WIMBLEDON
Date: 2006-07-03

WIMBLEDON

July 3, 2006

Roger Federer
WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND
The Moderator Roger Federer .

Question Is that close to your top level, or do you still have a little head room yet, you think?
Answer Uhm, well, today was kind of an awkward match, you know. I think he was struggling with his shoulder. It was obvious to me early on. Didn't know exactly what it was in the beginning, bothered him on his serve. I cannot say it was my best match, no.
The first couple matches were much better than this, but that had something to do with the way of his game, you know. I knew that sort of after I won the second I was through and it was just a matter of time until I got the break.
In the end, I'm pretty pleased to have had an easy day.

Question You were out-hitting him off the ground. Do you think the shoulder affected him?
Answer No, I don't think so. But off the baseline, I usually beat many of them, you know. And especially on grass I know exactly how to play. I was already way better than him in Halle, you know. During the finals, I played aggressive there. Obviously, with my variety he struggles a little bit.
So I tried to take advantage of that, too. For this reason, it was good that he didn't serve so well today. I could get into the rallies. There, I thought I was the better player.

Question Can you say something about the courts?
Answer About the courts?

Question Yeah.
Answer Yeah, a little slippery now. But I guess that's normal with the heat we've had. The courts now obviously changed over the weekend a bit. They're more dry. The bounce is a little bit higher, you know. Haven't played for two days, Centre Court and stuff, or more even because I was on Court 1. It was a little bit of an adjustment I had to make.

Question Is it slower?
Answer I wouldn't think so, no.

Question It's a long way off, of course, but if this were to come down to a final between you and Rafael Nadal, what do you think that would do for the development of the rivalry, how might that fuel even more interest in men's tennis?
Answer Well, I mean, it's not all me and him, you know. Even though the attention was very big throughout the clay court season because we played in three finals, and before that just leading up we were playing in Dubai, too, in the finals.
Obviously, it would be sort of interesting now on grass, you know. We don't know how good he still is, you know, because he had a pretty good draw so far, even though Andre, you know, is a tough player.
Obviously, if he made the final, that would be quite a surprise, I think, to many, even though, you know, he's such a good player that you could expect him to.

Question To what degree would it surprise even you?
Answer Well, to a certain degree (smiling).

Question Can you elaborate?
Answer No, I mean, he hits the ball so well, you know. He's a good mover. So obviously, he's got, you know, that strength going for him. And then obviously the confidence and everything.
So that makes a big difference in the game.

Question Do you feel like you've been tested at all so far, having not dropped a set?
Answer Yeah, I mean, I've had some. I think going into the match, you know, you always feel like, This is gonna be a test. After one set and a half, you start to feel like you're in control.
So I have been tested, yes, absolutely.

Question Last year three of the four finalists were Americans, and obviously yourself. This year, there's no Americans left. Are you surprised, especially considering their record here in the past in Wimbledon?
Answer Yeah, I am. I mean, I think it's quite a disappointment, you know. We know that it can happen at the French Open, but now, you know, seeing that it happening in Wimbledon is obviously a bit of a surprise. The women's side, you know, you're missing Serena, you're missing Lindsay. Andy obviously was a bit of a surprise.
I mean, it's disappointing because I like seeing the Americans, you know, going far. They've had a great history, you know, almost in any Grand Slam to play well, especially with Pete and Andre, Courier and Chang, all these guys around.
So, yeah, I hope it's gonna be better for them at the US Open.

Question What are your thoughts about your next match, depending on which way it goes here?
Answer Uhm, yeah, I mean, tough match. I mean, I have a tough draw. I knew that. So I think no matter who wins this one, it's a tough match. Djokovic has come a long way since I played him in Monaco in the first round. Ancic, obviously he's got the grass court expertise. It's gonna be a tough match.

Question You're always struggling to stay on top. You're No. 1. The only way you can go is down, if you like. In a way, maybe you can answer this better than anybody because you struggle with the pressures. Andy Murray is the great British hope. He's feeling a lot of pressure from the press. We may have seen the result of that this evening. How do you think the pressure from the press and the expectations of a nation can weigh on a player?
Answer Well, you start questioning yourself. You start to believe it's true, what they write, you know.
I often, you know -- the media is accurate and everything, but it starts to brainwash you, you know, in a way. That can -- the more you read about it, especially about yourself, the more it makes you think, you know.
I used to love reading everything about me and stuff. So I kind of stopped doing that because even, you know, press conferences sometimes are tough to do on a daily basis because you feel you're talking about -- you know, to a psychiatrist or something, you know, coming in. And then you come out and you say, I can't believe I just said that or something.
I know how he feels. It's kind of difficult.

Question The volume from the crowd after the match rose a little bit when you put that jacket on. What kind of reaction have you gotten to it?
Answer They like it. I like it, too. It's a great idea. I mean, I didn't think the match was that terrific, you know, but still there was all of a sudden a standing ovation. And when I put the jacket on, I thought like they wanted to see more, you know, with the jacket. So I thought, okay, I turned around, gave one more wave. It was cool.

Question Start your own clothes line?
Answer Yeah, I got to talk to Nike about it (smiling).

Question Do you wear the jacket when you go out?
Answer Yeah. Like, oh, in the evening? Maybe I'll start doing that, too (laughing). I mean, I wear a lot of jackets, but I haven't worn that one yet to go out. Why not?

Question The red cap go with it?
Answer No, I don't -- that's not a great look.

Question How do you feel about possibly meeting Ancic?
Answer I feel okay. I mean, we've had some tough matches in the past. We just played each other at the French Open. Obviously, that's very different to what we're gonna see here.
Yeah, well, the biggest memory probably is he's the last guy I lost to on grass, so I think that's -- that will be the headline, so I'll leave it up to you (smiling).

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