Tennis on air

Federer’in Roland Garros’ta Haas galibiyeti sonrası yaptığı basın toplantısının videosu aşağıda. Roland Garros’la,Nadal’la özel hayatıyla ilgili(tabi ki Mirka) sorular sorulmuş. Federer kısaca, Nadal ve Djokovic’in kendisini etkilemediğini,kendi fikstürüne bakması gerektiğini söylemiş. Fikstürün diğer tarafından Davydenko’yu daha şanslı bulmuş. Tenis oyuncularının birer makine değil insan olduklarını ve her oyuncunun bazı dönemlerde iniş çıkış yaşayabileceğini belirterek, Nadal’ın kısa sürede toparlanacağını söylemiş. Yok videodan bir şey anlamadım,listening’im liseden beri çok kötüdür, yazılı hali yok mu derseniz o da var !

Federer:

Haas:

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Q. The question for the last month or maybe more has been, What does Roger have to do to beat Rafa? You don’t have to answer that anymore, I guess. Are you relieved?

FEDERER: “Um, he didn’t retire, right? (Laughter) No, he’ll bounce back strong. I’m convinced about that. Sure, it was a big upset, but I mean, the focus wasn’t really there, to be quite honest. Of course, my dream scenario is to beat Rafa here in the finals, but I gotta concentrate on my part of the draw and make sure I come through like today.”

Q. Being two sets down is difficult for any player on a five‑setter, but especially when Djokovic and Nadal had lost, did that put extra pressure on you?

FEDERER: “I thought actually I was playing ‑‑ serving all right, especially for a set and a half. You know, I was down a set but up in the second set. Unfortunately I got broken, I think it was 4‑3. That definitely made me a little bit nervous, you know, just knowing that I still haven’t really found my range and my rhythm from the baseline. Tommy was also serving himself extremely well, you know, and mixing up his game very well. So I definitely felt under pressure there.  … In a situation like this, you don’t really think about whoever is out of the draw or not. You just try to come through yourself, and it’s hard enough, you know, to stay positive when you’re down two sets to love and a break point. It was a great battle for me, and I’m thrilled to be through and given another chance here.”

Q. You’re a professional, but you’re also a human being. Can you share with us what your thoughts were when your great rival lost? What went through your mind?

FEDERER: “I only saw the last bit because I was practicing and in transportation. Soderling certainly played great when he had to towards the end. He didn’t get nervous. Didn’t look like it, anyway. He came up with the right plays every single time, especially in the breaker when it really mattered. I mean, it just shows that it’s hard, you know, to win day in, day out at a particular tournament. His incredible run stretches back to a few years ago. … It’s a phenomenal achievement, but it just shows that we’re all human. We all lose at some stage, and people always make it sound so simple since like five years, that it’s normal that he wins on clay, I win on grass, and then we share the hard courts. It’s not just the way it is. I speak firsthand, you know, knowing what it takes to dominate. You know, It hink he knows that, too, already since quite a while. But it’s I think the press that blow it up or hype it up a bit too much that you are invincible, unbeatable.

“Tennis is not like this. You come out and you always have guys going after you, like Tommy Haas today, like Soderling yesterday. I think it only gives them extra motivation knowing that you’re the guy to beat or ‑‑ they have nothing to lose, because if they lose, it’s a normal result. If they win, it’s an incredible achievement. That’s what Soderling was able to do, and it definitely creates some mind plays, I think, in some of the players’ minds. You know, knowing that now their section is open. Mine hasn’t been affected in a big way because I’m on the other side of the draw. But I think for a lot of players over there, I think it must be quite a big opportunity, and their heads must bes pinning right now.”

Q. How much of this newly‑opened scenario is an opportunity, and how much of that opportunity is a burden?

FEDERER: “Sure, you’re aware of it. You try and stay in the draw, but, you know, at the end of the day you’re focusing on your shots and your match and on how you play and the game plan against that player. Not a whole lot more. I think if you make it to the finals then it’s a different scenario. Because whoever I play in the finals I probably have a decent record against, you know, which wouldn’t be the case with Rafa, knowing that he has all the experienceand the confidence, you know, of winning here. Definitely changes it up if I were to make the final. But we’re not there yet, so honestly it hasn’t changed a whole lot for me.”

Q. For younger players, how difficult is the pressure to deal with, the fact that when players like Rafa have gone out, that maybe people are now expecting Andy (Murray) to go all the way?

FEDERER: “Well, I mean, I think it’s the same for all the players right there. It’s like if you’ve just beaten a great player, and then you have to back it. Like Kohlschreiber has to do or Soderling has to do. It’s not an easy task,because how often does it happen in your life? It happens just a few times, and it’s hard to back them up. I went through it when I beat Sampras at Wimbledon and then lost to Tim  (Henman). I didn’t play that bad against Tim, but you just realize that not only Sampras can play tennis, but Henman can and there are so many other players that play so well. Just because you beat this one particula rplayer, it doesn’t mean you’re going to now beat everybody easily. That’s where it’s hard mentally to be able to shift. Yourself you have to keep on playing dream tennis, and that’s a hard thing to do sometimes.”

Q. I’d like to know about (wife) Mirka or (friend and Davis Cup captain) Séverin Luethi. How did they react to the fact that Nadal was ousted? What did they say? Did they say this was your year?

FEDERER: “No, they didn’t really say something like this. You see, I watched the match with my physiotherapist. Like any other match, he was down two sets to zero, and I watched the end of the match. That’s all, because I’m a fan of tennis. We were impressed by Soderling’s game. But Séverin, Mirka,and the others never came to me saying, ‘Now you have to win this match, otherwise you will never do it, ever’. No. By the way, this is not what I wanted to hear, and this is not their reaction. I’m really happy, because we stayed calm. It’s normal, because I have a very harmonious team, which is what we need.”

Q. I have another question that has nothing to do with this match. Mirka is very important in the life of Federer. How important is it to have such a wife as a player?

FEDERER: “Well, Mirka, you know, the first two years we were together she didn’t really travel that much with me because she had her own career. We met in Miami and the Grand Slam tournaments or matches, and then unfortunately she was seriously injured. She had to wait. You know, there was a period of rehabilitation. Then when she had to go through the surgery or operation, it was not easy for her. But frankly, she decided very quickly to dedicate or to give up her career to focus on mine, even though today she still hurts. I mean, her foot operation didn’t go that well, so it was easy for her to give up and say, Okay, I’ll stop my career and I’ll have my husband. Now I think she is supporting me at the right moment, because, you know, I won Wimbledon in 2003, and that’s when she didn’t really know what to do with her career. She didn’t know if she would try it or not.”

“That’s when she started helping me with the hotels, the plane tickets. I had no managers at the time. That’s when she started dealing with the press, as well. It was a lot for her, I know, but she would protect me from many things. And now, afterwards, it was better. It was easier and she was with me day in and day out, throughout the world, and she helped me considerably, as a person, you know. I developed faster, grew faster with her. Thanks to her I was very calm in the important moments in my career. She was always here, always supportive. I owe her a lot. It’s normal.”

Q. Today the crowd was supporting you, whereas yesterday they were supporting Soderling (against Nadal). How come?

FEDERER: “I was not here yesterday on the stadium, so I don’t know. It’s difficult to explain this. Well, maybe Soderling was very much into the game. He was dictating the game, which is always something that people like. He would take the risks, so maybe that’s one of the reasons. I don’t know. And then, you know, unfortunately sometimes when someone is too much of a winner, then people are not really against you but in favor of the other player. You know, I saw that in 2006 and 2007 when I was not really losing at any moment. When I would lose a set, then it was like a big show for the crowd. This is something that you have to experience one day or another. But this time I don’t know why they were supporting me, even though the other player was doing better.”