Federer ha dato a Roddick, la lezione del secolo. Mai visto una roba del genere: 6-4,6-0,6-2, 1h e 23 minuti e standing ovation prolungata. Un Roddick bastonato. Letteralmente. Mai visto uno giocare meglio di Roger oggi!!! Ai 19 6-0 dell’anno scorso(andate a vedere nelle pagine precedenti a chi aveva dato il 6-0, ne ricordo tre a Blake e poi…), ha aggiunto un 6-0 anche a Roddick, colui che si era permesso di arrivare a 3 matchpoints a Shaghai, addirittura di batterlo in un’esibizione. Pazzesco…e perfino imbarazzante oer Roddick (e Connors). Se Federer vince la finale senza perdere un set eguaglia il record di Borg al Roland Garros che non ne perse uno nell’80 (e nel ‘78). Straordinaria intervista di Roddick

MELBOURNE _ Alla cassa! Ho fatto a tempo a scommettere (poca roba, 50 dollari australiani) su Maria Sharapova alla pari contro Kim Clijsters, non avevo fatto a tempo a puntare anche su Serena _ come ho dichiarato pubblicamente su questo sito prima del match _ ma al di là della soddisfazione personale per aver centrato il pronostico _ ne è venuta fuori la finale migliore per questo Australian Open, la più intrigante. Soprattutto dopo che Serena ha mostrato di aver ritrovato la grinta dei tempi antichi _ anche se non la condizione fisica, ma insieme a qualche chilo di troppo c’è di nuovo anche qualche muscolo _ e che Maria ha confermato di avere più…attributi della pur simpatica Clijsters.
“Congratulazioni Masha” le ho detto, assai poco originalmente, quando l’ho incontrata nel corridoio che portava al ristorante dei media dove mi aspettava Rafa Nadal per un’intervista esclusiva.
“Grazie, questa volta ti vedo sorridente …Professore” ha replicato lei, che Professore mi aveva battezzato all’ultimo Wimbledon, pubblicamente e nel bel mezzo della conferenza stampa, perché diceva che avevo l’aria severa e le facevo sempre domande su cui doveva ragionare troppo.
“Faccio uno sforzo quando ti incontro per non sembrare troppo…professore” ho controreplicato con scarsa fantasia. E’ incredibile che i bookmakers locali dessero favorita la Vaidisova e la Clijsters, secondo me. Troppe birre?
Questa era stata prosciugata e da queste interminabili notti australiane (non discoteche, ragazzi, solo lavoro perchè non si finisce mai di scrivere prima delle tre di notte) e da lunghe chiacchierate intrattenute con Guillermo Vilas, con John Newcombe, Jimbo Connors, un salto degli juniors a vedere Thomas Fabbiano che è brillantemente arrivato in semifinale al torneo junior (così come in semifinale è arrivata Francesca Schiavone con Jonas Bjorkman nel misto dopo aver battuto 7-6,6-4 l’austriaco Knowle e la cinese Sun e ora troverà la coppia bielorussia Mirnyi e Azarenka) nonchè la Pavlyunchenkova, testa di serie n.1 dello junior femminile. E’ in semifinale anche lei, dopo aver battuto la Holmanova 6-4,6-3 e…non vorrei essere lei. Se aveste visto com’era furibonda sua madre per un errore che l’altro giorno aveva commesso giocando contro la slovacca Kukova mi capireste. Inciso: il punteggio contro la Kukova era stato 6-0,6-3 e la scenata materna era arrivata alla fine del primo set. Fate conto che Yuri Sharapov sia uno zuccherino! Fabbiano troverà in semi il francese che aveva vinto due tiebreak su due contro Lopez. potrebeb anche vincere il confronto a distanza.
Ho incontrato anche a lungo il prof.Coppo che (ex coach di Musa, Sanguinetti) si divide oggi fra la “Schiavo” e la “Santa” (desinenze finali: “ne” e “ngelo”). In particolare gl ho chiesto _ ma Francesca era lì abbastanza vicino…come si spiegasse che una giocatrice che era stata a lungo con Panajotti, coach dei più stakanovisti (per sé e gli atleti “gestiti”) potesse averlo sostituito con lui…che allena soprattutto la mente, la testa. Bel cambio, no? Prima o poi troverò anche il tempo per scrivere tutte ‘ste cose.
Intanto Federer pare avviato a dare una lezione a Roddick, fin dall’inizio. Quel che tocca diventa oro, è il Re Mida del tennis.Il gap che Roddick credeva di aver accorciato, sembra diventato il…Grand Canyon.
Le donne. La Vaidisova ha mostrato i suoi limiti _ inesperienza e giovinezza, il secondo è un limite che vorrei avere anch’io, il primo è l’unico vantaggio dell’età _ quando ha commesso due doppi falli all’atto di servire per il primo set e soprattutto quando sulla palla steccata da Serena sul setpoint (rimasta in campo per miracolo) ha affossato il dritto da fondocampo. Vaidisova era stata avanti 3-1 e 5-4…invano. Le emozioni sono venute sui matchpoints, quando era troppo tardi anche se Nicole senza aver più nulla da perdere tirava dritti terrificanti. Curiosa la vicenda di serena che avvea esaurito i challenge quando le hanno “rubato” il quinto matchpoint: il colpo della Vaidisova era nettamente fuori. Penso che abbia ragione Ricci Bitti a invocare il “challenge” senza limiti, come in Davis. Se hai un mezzo tecnologico perché non utilizzarlo fino in fondo, tanto i giocatori non ne abusano perché farebbero troppo brutta figura se lo facessero e beccherebbero salve di fischi. Di Sharapova-Clijsters ho visto poco, ma quel che è bastato per capire che Kim può sbagliare tanto contro la Hingis e vincere ancora, ma non contro una Sharapova pur essendo stata avanti 3-1 e 4-3 con break a favore…Maria e Serena stanno 2 a 2 nei confronti diretti. Serena vinse qui l’ultimo confronto in semifinale annullando due matchpoints, Maria vinse contro Serena la finale di Wimbledon 2004 (a sorpresa). Fra la n.1 di oggi e quella di ieri (che da n.81 dovrebbe salire a n.18 dopo questo torneo) non andrà certo a finrie come fra Federer e Roddick, ci scommetterei.
Sento Federer, dopo la passeggiata di un’ora e 23 minuti, dire sul campo al microfono di Red Jim Courier: “E’incredibile come ho giocato, sono choccato io stesso, non so che cosa dire, devo riuscir a farlo ancora una volta domenica…Oggi non avevo letto i giornali, non volevo farmi impressionare…” E Jim Courier gli ha ricordato le sette finali di Slam consecutive, record di Jack Crawford eguagliato…, Ma quanti record gli verranno ricordati nei prossimi mesi, nei prossimi anni?

R. FEDERER/A. Roddick

6 4, 6 0, 6 2

An interview with:

ANDY RODDICK (ci ha fatto morire…bravissimo, gran sense of humour soprattutto nel finale, fatevela tradurre). Ilarità generale a seguito di alcune mie domande. C’è anche quella di Federer e di serena

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Have you ever played anybody so hot like that before?
ANDY RODDICK: I don’t know. He played well. You know, I made more errors than I should have in the first. After that, there’s no doubt he was coming up with some shots tonight.

Q. What was it like for you just being there at the end of that?
ANDY RODDICK: It was frustrating. You know, it was miserable. It sucked. It was terrible. Besides that, it was fine.

Q. What did Jimmy say to you straight after the game?
ANDY RODDICK: He gave me a beer.

Q. You seem really disappointed. Did you think you had a real crack tonight, a chance?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I was playing well coming in. There’s no reason to think if you would have told me this beforehand, I probably I didn’t foresee it.

Q. Is that the best you’ve seen him play for a while?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah. I mean, he played really well tonight. I mean, that’s for sure.

Q. Can you just take us from 4 All on. Up to 4 4, you’re in the match. Then you got broken.
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I got broken. Then I got broken three more times. Then I got broken two more times in the third set. Then it was over 26 minutes later. Is that what you saw, too?

Q. I saw that. On court, what changed from 4 All till the end?
ANDY RODDICK: That first game, probably the second was pretty crucial. I said it before. I mean, when he gets a lead, you know, he’s a great front runner, there’s no doubt about it. He kind of ran it out at the Open, too.
Once he gets his lead, just gets that much more confidence, I mean, it’s tough coming back. There aren’t a lot of instances where people have forged a comeback on him.

Q. How do you go forward from here? How do you counter a game like that?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, you know, I just got to keep doing what I do. I wake up every morning. I put in as much as I can every day. I mean, I don’t know if you’ll find someone who questions that.
You do your best not to get discouraged. You try to take it like a man. I caught an absolute beating tonight. There’s no doubt about it. There’s no two ways about it. You deal with it and you go back to the drawing board. You act like a professional, and you try to keep working hard.

Q. How do you rate Haas or González’ chances against him?
ANDY RODDICK: Slim.

Q. Is he getting better? Is he getting progressively better?
ANDY RODDICK: I don’t know. I mean, better than what? You’ve been around the last three years, haven’t you?

Q. Yes.
ANDY RODDICK: So it’s been about the same.

Q. You said this week that you thought the gap between you and Roger was closing, or at least wasn’t getting any wider.
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, not tonight.

Q. The next time you feel that, will you keep it to yourself?
ANDY RODDICK: No. Have I ever not answered a question honestly? That’s honestly the way I felt. I’m not going to keep it to myself. You ask me a question, I’m going to give you an honest answer.
What do you want me to say? Do you want me to come in here and kick my ass on a daily basis? It’s not going to happen. I’m going to try to keep fighting. I’m going to try to keep working. That’s what I could on a daily basis. I wake up and work my butt off on a daily basis. I’m going to continue to do that.
I’m going to try to take this like a man as much as I can. He outplayed me. He played a lot better than I did tonight. He deserves all the praise that he gets, not only for how he plays, but how he handles himself. Get up tomorrow, look forward.

Q. Beating Safin and Ancic, was this a good tournament?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I thought it was a good tournament. But I’ve proven to myself that I can get to the semifinals of Grand Slams. I’d love more than anything to get past that, to get over that hurdle for sure.

Q. Obviously he played great. Did you feel like you needed to play much better?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, I think I left a lot out there on the table tonight. I don’t feel like I played like I have for the rest of the tournament. You know, I’ve come in here at times and said I played pretty well. You know, he just beat me. I think it was a combination tonight.

Q. Did you think about trying to slow things down there in the second set when he started to get a run?
ANDY RODDICK: Yes.

SCANAGATTA: How much would you have paid in order not to come too this press conference tonight?
ANDY RODDICK: That’s about the best question that’s been asked.
Well, I mean, I can’t really say an amount because I would have gotten fined, what, 20 grand. Obviously, it would have to be less than that, right, if we’re thinking logically? It really wouldn’t be about the money; it would be about running away and not facing it.
I would pay a lot of money if everyone would just make up stuff that I said and pretend like I was actually here. That would be fine. My dad didn’t raise me to run away from it, so here I am.

Q. What next? Davis Cup preparation?
ANDY RODDICK: Yes.

Q. What does that involve? A bit of experience on clay?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, yeah. I’m not sure the exact schedule, but I’ll probably maybe try to get down to Florida sometime next week and start preparing. I think the team, we all leave on Saturday of next week.

Q. What did Jimmy say? US Open final experience, you played him tough, got on a roll. Did you talk about that before the match, if Roger gets on a roll, try to do X, Y or Z, slow it down?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, there’s a lot of strategy talk. It’s not so much like, If you’re down 6 4, 6 0, 2 0. We didn’t really talk about that. Oops.

Q. Will you try to maybe totally forget about this result and just put it aside?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, it would probably be a lot easier when I’m on that plane flight tomorrow not reading about it.
Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t know how much you forget it or how much you remember it. I don’t know what’s better in this situation, to be honest. But it’s there. It happened. You deal with it. You try your best to move forward.
I mean, you can’t I’m not going to sit here and try to be in denial about it. You know, so I’m just still trying to figure out the best way to move forward.

Q. Do you then study it and learn from it, force yourself to work out what to do next?
ANDY RODDICK: Well, one would think so, yeah. Yeah, you’d think so (smiling).

Scanagatta: Some people don’t read the papers when they lose the next day. Will you read it, or you prefer not?
ANDY RODDICK: Probably not. Probably not. But it’s kind of tough, though. I read the sports section every day of my life. I’m going to kind of have to like maneuver my way around it somehow (smiling). Like get an oversized coffee mug, kind of like smoke and mirrors or something.

Q. How would you write it if you had to write it?
ANDY RODDICK: What?

Q. That match.
ANDY RODDICK: How would I rate it?

Q. Write it.
ANDY RODDICK: That was a 10. What a great question.

Q. How would you write it? I was talking fast.
ANDY RODDICK: I was thinking slow.
How would I write it? How could you write a match? How would I write an article?

Q. Yes.
ANDY RODDICK: Probably something similar to what you guys are going to do, I’m sure.

Q. Sort of two steps forward, one step back, but you’re moving in the right direction?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah, that’s probably a good way to write it or rate it (laughter). That’s probably what I would write.

Scanagatta. Your performance here is better than on court.
ANDY RODDICK: My performance here is better than on court?

ScanagattaQ. Right.
ANDY RODDICK: No shit (laughter). If there were rankings for press conferences, I wouldn’t have to worry about dropping out of the top five, I hope.

Q. How do you see the Haas/González game going? What do you make of Fernando’s performance at this tournament?
ANDY RODDICK: He’s played great. There’s no doubt about it. He’s played consistently great, which is something maybe that hasn’t been easy for him in the past. He’s been real impressive. No, he’s playing great, so we’ll see.

Q. Do you rate him perhaps as a chance against Roger under the circumstances?
ANDY RODDICK: Yeah. I mean, I think Roger’s the overwhelming favorite, though.

Q. After a night like this, do you sleep well?
ANDY RODDICK: Do I sleep well?

Q. Yes.
ANDY RODDICK: It depends on how much I drink tonight.

Q. Where are you going after this?
ANDY RODDICK: No idea actually.
Thanks.

L’intervista di Federer

R. FEDERER/A. Roddick

6 4, 6 0, 6 2

An interview with:

ROGER FEDERER

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Second set, was that the best tennis you’ve ever played, or close to it?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, it’s hard to say. Big occasion, I played incredible today. I’m so happy. Second set was definitely incredible. I mean, I’ve had a few good ones at the US Open against Lleyton and other players. But it’s incredible to do it against a top guy, you know, on a big court on a big occasion.
So I’m really happy, yeah.

Q. We kind of asked this question after the Djokovic match. Was there a bit of an extra edge out there? You really wanted to make your statement and play your best in these circumstances against someone who has come close to you in the last couple times that you played?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, exactly. We’ve played a number of times. Against players like him, I always enjoy playing. Not just because I’ve been winning, but, I mean, I know how close he was at the US Open and Shanghai. He played well in Kooyong, too. We practiced here. He beat me in practice here. He beat me 4 4. I still remember all those things. To come out and beat him, you know, so convincing, it’s a surprise for me, too.
Yeah, that’s about it.

Scanagatta. You said on court that you were shocked. How would you be shocked if your name was Andy Roddick or Jimmy Connors?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, look, it’s a tough one for him of course and for the team. He’s been playing so well, made it to the semis. I mean, you got to be confident coming into the semis. I was, too.
I always go into matches thinking, Well, this might not work out. Especially against Andy, more so.
I mean, it’s hard for him. I put it more down on just the day form. I mean, I was just better today. I guess it makes it easier to forget for him, I hope.

Q. What advice would you give him after a demoralizing loss like that?
ROGER FEDERER: No advice. That’s just one to forget for me.

Q. You must be feeling 10 feet tall and bulletproof right now.
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, I do feel great, no kidding (laughter).

Q. Have you ever felt better?
ROGER FEDERER: I mean, look, the tournament’s not over yet so I have to stay kind of concentrated here, try not to get carried away like I said on court. This was definitely one of my best matches I ever played.
I read Andy’s serves almost like back in the day in Wimbledon when I played him for one of the first times, in the semis. I was playing out of my mind.
Yeah, I mean, I do feel great. I’m surprised I could kind of turn it on so much after the match against Robredo. I just hope now that I can keep it up one more match. I got two days, which is great. I can kind of recover, then start thinking about the next match.

Q. What puts you into that zone? What gets you there?
ROGER FEDERER: There’s no secret. You just hope for a good start. That’s what I got. But he broke back. I was like, Oh, God, this could be a tough one tonight. He was all pumped up after that break. I knew that’s exactly what he needed to get back into the match.
All of a sudden everything goes my way. Started reading his serve. Started hitting passing shots. Started not making mistakes from the baseline. No unforced errors, just winners.
That’s all of a sudden when it goes just by itself. You don’t ask yourself any more questions. You forget about how tough the beginning was, you know, of the match. There’s no explanation. That just happens.

Q. It was a wonderful response from the crowd, a standing ovation. You musn’t get too one step ahead of yourself. You still have a final to play and that’s great, but it was a tremendous ovation, wasn’t it?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, I think, especially here at the Australian Open I mean, I’ve played good matches here, but never really almost destroyed somebody. I’ve done it at the US Open, Wimbledon, French Open. Maybe not so much here because I didn’t get so many chances yet.
Here at the Australian Open I’ve won good matches, but never outright dominated another top player in the big stage in the semis or the final.
For me, that’s a highlight of my career to do it right here tonight, so I’m very, very happy about it.

Q. You’ve been talking to Rod Laver. What did he say about the match?
ROGER FEDERER: How do you know?
No, it was great to see each other again. We missed each other yesterday. Yeah, I mean, just kind of catched up, you know, see what’s going on from his side, from my side. It was just good to see each other again. Not much I can tell you really.

Q. He didn’t rate your performance today?
ROGER FEDERER: Oh, he said it was excellent, which is nice to hear (smiling).

Q. If you have a time machine, which legend would you pick to play against you, from the history of tennis?
ROGER FEDERER: Him or Bjorn Borg.

Q. Some people think it won’t make a difference. Who would you prefer out of the other side facing on Sunday?
ROGER FEDERER: I think it’s a tough match. Steady player, Tommy Haas, against the fiery Fernando González. I don’t know who to pick.
Maybe Tommy because he’s been here three times here before in the semifinals. Now he’s playing. He’s had a bit more success over a long period of time, where maybe this is a big, big occasion for Fernando. But, again, he’s tough, so I don’t know who.
I think it’s about the same whoever I play in the finals for me, in terms of toughness.

Q. Have you seen the González matches? Will you watch tomorrow night or leave that to someone like Tony Roche?
ROGER FEDERER: No, unfortunately, I didn’t see anything of the match yesterday. Went to dinner, came back, it was over. Must have played well, I guess (smiling).

Q. Will you watch tomorrow night?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, what time is it? 7:30, as well? Usually dinner time, but we’ll see (smiling).

Q. There were a couple of moments when the giant screen showed replays of one or two of your superior efforts tonight. The crowd had a great response. Do you look up as well and think, How did I do that?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, it’s nice to see great shots replayed, even if it’s his shots. Doesn’t matter. I just think it’s nice to see it in replay because you can kind of see how it all happened or how you got to the ball and stuff.
I mean, I think it’s a great thing for the fans. It’s tough sometimes, you know, when the screen changes from seeing the return play of the server, then it goes to the whole screen of the court. It goes from white to green or whatever.
You can see that kind of in the corner of your eye. You’ve got to really tell yourself not to look up there because it’s a little bit in the sight of vision.
But, look, it’s okay so far. No problems.

Scanagatta. Two questions: First: You beat 6 0, 7 6, 6 0 Lleyton Hewitt at the US Open. How do you compare that win with the win of tonight? Similar or not? Secondly, if you were a writer
ROGER FEDERER: I’m not.

scanagatta Roddick was saying that he was closing the gap. Now we are all thinking this gap became the Grand Canyon, the Pacific Ocean, the Swiss Alps…. What do you think it is?
ROGER FEDERER: What was the first question (laughter)? Seriously.

scanagatta Lleyton Hewitt.
ROGER FEDERER: Lleyton Hewitt, yeah. Look, that one was the finals. This is the semis. That makes a big difference already. I don’t know. I mean, it’s hard to really say what the difference is because, I mean, there’s been quite some years apart of that now.
I remember also against Lleyton I was so much in control for one and a half sets, then all of a sudden he came back, whereas Andy never really came back once I was in the lead.
This one probably felt a bit easier because I wasn’t in the second or third set challenged as much as I was in the first. Whereas with Lleyton, all of a sudden it got really close in the second set, and then just I raced away with it once again in the third.
What I said with Andy, I don’t think we can be too harsh on Andy tonight because it was just one of those great days of mine. I just was playing so well, and he couldn’t really get his teeth into the match once the first set was over.
Look, what he said, he might get closer. I felt that, as well. Now maybe things have changed again. I don’t know. I mean, we got to wait again for the next match. Not to put him down or put him up or me up, I don’t think that’s quite fair. It was just one of those days for him to forget and me to remember. That’s it.

Q. You’ve never won a Slam without dropping a set. Will you think of it on Sunday?
ROGER FEDERER: You remind me of it, so I’ll think of it now, yeah.

Q. What do you think is the legacy you’re giving to the game?
ROGER FEDERER: Geez, I mean, I just hope I’m remembered as one of the good guys, fair, kind of an idol to kids, because that’s what I needed to get started. I don’t know what it takes to be remembered for all these things. This will only be answered once my career is over.
I’m so happy the way things are going. I’m so proud of all my results and the way I kind of handled things. I mean, it’s tough. All these interviews, all this traveling. Life’s not always easy. But it’s a great life, and I wouldn’t exchange it for anything.
Yeah, I mean, I don’t know how I’m remembered. You guys write the stories. Then you just have the fans around the world which I’ve had great support of. Again you saw it, the standing ovation. They really appreciate the hard work and that’s great.

Q. For the past four years you’ve probably given 500 press conference. Is there a question that none of us has ever asked you that you’d like to answer?
ROGER FEDERER: I’m sure there’s a hundred thousand questions you can still ask me. Those will come for the next five years or so.

Q. Rod Laver said today before the match that you’re on your way to becoming the greatest player of all time. He also said that you’re a modest champion. Is there something you can possibly say that could argue against those who don’t believe you’re actually the greatest yet? Are there things you need to achieve?
ROGER FEDERER: Absolutely. There’s plenty I need to do before I’m the best of all time. So far away from beating the No. 1 weeks at No. 1, Slams I’m still five away. Jimmy Connors has 108 titles. I have 45. How can you put me in front of him in terms of titles? It’s still farfetched. If I go at the pace I’m going right now, of course I’ll break all records. Nobody’s ever done that.
That’s why I say, Let’s wait and see. I’m definitely on the right track. I’m not injured. I’m playing well. I’m in another finals.
Yeah, maybe people haven’t seen a guy play like I have, and that gives me a lot of compliments. That’s beautiful, you know. But I got to do it over and over again, you know, for another five years or so. That’s the tough part.

Q. What do you think about the impact of your coach Tony Roche and the impact of Jimmy Connors with Roddick in today’s match?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, I don’t know. I speak pretty brief with Tony about how to approach a match. I don’t know if Andy does one hour in the room with Jimmy going through the match, I don’t know. Everybody’s different. I’m pretty relaxed. I don’t need a hundred thousand advice. I just need a few things to remember and I’m okay. The rest I do myself out on the court.
My work with Tony has definitely paid off. I’ve become a much more consistent player in all areas of my game. Yeah, that’s why I hardly ever falter. Yeah, that’s definitely thanks to him.

Q. Is your father going to be allowed to come to more Grand Slam tournaments?
ROGER FEDERER: He’s retired. He’s helping me out. I’ll just take him to the nice places. There’s many of them.
Yeah, he used to get very nervous when I used to play. He’s relaxed more now. Same as my mom. Watching these matches, I think he likes ‘em, you know. He always comes to the tournament in Basel, obviously. Then he comes to Davis Cup when we play at home. Sometimes they come to like final weekends of Grand Slams at the French or Wimbledon where it’s close by to travel to.
Who knows, maybe they travel more because they’re retired now, which would be nice to see them around more, yeah.

Q. You talk about your coach. What are the members of your team? Can you talk more about the nutritionist?
ROGER FEDERER: Don’t have one. Physical coach is back home skiing. Yeah, I mean, next to Tony, my most important person is Mirka. Everybody knows that. I don’t need to tell everyone. She’s great. She helps me out a great deal. Has been incredible help over the last six years. Not only my girlfriend, but a great help.
Yeah, then I stopped with my physio back in April. I’m kind of seeing where it takes me in that respect. Yeah, my condition coach, Paganini, he’s been a very important person in my career. He’s really taught me how to practice hard off court as much as Tony Roche has learned me how to work hard on the court.
Very important people who really influence my tennis a lot. I thank them very much so.

E l’intervista di Serena Williams (non male anche questa)

S. WILLIAMS/N. Vaidisova

7 6, 6 4

An interview with:

SERENA WILLIAMS

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen you so excited after a match. How much did that mean to you?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I was pretty excited after Shahar Peer, and I think I was pretty excited after a couple matches. It meant a lot to me obviously to be in the final.

Q. How did you win it? Where were you better than Nicole?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think I might have been I don’t know. I have to think about it.

Q. How much difference does experience make in a match like this? Does experience stay with you if you go through a tough patch or do you have to relearn it?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I don’t necessarily go back and dwell on those experiences. For instance, when I was in the match and this was tight I didn’t think, Okay, I’ve been in this situation four times or five times or however many times I have been in that situation. I never thought about that. I just thought about more or less thinking rational and staying calm more than anything.

Q. Do you regard it as an astonishing achievement to be in a Grand Slam final?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I wouldn’t say for me it’s an astonishing achievement. I would say I am happy more than anything. It’s not astonishing or surprising. Definitely something I have always expected.

Q. I didn’t see Hobart, but your level first match in Hobart to now, how much higher is it?
SERENA WILLIAMS: No comparison. I was really excited that I went ahead to play Hobart because I was really rusty and I can see the rust shedding from my game literally. It was a great event for me to play. And I’m excited that I went there because I would have hated to start those two or three matches the way I did in Hobart here.

Q. Seemed that you got Nicole stretched out to be in command of the points.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah. Like I said, she’s been on the tour for a little while, and I’ve seen her play a lot. So she seemed to have a plan against me as well, and we both just kind of had plans.

Q. When the third match point went by, did you start saying, How long is this going on? Did you think about the gagarooney, as you put it?
SERENA WILLIAMS: The gagarooney.
No, not at that point. I just thought at that point I think she rushed me a little bit and I should have taken sometime to think about it. You know, I should have just walked back and took a few seconds. And I didn’t do that. I thought about that after the fact. I couldn’t think about that too much. I had to pretty much focus on other things.

Q. You’ve been to many Grand Slam finals. Where does this one rate in the actual achievement of getting to a final, having played so little last year and all you had to go through at the end of last year? Where does it rate in your list of achievements?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, it rates really high in my list much achievements, especially with my ranking. I think this is the lowest I’ve been ranked getting into a Grand Slam final. I think more than anything that’s really exciting. I just love the competition and love the game.

Q. The second time you stop and when you come back for injury problems, you come back and you go to final to finals again. You are still at the level of the first players in the world. What it means that you are so stronger to the other players? You are a champion that’s able in every case to come back and play at this level?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I’ve always been mentally strong, I think probably mentally stronger than a lot of players on the tour. I think for me tennis has always been 80% mental. I think if you can get a grasp on that, then I’ve always had a grasp on that. Like I always say, I’ve believed in myself more than anyone. Even though it was hard, I really believed in me and in my game.
No matter what, if I’m playing right it’s hard for anyone to beat me on the women’s tour. And that’s if I’m doing the right things, it’s really, really difficult, and I always believe that. That’s still the way it is.

Q. In a match like this, how much time do you spend before the match going over kind of a mental checklist of what she does well, what you’re going to need to do to beat her?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I approach the game different. I focus on me. I know maybe what are my opponent’s weaknesses are going into the match. But I don’t focus, Okay, I’m going to hit three balls to the backhand and I’m going to hit one over here. I don’t do that. That’s too much thinking in it. Serena Williams is not a thinker; Serena Williams is a tennis player. Got that? And that’s what I do best.

Q. Explain that more.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Actually I got that out of the Ricky Bobby movie. “Ricky Bobby is not a thinker, Ricky Bobby is a driver.”

Q. So are you saying you’re a little more reactive to the situation?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I definitely am. And I’m like a chameleon. I can kind of change and get my game going to whatever the situation is. I kind of adapt to all situations. For me, it’s always been important to play my match and my game. Like I said, I think if I play well, which I don’t think I’ve even reached yet at all in this tournament, and if I play well and do the things I need to do, it’s really hard for anyone on the women’s tour to beat me.

Q. Do you think you intimidate other women out there because of what you have achieved? Where they take up, at that point you seem to let rip?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I never thought about that. Maybe. I mean, that could be a possibility.

Q. You’ve had tight matches all the way through here. Match points against you. But at that point, you seem to just shake off a change and away you go.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Like I said, I don’t think I had any actual match points. But I just relax when I get down. You know, I just like I become really calm more than anything. And I just play some of my best tennis. And sometimes I try to pretend that I’m down, even though it really never works, so I can get into that mental space that I’m in when I am down.

Q. Could you have done this at the US Open if things had broken differently or are you better now than you were last fall?
SERENA WILLIAMS: To be honest, I believed I was playing better at the US Open. I believed my strokes I just felt the ball better. I really believe I was really playing well there. I just think in some matches I got a little overconfident and things didn’t happen the way they should have.
But I believe now I’m I don’t know the difference. I do believe that I was playing really well at the Open. Maybe my mind wasn’t as well as it is now.

Q. Do you think that actually the ability to play your way into form is a skill that you’ve acquired in the last couple years?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I definitely think it’s a skill that I’ve acquired. I think although I think it’s something that I pretty much I think I have always had.

Q. You’ve beaten more inexperienced seeded players on the way to where you are now. Kim or Maria next. How much more difficult will that be?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Is that another shot at me being in the finals?

Q. No. I am just saying they are more experienced than what you have come up against.
SERENA WILLIAMS: I think Petrova was really experienced. And you might not know it, but these girls play a lot more tournaments than I play. Like Vaidisova, I think she has been in a semifinal before and she has played probably twice as many tournaments last year alone than I have in the past two years. Petrova obviously is No. 5. She’s played really well. Shahar Peer who honestly played me so tough. She’s played so many tournaments. Trust me, she has a lot of experience.

Q. But in terms of finals experience.
SERENA WILLIAMS: I’m getting there.
In general, all the players I have played, I think they have had a lot of experience and they are good players. They weren’t easy pushovers. Obviously, Jelena Jankovic, she’s been having some great results. It hasn’t been an easy road. I’ve only played one player that wasn’t seeded.
So finals experience, I think they have had opportunities to be in the finals just like I have. I just make that extra step to get there.

Q. Has being out of the game increased your enthusiasm for the game?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I didn’t hear the first part.

Q. If being out with injury recently, has that renewed your enthusiasm for the game? If so, if you stay healthy, will we see Serena full time on the tour this year?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah. My body feels really good. I have my schedule laid out and planned out. One of my goals is to play the tournaments that I need to play this year.

Q. There is an awful lot of drama around you these days. Do you thrive on that?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah. You know, whatever I do, it’s dramatic or it’s in the papers or it’s positive or it’s negative or it’s funny or it’s not.
I guess, you know, some people are just like that. Like I said, I don’t really read articles. I just so I don’t really know what’s going on and being said. Just only things that I hear and people tell me. And I always try to tell people not to say things but you always have one little birdie that doesn’t listen.
I don’t know if I even answered your question.

Q. Do you enjoy having all the drama and people that are second guessing you or confronting you with what issues people are talking about?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I love doubters. You know, I have a lot of people even close to me who doubt. I love doubters. More than anything what I love, besides obviously winning, is proving people wrong. Ever since I was young, even when I came on tour, it was, Venus, Venus, Venus, Venus. Oh, and the little sister. My whole goal in life was just to prove people wrong. And that’s one thing I enjoy so much.

Q. Your father did say at the outset look at the younger sister.
SERENA WILLIAMS: I told you, my dad is my No. 1 fan.

Q. He did say that though.
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah. Like I said, I just like I don’t know. I think that’s something that I thrive on, people that don’t believe. I think it just gives me strength or whatever the case. It is something that helps me. At the end of the day, it is something that helps. At the end of the day, it just helps me, which is awesome.

Q. What does it prove that you can get through to a Grand Slam final when by your own admission you don’t feel like you’re playing your best just right now?
SERENA WILLIAMS: It just proves that I have a lot more to work on and that I haven’t peaked, that there is a lot of space for improvement. No matter what happens, I feel like I can improve and I can play better.
I definitely felt like I could have played better today, which is for me really encouraging, that I know I can do better than what I’m doing now.

Q. I think Vaidisova was serving 5 6 to stay in the tiebreak, set point. On your return, you let out this amazing blood curdling yell. How much of that is involuntary or how much is that sending a statement to Vaidisova on the other side of the net?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I don’t necessarily purposely go out and do that. I just think it’s kind of like just comes out of me, because at some point you get so intense and you really want to win. You know your opponent wants to win. It’s like you’re fighting those elements and you just go for it.

Q. What’s the prevailing emotion? It is rage or something else?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Definitely not rage. I don’t have too much rage in me. I don’t know. I think it is more or less letting go. Especially if I am not doing what I want to do, and I finally do it at that one point, I’m like, Finally. It’s like I’ve finally done it.

Q. Looking at the results of last year, which one in your opinion was the really No. 1? Because you know Mauresmo won two Grand Slam finals, and Henin was playing, and then Maria. Which one in your opinion was the real No. 1?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I think Justine, did she get to like four Grand Slam finals? That’s pretty stellar. And she deserved to be No. 1 at the end of year. That’s no easy accomplishment at all. Yeah, very impressive.

Q. Can you just break down Kim and Maria individually and what kind of challenges they will present to you?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Actually both of them get a lot of balls back, Kim because she’s so fast, and Maria because she’s so tall. She reminds me of Venus because she just reaches balls. It’s kind of unfair because they just got that extra height.
I think they both have really solid serves. You know, they’re both very mentally tough.

Q. Do you think Maria is a better player this year?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, I hear she’s winning. Is she a better player this year?

Q. Getting better and better as she goes along?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Absolutely. And that’s the way it should be.

Q. Will you be watching tonight?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah. I’ll definitely be watching. It’s going to be a really intense match.

Q. Do you think Andy has got a better crack this year?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Who knows? Definitely going to be watching.

Q. Commentary on Channel 7, an allegation that someone in your box using the reflection from their watch in the sunlight to try and distract your opponent. It was something that Nicole has denied. What was your response to it?
SERENA WILLIAMS: “Ha ha ha ha.” That’s the most outrageous thing I’ve ever heard. As if anyone would do that on purpose. I think everyone wears watches these days, except for me. Most people do. So, yeah, ha a ha, like I said. That’s so funny.

Q. So creative commentary, do you think?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Just something else.

Questo articolo è stato pubblicato Giovedì, 25 Gennaio 2007 alle 11:10 e classificato in Australian Open, Grand Slam, Interviste. Puoi seguire i commenti a questo articolo tramite il feed RSS 2.0. Puoi inviare un commento.