TENNIS ATP FINALS 2014 – Roger Federer d. Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-2. Group B
Q. This is your 13th Finals here, consecutive years. Kei qualified for the first time here. I think you have the advantage because you have experience. Does it affect you, help you?
ROGER FEDERER: I mean, I think it’s helpful to have qualified here before and to have experienced round robin play because it has a different taste to the knock out system the way we know it with the regular draw. You look ahead in the draw, you see maybe who you might play and all that.
So here it’s quite different. But for me it works well over the years. I’ve played well in the round robin play. I see it as an advantage.
Then again, I remember how it was my first time when I went in 2002, and I played very well, as well, in Shanghai. I didn’t ask myself many questions, I just played. Nothing to lose. Hoping to end the year on a high. I kind of did.
So I don’t know if it’s an advantage or disadvantage. Obviously, the season’s been long for most of the guys now and maybe some feel it more than others.
Q. Following his win over Andy on Sunday, Kei spoke of his confidence. Has that been the biggest change over the season? Do you think that was something he perhaps lacked today?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, I think it’s more than just the confidence, to be quite honest. I think he’s actually playing better. I think his serve has improved, again. He had good groundstrokes and he’s fast. That we knew.
We can talk about confidence. I think he is a more complete and better overall player. I think the confidence alone is a bit too simple to put it, to be quite honest. I think he’s improved as a player. Today maybe he didn’t quite get it going. You could see why he had the success he did have this year.
Q. With the round robin, there’s a possibility you might be qualified for the semifinals before your next match starts. If that is the case, how do you balance wanting to rest a little bit or save yourself for the semifinals, and wanting to give a good effort in the last match?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, number one, we’ll see if I’ll be qualified or not. I’d like to be qualified, to be quite honest. At least I know I am through maybe than having to win a set or maybe having to win the entire match. I don’t even know what it takes. Usually if you do win in straight sets twice, things look very, very good.
The advantage of being qualified, if that were to happen, is just that you can go into the match a bit more laid back. But then again, the integrity of the game, and there’s so much still at stake for me, wanting to beat a fellow rival and wanting to win the points that are at stake, go in with a clean sheet into the semis is any way to go. I always have.
I’m happy, you know, after two matches I’m standing here with two wins. It’s very positive. That’s about it.
If it’s all to play for, a bit more nerves maybe. But at the end of the day, it’s how we play every match on tour ’cause if you lose, you’re out, so…
Q. What do you think about the fact that five matches went just in two sets? Only your match with Raonic, the second set was a fight, 7 6. How do you explain it? Could it be at the end of the season, players are tired, they don’t fight as much, don’t have the same hunger?
ROGER FEDERER: No, I disagree. I think it’s actually quite simple, in my opinion, because the court plays somewhat slow, and the serve doesn’t have that much of an impact depending on you how back it up, your serve.
I think it’s very much a game of movement and the baseline game. Whoever’s better from the baseline has the upper hand, then dominates. I think that’s why we’re seeing heavy scorelines, because it’s just hard to get out of hard to serve your way out of trouble. It’s almost not possible time and time again.
You need to hit a lot of great shots, if it’s not working well for you, to have an impact. You have to work extremely hard. I think if you then look at the way Novak or Stan has played here, I think they both played very well, which made it very difficult for the other guys.
Their serve didn’t have the impact that we normally know that Cilic’s or Berdych’s serve can have. From that standpoint, I think the best movers are most likely going to come through here.
Q. You’re closing in on a thousand wins in your career, but 70 this year. I think it’s the first time somebody your age has won that many matches in three decades. What does that say to you?
ROGER FEDERER: You can win them. You can enter many events, change around your schedule. But I think it’s a great number. I played only the big tournaments this year. Basically, again, I chased all the Masters 1000s, Grand Slams, so forth. It’s not easy to win matches there, as we know, because guys are always very good, margins are small.
More importantly for me is getting closer to the thousand number. Not that it’s one I’ve ever wanted to reach, but it would obviously be cool to get there.
