【R4赛后新发】
Q. For those of us that aren*t familiar, could you discuss some of the changes you made in your regimen to get some of your explosiveness and quickness back?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, it*s pretty simple in some ways. There*s no rocket science behind it, really. As long as you can train you*re gonna feel all right. As simple as that, basically. But because of the issues I had last year I had to be unbelievably careful what I did. We had to cut back on a few things I usually would do but were scared to do. That was not what I wanted to do. Sometimes if that*s what it is and it means don*t run on the treadmill or don*t do jumps or whatever it is, well, there*s other ways you can train that. I*m happy that basically today I can do whatever and I don*t have any more setbacks. Once you can do that, then you really start to feel the benefits down the road. Clearly it*s going to take a few months. Because of my experience with my fitness coach and my, you know, coaching staff, I think we really were able to come up with the right plan. Now I have my confidence back. It*s as simple as that.
Q. What goes through your mind when you watch Monfils play, about his style and what makes him a successful player?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, he*s got easy top 10 potential, you know. He*s a great mover. He*s got a wonderful serve, really, which nobody really talks about because of his athletic movement which stands out so much, you know. His issues have really been just his fitness and his setbacks he*s had because of injury. Then sometimes, you know, maybe not wanting to play sometimes because of reasons only he can explain, you know. I think that*s where he*s been put back in the rankings, and because he*s back in the rankings he*s got tougher draws. From there it*s harder to win tournaments and so forth. It get that much harder. I think I can speak on behalf of so many players: We love watching him play. It*s nice seeing him do well again. He*s going to raise in the rankings now, and maybe that*s exactly the steppingstones he needs to make it back in the top 10.
Q. He says he considers you the greatest player of all time and he tells us this is an opportunity he will tell his children about.
ROGER FEDERER: Okay, great (laughter). Is that a good thing? I don*t know. I mean, I like the guy, you know. We always joke around and we always have a good talk. I think it*s very fair once out on the court. It*s tough but it*s fair. I think our games match up nicely against each other. So, yeah, we played a good, tough match against each other just last week. Yeah, let*s hope it*s going to be memorable for everybody involved, especially the unborn children so far. (Laughter.) I mean, doesn*t mean he needs to beat me 7-6 in the fifth, because that would be huge.
Q. Another Frenchman, Yannick Noah, says, Hey, I look at my tennis racquet and I sometimes ask myself, Where would I be without my racquet, without tennis.
ROGER FEDERER: Right.
Q. Where do you think you*d be in your life...
ROGER FEDERER: Deep question. I don*t know. I*d be doing something else. (Laughter.) Pretty simple. Honestly, I said it all along: My dad was the first to tell me if tennis doesn*t work out you go back to school and get an education. I was like, Well, yeah, totally. I totally understand, but I believe I can do this breakthrough. Really, Papa, you know. And he*s like, Well, you better make it, then, you know, otherwise you*re going back to school. That*s what would have been the plan, and then I would have figured things out. Honestly, I don*t know which way it would have gone because the train would have left the station, as well, with soccer, so sports wouldn*t have been like an opportunity to this extent like it is now. I really don*t know. I was young, you know, and I would have figured things out, I would assume.
Q. Looked fairly easy for you out there tonight. How did you find it?
ROGER FEDERER: I felt like, I mean, I had maybe some margin. I don*t know if that was something I was trying to tell myself. He hasn*t got the biggest game but he*s consistent. He*s fast. He can adapt. So he*s got things that can make you feel uncomfortable, I must say. He can absorb pace well. From that standpoint, even though I did feel I had margin, because I never played him before, I was still pushing forward all along and trying to always keep a gap between him and me in terms of the result and the scoreline. I was very happy when the match was over, because like this I know. It*s done. Next time I play him I know what to expect. Not like today.
Q. The other night I asked you about yourself as a player today versus, you know, yourself in 2004 when you first won the title. I wanted to sort of continue on from that and ask, as a man or a person at 33, how do you feel different from the 23 year old who won the title back then?
ROGER FEDERER: I felt like probably in 2004 I had to win the title, and I wanted to win the title so badly because I was having -- I had two Grand Slams at the time, was world No. 1, was playing very well. I probably had three slams, actually. I Wimbledon as well in *04. I had not unlimited confidence, but I really felt like as long as you haven*t won at the US Open, you know, it*s going to be a tough one to win if you don*t win this year or the next year, because now I*m playing maybe my best tennis. I*m as confident as you can ever be. I*m happy I played really incredible tennis throughout the US Open in 2004. Didn*t run into I don*t think crazy, difficult matches that year. This year, you know, it*s different. I have already won it, but clearly I would like to win it again. I*ll give it all I have. I definitely feel like there is a big opportunity, and that*s the mindset right now. So I know I can win it and I will try.
Q. Is there a way in which life experience puts the tennis court in perspective for you in a way that might be different from ten years ago?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah. Like I said, it*s just totally different times, you know. I have played probably, what, 800 matches plus by now. I have got so much more experience and know how to handle the pressure so much more. I know how to handle the press room. You know, the days off, the wind, humidity, a guy I have never played against, it all seems easy. But then it*s harder to get it done sometimes, you feel like. But then I*m really in a good place right now, like I was back then, but it*s just so, so different. You can*t compare.