Montreal & US OPEN 2017 Press Conferences

US Open - Press conference after his 4th round win over P. Kohlschreiber  

September 4, 2017




Presser Transcript and video (US Open website)

^^
From the beginning of the conference:

THE MODERATOR: This is not going to be an expansive press conference tonight (smiling).
ROGER FEDERER: You heard him. Two questions each, per language. I'll answer 10 minutes per question (laughter).


LOOOOOL!! Roger!!!

Oh thank you K -i couldnt make out what the Mod had said, but Rog was very amused- especially at his own joke  he kills me

And this:

He goes into the Rafa demographic where between matches, they just go really hard. I'm not like that, so I admire those guys that put their head down and work this hard.

Rub it in Rog, rub it in LOL!

US Open - Press Conference after his QF loss against J.M. Del Potro

Wednesday, September 6, 2017




Presser Transcript and video (US Open website)

I have just translated Roger's French presser:

Q: In the English presser you mentioned your back issue wasn't a factor during the matches but rather in the build-up to the matches... Can you elaborate on that? Did it have to do with what shots you could work on during practice or what treatments you had to have?

Roger: How to explain... In fact I do not want to talk about that because in the end it will take something away from Del Potro's win and I will be criticized for being a sour loser and I am not keen on that... The thing is, when you have dealt with injury right before a tournament, you tend to focus on that instead of practice, how you would like to play in matches... You couldn't care less how you feel the ball or where you hit it because you are already content with being on the court... That was the situation I found myself in before the USO. And I think the problem is that you tend to compensate when you have a (physical) issue. At some point it becomes too much (to deal with). Add to that two five-setters and then the whole body starts to ache. And even though the matches vs Lopes and Kohlschreiber were better I never had the feeling I had reached the level I was aiming for... Of course I willed myself to believe I had or I could but I think I never found the rhythm that was mine in Australia, at Wimby or at IW, Miami or elsewhere ( Halle?)
It was telling, the way I had to protect my serve. I was never in a safe place during my service games. In every set I knew a couple of these would be really tough... Even up 30 love or 40-15, even then I was not sure I would win my service game. When I am fine, I win my service games easily and then put pressure on my opponent's own serve whereas here I was just happy I could win the point.
As I explained before ( in English) I do not think I lost because of my back issue, it has more to do with an accumulation of issues, and at some point it becomes too hard to deal with all that.
But to conclude I am still happy about the way I was able to play today, from a physical point of view. I was still able to play decently. I am out of the tournament and I am glad it is over and now I can rest and recover, obviously this is what I need now.

Q: The third set, those match points you couldn't convert, was that the turning point?

Roger: It was set points - if I had lost after failing to convert match points it would have been even worse... So set points, thankfully! Well yes that was the turning point because I fought well to come back in the third set, I played a good tie-break and in the end... I cannot even say I made bad choices, I served well when it mattered, twice - three times - he manages to return first serves... So well done to him for choosing the right side, for guessing where I was going to serve... Because out of three ( first serves) you may think that at least once he will not make the right choice... But he did all three times... On the other hand I might have done better, a half volley, a difficult backhand that I can hit when I am at my very best. So things like these cost me the third set and the match eventually. The margins are so slim sometimes, you cannot always have luck on your side. Maybe I would have had to win the first set, I do not think I played badly in that first set except at the end, at 5 all, I got broken, it was terrible from me... So those kinds of things cost me the match in the end, not the set points I failed to convert later... I put myself in such a position that I needed luck on my side, that the margins were extra slim... Those are the regrets I have for this match, that I made life difficult for myself... Juan Martin did play well, he served well, he never stopped moving forward, and so did I but... Well it wasn't enough... ( something I don't understand ) but anyway the best player won and I have to accept that... And that's why I am not that disappointed finally.

Q: You looked very sad at the start of the presser, now you already look more serene... How will you get over this disappointment and how long will you need?

Roger: Well having a great team helps, we are very close, we get on well, of course my family, all the friends who are here... It is a process I have gone through more than 300 times in my career so far, so I know how to deal with losses, it is not the most fun thing to do but at the same time I am ready to deal with it if it happens... That's why I think I will recover very quickly - in the tunnel already I tried to see things in a positive way, I thought, finally I can rest because I am indeed quite tired, and del Potro was better than I was... So to make it short, this is how I feel about it... So now I can move on and look forward to what is next.

Now that Corinne posted a translation of the French part of Roger's presser, here's a translation of the German part:

Q: According to your fitness standards was your performance more at the level of a Masters 1000 or a GS tournament?

RF: A masters would have meant playing every day. I don't know if the body and the back would have withstood playing suddenly 5 days in a row from the beginning. But in a GS there's a day off in between which gives you time to rest hoping that you'll win the first couple of matches in 3 sets. I couldn't manage to do that which made things a bit more difficult. I was hoping that my back would get better in the course of the tournament. When I need to compinsate it's always problematic. We saw that last year with my knee when I injured my back and couldn't play in Madrid. That's why I am happy that I can have a break now because the last 2 even 3 weeks haven't been easy for me... Sorry what was the questiion.. oh about the back. I would have probably played but hm... I don't know because I have to see how I feel at that particular moment

Q: How far away are you from 100%?

RF: It's difficult for me personally to answer that question. I now for sure that something was missing but whether it was in my preparation, physically or mentally... I also noticed that I always got tired very quickly on the court. The explosivity was also missing a bit. Of course when you lose you feel this even stronger but... hm.. I don't know how much exactly was missing but I know for sure that I can play better. You also know that, don't you? But at the end you play with what you have. Other players are also maybe sick or injured but nobody knows and they don't talk about that. I must talk about that on the TV simply because of what happened with Montreal and Cincinnati but it is what it is. That's why I need to give explanations but I don't like talking about that either. (smiles)

Q: You can't make such a big break. Do you intend to have a week off or what are your plans?

RF: I have more than 2 weeks till the first match for the Laver Cup. A couple of weeks are a long time. Besides, it's not like the 2 weeks after Montreal when I had to recover from an injury. I hope that it won't be the case. We'll see in the next couple of days. I suppose that I will have a week of holidays, just to relax and rest. Then I'll start having small build-ups like I usually do with Pierre or maybe also in terms of tennis so that I'm fit again for the Laver Cup. This makes wonderfully the set-up for the weeks after the Laver Cup when I get ready for Shanghai for which I have another couple of weeks. It's like a rather small wave. It's not like I'm going away for 6 weeks. I am happy that through the Laver Cup I can start playing again and I hope that I'll be 100% fit until then.

Q: You didn't have any setback, right? Maybe just the time wasn't enough for you to recover on time

RF: Yes but in the end it was still enough to play good tennis, to keep up with good players and almost to beat Delpo. I need a break now although I would have still been OK if I had to play Nadal. However I wouldn't be as strong as I was in Australia, Miami or IW. Delpo has bigger chance against Nadal than I would have based on my level at the moment. That's why the better guy won and he deserved it. Of course it would have been fun for us to fight against each other for the number 1 but I would have entered that match with a rather negative feeling. I would have tried everything to convince myself that ah yeah I'm feeling great but deep inside me I would have probably known that uuhhh it will be very very hard. (smiles)

Q: You said that you were not at 100% physically. Wasn't it even a bigger problem mentally, especially in relation to your confidence in a possible match against Rafa? (I'm not sure if I understand the question correctly)

RF: I think that everything has its place... I mean, there are so many close matches during the season that when not everything is 100% right, you simply lose. Then it's because of everything - the opponent, the preparation, the tactics and who knows what else is involved.. the wind disturbed you or you didn't get up to a good start of the match; the opponent surprised you and so on. All this doesn't matter to me at the end. What matters to me is: my performance today was OK but it wasn't good enough to reach a semi at the USO. This should be accepted and I must live with that and it's not a problem for me to live with that. There are always positives from a loss. So you go back, analyse and come back strong. It's fun to play like I felt in Australia or other places feeling fully fresh, ready and enthusiastic. For many years I've played also half-injured or tired. It is a part of the process. But at the same time today I must be careful when I feel like this so that I don't stay very long in this phase; that I go away and come back refreshed to the tour. Of course I won't start doing things like chasing the number one and adding extra tournaments for that reason. I think that this would be a mistake for sure. That's why now I must stay calm and discuss it with the team, make the right decisions in the next couple of days and then I am convinced that it will get better again.

Thanks, Corinne, thanks, Maria!
I avoid tennis sites recently, so it was very nice to read Roger's words for a change. He tried to stay positive, but my impression after reading this that he still was very disappointed - even though he completely understood/analyzed the reasons for this result.

vrazkar wrote: Delpo has bigger chance against Nadal than I would have based on my level at the moment.

Totally agree with Rodg on this point!!

Corinne and Maria, thank you so much!