard, Love-40 especially, because the opponent can go for it once or twice, you know. And he's got less pressure than the situations I was in. I was just at advantage, you know. You can turn around much quicker from there.

Question Any adjustments from the first set to the second set? Seemed like you were handling a little better in the second set?
Answer No, I thought I started to return better. That was the key for me. I actually read his serve pretty well through the entire match, you know. I think I really got very few aces against me, which I was very happy about.
And, yeah, from the baseline I thought I always had the upper hand, and that was a good feeling to have, especially on my own service games, and once if I would get into the rally against him. Also on his serve I knew he was under pressure. So I did well today, I'm really happy.

Question You may not want to tempt the fates, but is this the best restart that you've had post Wimbledon? You've played four very good matches, and you seem to be not cruising, but certainly playing to a very high standard. Is it the quickest and best restart you've had post Wimbledon?
Answer This match today?

Question No, over all the years?
Answer Through all the years?

Question After Wimbledon, is this the best restart you've had?
Answer Yeah, hard to tell. I mean, look, I played twice Gstaad after, and then I took a break after that. So I remember missing Montreal one time, and then I won Cincinnati. I played pretty well there I remember, too. But I struggled against Blake in the early round but that was a tough draw.
So I think this is very good. I'm very happy because I was a bit worried, you know. In practice I wasn't feeling all that great, but I came through it, and like usual, once you get on the match court, you always play better than the practice courts.

Question Without Tony, did the practice go in any different way? Did you do anything different?
Answer It was obviously, yeah, practice was different. I mean, I loved doing the practice sessions with Tony. He was so intense, and we were on the same level. So of course it was a pity he wasn't around, you know. But I've managed to do it well with my Davis Cup captain was there, my condition trainer was there. Two juniors flew in, and Yves was there as well. So we had like a little camp there. Well, weather's always going to be hot. So that was good looking ahead to next week now.

Question Players talk about you staying up there three and a half years now at No. 1. Is it a question of maintaining? Or are you still trying to improve?
Answer Yeah, I mean, I'm still trying to improve otherwise I wouldn't go on the practice courts. There is still -- I think in tennis that is the fun part. Maybe in golf or in -- maybe in soccer as well, I don't know, I can't really relate to that so much. But I think we can always work on something. The volley, the serve, the movement, forehand and the backhand. There are so many shots you can hit in tennis, you know, because it always comes a different way at you.
And for this reason, I always strive to improve. That's also up with of the reasons why I haven't had the same coach for 15 years, you know, ten years because I always wanted to improve as a player. And hopefully I can still do that in the years to come as well.

Question What do you do for shoes on hard courts? It is pretty grabby. Do you have to break them in or do you use a new pair every time?
Answer I try to break them in one time. I mean, a half an hour warm-up would already be enough. And you know, Nike did special custom shoes for me, you know, because I had foot problems a few years ago. So it feels better now, so I don't have to kind of play with them for like an hour to get into it.
Yeah, I go through probably two or three pair of shoes per tournament.

Question Your possible opponents, if you could analyze the two?
Answer Well, I think Novak's really playing well at the moment. I think that was a huge win for him against Roddick, you know. They're the next group chasing, you know, Rafa and myself. So I think that was a big win for him. And now with the prospect of playing Rafa, who he's beaten in Miami, even though he's lost the last two, but that was clay and grass, so I guess the hard court maybe he feels a bit more comfortable. And at Wimbledon he wasn't a hundred percent. And at the French Open, had to imagine he was going to lose that match.
But I think he's really done well this season. Played really well in Miami and Indian Wells. So I think he's absolutely a tough player at the moment. He's got an all-around game, he's got a good serve and good return. Always makes you work hard.
And Rafa, of course, I've played him on numbers of occasions and yeah, I mean, the way he battles and the way he plays, how he was able to improve his game over the years, I'm not surprised at all because he got the better of me right away in Miami. The first time we played, okay, I was coming back from a sun stroke, but still I was very impressed with the way he played, and had some great battles over the years with him. So it would be fun also playing against him in the finals.