IW & Miami 2017 Press Conferences

Cromar wrote:

Good presser. Some interesting details from Roger. Thanks, vrazkar!

My pleasure, Cromar!

Presser after the final




Transcript: http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=128488

March 19, 2017

Roger Federer

Indian Wells, California

R. FEDERER/S. Wawrinka

6-4, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Roger wins his 90th title here. Start with questions in English, please.

Q. Congratulations. There seemed to be a lot of emotion on the court really from both of you after the title was there. Talk about that a little bit and your feelings.
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, look, sports is emotional. So when you win or when you lose, sometimes it's stronger than you. I like to see it. I think fans like to see it, too, seeing that players actually care a lot about winning and losing.

At the same time, I think Stan can be very proud of his efforts here and the start to the year. And the tournament he played here was great for him. He's always struggled in the past in the desert. And then, for me, the dream run continues. The fairytale of the comeback that I have already shown in Australia.

Again, I'm not as surprised as I was in Australia, but still this comes as a big, big surprise to me, nevertheless, to win here again and beating the players that I did and the way I did. I mean, couldn't be more happy.

It's an absolute, huge start to the year for me. Yeah, last year didn't win any titles. I don't think I was in any finals except maybe Brisbane last year.

The change is dramatic, and it feels great.

Q. Let's clear this up. Were you really laughing when Stan was crying at the presentation?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I was trying to actually cheer him up. He knows that. I was trying, when he looked at me, not to give him the sad face. I was looking at him, going, You'll be fine, and gave him a laugh, say, maybe gets his mind off it. I guess I achieved that (smiling).

Q. Is that the first time ever in your life you have been called an asshole?
ROGER FEDERER: Joking? No, many, many times before. That's why I take that as a compliment, you know, (smiling).

There's not always cameras around, so I get called that sometimes. Quite often, actually. On the court is the first time, but it felt good.

Q. Going back to Australia briefly, Ivan was, like, a kid when you won that and he won here as well against Andy Roddick. Going into today, what did he offer you as advice?
ROGER FEDERER: It was his birthday too. It was nice for him on many levels. I think I won today because once before I have played him on his birthday here. I beat him and he had to stay out there and I presented him with a cake. Maybe not the most fun birthday, at the end of the day, but we go way back and we're good friends.

So it's the case with Tommy Haas, as well. So for us to stand on court with Tommy, as well, it was very special, I think.

Yeah, what was he telling me? He was just reminding me of what I have done well and not so well for the tournament, and what I did well against Stan and not so well maybe in Melbourne.

So that was basically it. Fairly simple. I didn't have to change my game around that much from previous matches, which I think helped me going into the finals. Because sometimes you have to really, you know, adjust a lot, depending on who you play.

Then, of course, I also did speak to Severin -- because he knows Stan extremely well -- before the match just to hear if anything he had to add. He always has some good points that I tend to forget or, you know. So, yeah, I think all of that, what they told me, actually worked out very well today.

Q. Such an extraordinary achievement. A tough question, but can you talk about your own achievement and where does it come from? Is it from your basic athleticism and skill set there, for your commitment to the game, your commitment to the physical side? Could you just talk about the building blocks of your own career and your greatness.
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah. I mean, look, my biggest weakness was to be able to focus every single week and have the same drive for the 25, 30 tournaments I used to play.

It's natural that you will favor certain surfaces over another or certain continents over another. I've gotten to learn how to just block that out and just enjoy every week that I play now. I also play less, which helps. So when I do play, I'm very excited.

I have forgotten the time away from the tournaments, as well, may that be vacation or may that be, you know, training. I understand why I do it, because every time I do come out of it, I feel the benefit of it, at least for a while, at least.

I can be very thankful to the team that I have had around me for so many years now that have sort of guided me in the right direction and made it easy for me to work hard. I think at the end of the day it's not an easy thing to do, but when you have the right team in the right place with the right people, it actually ends up being a lot of fun.

Yeah, and I guess I just turned the corner at the right time. Not that things were slipping away from me, but people were wondering where results were at, you know, back in 2002 when I broke into the top 10 and wasn't really making it deeper on the slam level.

So I think it came at the right time for me to win Wimbledon. It wasn't too early, wasn't too late. It was perfect. And the rest from there was history, really.

Q. Coming back, you had a long view on the season. Is it any kind of mental challenge now you have had such great success so quickly to go forward for the rest of the year?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I think I felt that in Dubai. When I sat in the locker room after the Donskoy match, Severin told me, Maybe this is the best thing that happen to you looking forward to Indian Wells and Miami, because you really need some time away from -- some more time off.

Because I just wasn't 100% prepared, unfortunately, because of the injury I was carrying after Melbourne. I was still tired. I was lacking energy. I tried to explain it in the press conference, but it was difficult because the court was there, the press was here, and the shower was on the other side. But I tried to make a good point, just that Donskoy played great and I really struggled.

When I came here, what I promised myself was I was going to play with the right energy. And it's not always Grand Slam finals. It always starts at zero. You have to get yourself up for the first rounds. Sometimes in Dubai I finished, I don't know, midnight.

It's not so simple sometimes, you know, when you lose that second set somehow to just, you know, stay super positive and super happy after just losing that set where you should have never have.

Yeah, and then I got here, and I felt right away good about how I played in that first round. Excitement, the energy, everything was clicking.

So from that standpoint, I was very happy there. And then in November, you know, December, when I realized things were going well, and we had a meeting about what are the goals for the season in terms of rankings, it's really super secondary, but, you know, I wanted to set -- or we wanted to set some goals for the season, and the goal was to be top 8 by after Wimbledon. Because if I would have lost early in Australia, you know, I would have dropped to 35 in the world.

It was a good approach, I thought, you know, because it gave me time to get there. So I'm there much, much faster. Like you say, I don't want to say it's a problem at all. No, it's great, but you definitely have to reassess your goals maybe now and see, Where do you go from here? Because this was not part of the plan, to win Australia and Indian Wells, I can tell you that.

So I think now it's really important for me to rest up maximum. I hope I can play as late as possible going to Miami. Then really, like I said before, I will make the plan for the remainder of the season after -- especially for the clay after Miami, and then see also what the goals are, because the goals are clearly changing after this dream start.

Q. Just to sort of extend that a bit further, at this stage in the comeback, do you think that you have physically the power to do what you have done this week, to take that to Miami and back it up?
ROGER FEDERER: I mean, look, confidence does wonders sometimes, you know, in the sense that you just play, don't think about it, don't know how tired you are, until all of a sudden it's all too much.

I think I'm going to be fine on that front just because I'm feeling too good on the court and I'm having too much fun. Winning creates a lot of good energy.

But I know how hard it is to win back-to-back Indian Wells and Miami titles. That's why again I sort of go to Miami knowing, like, it's going to be really difficult. I don't know the draw yet. As we know in Masters 1000s, draws are brutal early on already. There is no warming up and playing qualifiers ranked 250, sometimes, which even they are not easy to beat sometimes on any given day. And especially best of three sets, margins are small.

And then Miami is going to be different. It's going to be humid, it's going to be windy, day sessions, night sessions, all that stuff.

So, yeah, I will just try to stay healthy this time around, not sick like last year in Miami. But definitely I think rest right now is the absolute top priority for the next four, five days.

Q. Could you please give us a little bit of a window into what your day is like before you actually emerge from the tunnel onto the court on a finals day? For instance, what time do you come to the site and what are you doing during the match before, given that it's a "Not Before," and you have no idea how long it may last?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, I try to finish my warmup usually two, two-and-a-half hours before my match. So I was calculating I would walk on at 1:00, because that's the earliest it can happen. If it goes longer, you wait around, watch the match. I went for some more food just to not be starving in case my match also went three hours, you know.

And then in the morning when I wake up, usually I just have my breakfast and stretch my body and do some sort of core exercises. That's all part of the warmup these days. I never used to do all that stuff. I can't believe what I'm doing, but I'm doing it because I feel better in the process.

Yeah, and then tape my ankles probably an hour before the match, warm up, I'm ready to go.

Q. Were you put out in any way by the fact that the women's match lasted three hours?
ROGER FEDERER: No. You have to understand how many times we have been waiting in our career. That's part of our life, really, waiting for matches to end. So this was actually really, really easy today (smiling).

Q. How are you going to balance your tennis career and your singing career?
ROGER FEDERER: It's going to be really difficult, I think (smiling). I have heard really good feedback, getting so many offers now. That's why I'm not sure I can keep on playing as much as I was playing.

After Miami, I really have to reassess my goals, not only as a tennis player but also as a singer now. I have to align that with Grigor and Tommy. It's going to be quite difficult. But I'll let you know if you need to know what our schedule is, our tour, T-shirts, where we are going to be performing (smiling). I'm kidding.

Q. Concerning schedule and balance, you mentioned missing your sons' birthday. I'm wondering now with the kids and priorities in life, does that make you more focused when you come out here?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, look, it's simple. When you play less events, the events become more important overall. When you play more, you can go into them, just say, Let's see what happens. I think a lot of players play -- that's why they play more events because they can play with less pressure.

So I clearly play with more pressure because I play fewer events. I think the balance between playing and not playing is really important for me, because at the events I need to be somewhat serious, you know, about the tournament.

We flew around the globe, it's a 12-hour jet lag, with the kids, and we try to get over that as quick as possible. Yet I try to be a good dad and good husband and try to figure all that part out as much as I can so that days don't finish for me too late.

Unfortunately I have to do massage during the day which I don't enjoy doing because that takes away time spending with the kids and you have to manage that, as well.

You know, everybody knows what I'm going through, even the girls know, understand, you know, that I have to sleep well at night. I can't be woken up every morning, which that's almost the case.

No, it's great fun. And that's why scheduling is not just what my goals are as a tennis player, but also so I can align it with Mirka and my kids that I know I'm not asking too much from them, as well.

That's why after Miami, actually, the rest of the year is actually fairly easy when it comes to time change. It's really the first three, four months which are kind of tough with Australia back and forth and Dubai and then here. The rest is actually fairly easy. It's only just once to the East Coast and that's it and Shanghai, but I do that usually by myself.

Q. One little thought: If Stan promises never to call you a rude name on court again, will you allow him to join the One-Handed Backup Boys?
ROGER FEDERER: No, no, no. He doesn't need to change his tone. He's all good. He might have to change his tone in the singing room. I don't know his singing level. He's totally invited. It's the One-Handed Backup Boys. They are all welcome.

It's the double-handers that we have to discuss the whole process of who is allowed and not allowed. But the one-handers are there, keeping it alive, really (smiling).

Just a casual press conference for @rogerfederer
EFE / Erik S. Lesser pic.twitter.com/qSRWo1ZC64

— Marià_RF (@Maria_youRFan) March 21, 2017

A few snippets  from the Press Conference...

"Thefans are quite different here from anywhere in the world. They are more vocal." -@rogerfederer on #MiamiOpen fans pic.twitter.com/aM1WY3YpFP

— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 21, 2017

The song @rogerfederer might sing in the car? Oasis is on his list. #MiamiOpen #Federer pic.twitter.com/DyCw1aFsHf

— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 21, 2017

"It's nice to be back here healthy enjoying the city and enjoying the weather." -@rogerfederer #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/vpKVSrF8np

— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 21, 2017

Here's a video from the pre-tournament presser

Thanks, vrazkar!, for the video!  Always nice to listen to Roger... he always has so much to say!

^^^
Oh yes!

Here's also a transcript of the presser
http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=128781

March 25, 2017

Roger Federer

Miami, Florida

R. FEDERER/F. Tiafoe

7-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Did he do anything that surprised you today?
ROGER FEDERER: I mean, look, I've hit with Frances maybe twice before: Once at the French and once at the US Open. There he surprised me. I'm not going to get the surprise really a second time around because I saw the power he had, the explosivity he had. You know, how he easily can generate pace.

So I think he's going to be really good, like most of the NextGen campaign, if you like, are going to be good players. Plus they're pushing each other up right now. They have a good dynamic. They are quite friendly also with one another yet they have good rivalry.

I think the question was always how was he going to come out. It's the question also for any player. Also for me. How can you start a match? Seemed like to be fearless, no problem, good serving, taking the ball early, making the plays.

And that I like to see, is when a younger player comes out, that he really feels he has nothing to lose and he's only got stuff to gain. I hope he's going to learn a lot from a match like this just because playing on a center court with a lot of people, under pressure, saving break points, making break points, playing breakers. That's what it's about, and it should feed a player like him with a lot of energy moving forward hopefully.

Q. Can you walk us through how the conditions have changed over the years when you first came on tour, surfaces slowed down, balls get heavy, and now do you sense another change around the corner with quicker conditions in Australia?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, look, depends on when exactly we're talking about. There was definitely a time where things were definitely slowing down. After the millennium really I thought you could see and feel a proper change, how things were leaning towards the slower side. More and more matches were played in the night sessions, particularly at the Australian Open.

In 2004 I played the finals there it was in the daytime. That's always going to play fast, regardless of what kind of balls you're going t play with. If you're playing in 40 degree heat, the ball is always going to fly.

So then the way they set it up, basically you're going to play quarters, semis, and finals in the night. If you add a slow ball and you slow down the courts too much, you're going to be in some epic rallies. There is just no way around them. Especially the way the guys started to move back when Lleyton came around and all those guys.

Wimbledon, definitely also there was something that happened there. I don't know if it's the balls or the grass, but that's definitely slowed down.

I feel like the US Open and French probably played pretty much the same throughout, in my opinion.

Then you had, the indoor season. By making a court more even throughout, because we used to change from Teraflex to sort of the Greenset. You had like sort of the wooden boards that were painted. We made it more unified so it was the same surface, wooden boards throughout. Then what happened is they wanted have the same surface for the entire swing, and that became slow as well. The word Tour Finals were played on the slower side.

So next thing you know, basically everything played somewhat similar, which think is a bit of a pity. I like it when there is extremes. Then you have to play different ways. It was nice to see Ivan Lendl serve and volley at Wimbledon, even though he didn't want to do it.

It was nice to see Edberg or Becker play from the baseline on clay courts. It was nice to see them out of their element. Then you all of a sudden become a different kind of player and you improve throughout your career, like this.

You can just be happy hitting hard from the baseline on any surface. Just play the same way. Just adjust your movement a little bit. But to me, that's not so exciting. I think it's important we have change. Really slow and really fast.

Q. You haven't played Dell Po since 2013, and you were supposed to play him last year until you had to pull out. Will you watch his match tonight maybe hoping that that one happens?
ROGER FEDERER: Yes. I would love to play against him. I'm happy for him with his comeback, winning at Davis Cup. Like you said, I should have played him here last year but I was sick. That was a pity.

It's better to play him maybe this time around when we're both better. He was also just on the comeback last year.

But, yeah, we've had some epic matches against each other: Semis at the French, Olympic semis, finals at the US Open. You name it, we've had some really good ones.

I'm sure the crowd would love to see it. Robin Haase is going to have a say about that, as we know.

Q. Does this tournament have a future on Key Biscayne, do you think, with the state of the facility?
ROGER FEDERER: I mean, it depends on the importance of the growth of the site. I know they can't grow, so traffic is rough. It's not getting easier. I don't think they can improve much in terms of capacity.

So the question is, is everybody happy this way or not? If you want to go bigger, clearly you have to move.

But is the grass always greener on the other side? I'm not sure. It's a hard one. I know this tournament from a long time ago here. I even played the juniors back here on this very court back in '98.

So look, in a way you wish it goes on here. I think at this point everybody also understands if it were to move.

Q. Your relationship with Stan. I guess in the past it could have been best described as big brother/little brother. It's not like that anymore. Describe that, and when did it start to change?
ROGER FEDERER: I think when Stan cracked the top let's say 50 maybe. I felt like he didn't need as much guidance or as much advice really. You know, when he doesn't call you or text you before certain matches anymore, big matches, and he goes on and causes the upset or he goes on and does really well by himself with his team and his coach, that's when you sense that he's moved on.

That's what you want. What I liked about Stan, he used it always take two steps forward, one step back; two steps forward, one step back. He keeps doing that. I admire him with his work ethic and his power that he's brought to the game now.

He's shown through how much hard work, physical and hard work and mental improvements, how far you can get. He's got a legendary career. Basically Hall of Fame career really.

So it's amazing to see for me who has witnessed so much firsthand. I'm really happy for him.

Q. What will be different for him here as a No. 1 seed?
ROGER FEDERER: Not much. I just think he's going to play his tournament. I don't think he'll feel affected by being seeded No. 1 or No. 3.

Because he knows it might speak more about Rafa or me being back here after all these years, so he can do his thing. If he produces the game that he wants to produce like today, he'll be going deep in this tournament. I think the conditions suit him quite really actually.

I think he's going to be tough to beat, and then they'll talk about him in the right times. He wants people to talk about him about shot making, being there. He's already had a really good start to the season with the finals in Indian Wells and the semis in Australia.

I think he's going to have an excellent season if he's still healthy, like most of the guys. So that would be another epic season for him after the last three where he won slams and the Davis Cup.

Q. You've had a lot of first matches in many, many tournaments over the years. Is it still the first time on a court in a tournament, and especially today against a guy that was young American with all these big dreams, how did you approach that match? Is it good to get it over with? Do you still get any butterflies at all, or not really?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, no, I think I do, even though I was pretty relaxed before the match. But then sometimes thinking of the match during the day or yesterday I get these flashes of, Ohh, it's going to be exciting.

Then you walk out on court and there is usually always a big roar here in Miami. They get excited for their tennis here, which is great to see.

Then like you mentioned, playing somebody who has really absolutely nothing to lose, who's only there to gain, makes it at the end very -- it's nice to get it over and done with on the winning side. You feel quite relieved to some extent because you know it can be dangerous. I don't know his patterns well, or at all.

I was actually playing very well. He stayed with me for very long time. That can make you nervous if maybe I wouldn't have been so confident. So I thought it was enjoyable match. I thought we both played very well and both can maybe walk away from this match quite happy, which is not often in tennis that that's maybe the case.

Q. You get deep into the first set and he's playing so well, you just kind of waiting for the opening knowing he's a young guy who hasn't played a top-10 player before and you think the chance is going to come at some point?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, you try to tell yourself that. Sometimes I'd realize I was playing the opponent too much rather than the ball. That can be tricky then to change that around then.

I was trying all sorts of thing on the return. Nothing was really working. So going in the breaker I wasn't quite sure, so I went back to my initial plan to just stay aggressive and make him come up with good shots and try to move forward if you can.

But Frances was doing a nice job towards the end of the set also serving big when he had to. He sort of had me going there for a while.

So I think I started well with the mini break. If you can start with your first mini break against a player like him, maybe that can be enough, if you keep serving well.

I think I was really focused, I must say. Point for point mentality was really good in that first set. I hardly lost any points on my serve. I think that maybe put pressure on him.

I was very pleased actually how I played. It was swirly winds against a player who has really good power and didn't know the patterns against. I think I can be very happy with my first round.

Roger presser after Round 3: (http://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=128825 )

R. FEDERER/J. Del Potro

6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.
Q. I know every match you play is in front of a full stadium, but that seemed like a particularly vibrant atmosphere, particularly for a third round.
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, just shortly before I walked out to the court you could sense the atmosphere. That's when I told myself, Just be prepared for something different, you know. It was different.
I think if the match would've gone three sets or tiebreakers or something even closer, would've been really epic.
But like this it was just really a great, nice atmosphere. A lot of pleasure playing him. Nice weather. Great opponent. Great crowd.
Yeah, what else do you need? Just another good press conference with you guys and then it's perfect. (Laughter.)

Q. It's a Monday afternoon. You go out there, you're playing Juan Martin, who people talk about him as such a great player; Grand Slam champion. Then guys like Nadal, Kyrgios, you're playing these guys on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Is this a new normal for you, or do you think this is just kind of a strange set of circumstances you have to navigate now, and how do you deal with this mentally?
ROGER FEDERER: I'm not sure the angle of the question. I'm sorry.

Q. Is this something you expect is going to be like this ongoing for the foreseeable future, playing me guys at early stages, having to think about getting a 14-time Grand Slam champion on a Tuesday afternoon or...
ROGER FEDERER: Okay, I get it. Well, I mean, I think because my ranking was lower I had to battle my way back up the rankings, so then of course it depends on the other guys' ranking, too.
If we're all ranked outside of the top eight it's going to happen more frequently naturally. Otherwise it's going to happen. That's why Indian Wells maybe I'm myself to blame because I had a chance in Dubai to get into the top eight and I didn't make it by losing in the second round.
Then of course I got lucky or earned my way forward in Australia. If I would've lost early there I would've been outside of the top 30 and would have taken a while to get back into the top eight.
For me it's going to change somewhat. At the same time, rankings are less important for Rafa, myself, and, you know, maybe other guys as well in the future.
So it's inevitable towards the end of your career you will get tougher draws I would think because you're not the world No. 1 or 2 anymore.

Q. You've had many epic matches with Juan Martin before. Everyone anticipated more drama and all that. Seemed anyway from the outside like it was sort of another day at the office, kind of easy for you. Was it as easy as it looked or you just made it look this easy?
ROGER FEDERER: I don't know how you look at it. It depends a little bit on your angle. For me, I mean, I felt like I was in control and I was able to generate more chances than he did.
I mean, a little bit out of nowhere I felt like he got his chances, but maybe because I dropped my level ever so slightly and gave him few easy points, and that's how he sort of got more chances on my serve.
So I feel like I earned it more. I was more the aggressor. It was more on my racquet, and I like it that way.
But, again, if he would've broken back in the first and would he have broken back in the second, we might still be playing and things would be very, very different right now.
I thought it was a good match.

Q. Seemed like a pretty impressive performance. Is there something you're looking to improve in the next couple weeks in your game maybe? Also, can you talk about your next opponent, Bautista Agut?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I think I respect Bautista Agut a lot. Was watching his match against Querrey and I really thought Querrey was playing great in the first set.
I thought that at some point he was going steamroll, but that's what Bautista Agut does so well. He competes so well point for point, day in day out, and he plays ton of tournaments, and he's really just match tough.
He may be hurt. He was taping his feet. I don't know what he was doing, but I am sure he was in pain, and he found a way it get it done in the end.
Maybe then Querrey ran out of steam in the end and Bautista Agut just got it done. I have a really good record against Roberto. I hope I can use my variation to really make him feel uncomfortable.
Looking forward to backing it up tomorrow now. It's not something I'm actually used to, playing back-to-back days. So I hope my body is going to be fine tomorrow.
That's why definitely it was key also today not to waste too much energy.

Q. You've had a few weeks now of playing Masters events. You're going to play back-to-back days now. Just wondered, now that you're 35, how different is the training and the rest days compared to what it was like five years ago?
ROGER FEDERER: I mean, I'm not playing that much less, you know, overall. I think I just have to be a bit more clever in terms of scheduling overall, you know.
Unfortunately, I can't do it all, you know. I can't chase the Davis Cup and the slams and play all the Masters 1000s. At some point something has to give, unfortunately. I wish I could do it all like when I was 24 years old.
So I think that's where I have to take some important decisions that work well for -- well, me as a tennis player, but then also for my family and just for my whole team, that we get the work done, I get the rest that I need, but then also I play enough matches.
If you don't play enough normally you kind of lose touch of how to play break points, save break points, the shoulder gets rusty. Who knows what it is?
You need the right balance. I think that's more key than ever right now. I mean, it hurts for me, you know, sometimes in the future probably not playing some tournaments that in the past I would always play. Now all of a sudden I just have to skip them for the sake of my health.
But because it is for a good reason, I'll get over it.

Q. I want to ask if for you it was the key moment of the match, that four break points you save in the first set?
ROGER FEDERER: Probably, you know. Looking back, that was probably the key. I knew it when he had the break point at 15-40, if I could dig my way out of that game, and instead of being broken hold and win the set, it's a good escape.
So I think I did well there. Juan Martin didn't play his best because he did have his chances there on second serves and he could've done better, maybe played more aggressive, who knows what. But I hit some good shots to stay in in there.
At the same time, I had my chance early on in the first set as well to get a break and then get rolling, but I couldn't do it.
But if you had to pinpoint one moment, I think that is the moment that was most important for Juan Martin.

Q. Following on from what Peter was asking you earlier, you mentioned rankings. Having been No. 1 for a record amount of time, is it important to you to get back to No. 1, or is it a case of been there, done that, and it's not so much of an issue for you? As much as it's nice to be at No. 1.
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, with what you said at the end, I agree. It's not the priority. Health needs to be the priority. That's why if I were to get there again I have to really win a lot of big tournaments, and I know how hard that is. I tried to do it for the last five years.
So as long as I'm healthy, I feel like I can play good tennis, enjoy myself, I can beat - hopefully - some of the best players in the world, or most of them, and win tournaments as well.
So for me the priority is actually win tournaments at this point in my career. The rankings is very secondary. That's why my schedule is going to be based on what makes sense for my goals of the season, staying healthy, and then also so I can enjoy myself and have a good sort of schedule with the right waves going through the season.

Q. Piggybacking off that question, do you think your resurgent start this year is due to the fact that you're physically healthy, but are you also mentally refreshed?
ROGER FEDERER: I mean, both. I mean, you need both to succeed at the top. If you take Wimbledon last year, for an example -- was it last year I played Wimbledon I; ost in the semis? I don't remember. I think I did.

Q. Yeah.
ROGER FEDERER: Exactly, last year. Feels like two years ago now. That I was not 100%. At some point you just feel like in those kind of circumstances, Masters 1000s towards the end when you have to back it up day after day or play four-, five-setters every second day against the best, it's not going to be enough at the very end. The margins are too small for anybody up there.
That's what becomes very disappointing, is when you realize that you're ready to do it mentally, you're ready to go, but something physically is hindering you from really actually going all out.
That's how I felt. That's why after playing like this for virtually four months, you're doing so much rehab and it feels like you're having a cloud in your head all the time because you're doing so much treatment. You hope you're going to be better the next day.
Rather than focusing on the nice weather, the nice crowd, and the good opponent you're going to face, you're actually hoping your knee is going to hold up, you're going to feel better.
It's okay to do that for a couple of weeks or for a few tournaments during the season. If you do it every single day for a month, that's when you have to, in my opinion, take a break and rest and come back properly.
That's what I did, and I cannot believe the way it paid off actually.

Q. Lately you always seem to really enjoy yourself on the court. Lately I've been watching you put on Facebook and you're singing and doing all these different things. Obviously you seem much more relaxed; you're at another stage obviously of your career, your family and all that. But in the near future, talking about your schedule and all that, are you thinking about playing other tournaments? Here a year ago I asked Nole if he would go down to Acapulco, and he did.
ROGER FEDERER: I don't understand, what?

Q. I know right now you have to pick really well, but maybe in the future would you be able to go down to Mexico? You have a lot of fans over there.
ROGER FEDERER: I don't know. I been to Mexico last time probably back in '96, so I don't know how many fans I have down there. (Laughter.) I played a juniors down there and lost second round.
I mean, look, social media started for me five years ago. I was doing a lot of silly things back in the day but I couldn't share them with anyone, because through the website was always complicated, and we didn't always have phones with cameras and photos on it that you could do everything so simple. So that's the nice thing about social media, that you can actually share many more things with your fans.
Probably with Acapulco is it faces Dubai where I have been home for many, many years as well and I like to go there. So I don't know at this point, but never say never. I love Dubai. Of course I would love to go visit Mexico again after all these years.
I was actually once also speaking about making an XO there, but then after I did this South American swing I just didn't have the energy to go back to South America and do another swing.
So I think that probably at some stage I will have to go back to South America, hopefully Mexico, too, and make a trip. If it's Acapulco, exhibition, I'm not sure yet. Definitely on a wish list for me also to go there and play.

Q. There has been a lot of the talk this weekend about the future of this tournament here in South Florida. What are your thoughts if this tournament moved from Key Biscayne to a different location in South Florida or left South Florida completely, how that would affect the tour and South Florida tennis in general.
ROGER FEDERER: I'm not from here. I don't know. Look, I mean, it would be tough because this tournament has here for how long? Yeah, long time. It's embedded here, society. A lot of the locals come out and watch it. You feel like it's got a good vibe.
So we know the issues about the grounds here. Just running out of space, and everything seems temporary except this building basically and the fountain outside. From that standpoint it just, yeah, needs to be well thought through. Needs to make sense to move it.
That's basically it. Of course seems to work here, but infrastructure costs a lot of money. Just to get the tournament up and running if you're doing everything temporary all the time every year you're blowing out a lot of money, and the tournament knows that.

Here is the presser following round 4 at Miami - defeats RBA

http://miamiopen.com/federer032817.pdf

Thanks for the presser, Rufus1!  

Was interested to hear what Roger had to say about this so-so match. Nothing earth-shaking, but maybe a little bit of a hang over from the previous day's 'clubbing', to quote his comparison! Never loses his humor!

Thank you Rufus.  

Rog has learnt a new word(s) per se

Post Berdych interview

Presser following the quarter final win over Berdych in Miami 2017

http://miamiopen.com/federer033017.pdf

Presser after SF (Federer vs Kyrgios):

Transcript: http://miamiopen.com/federer040117.pdf

Excellent, as always! Roger is a gift for the journalists also.