R. FEDERER/G. Monfils
6‑4, 6‑3, 7‑6
ROGER FEDERER
THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.
Q. Well, you're in semifinal without lost sets. What are you now? How are you now?
ROGER FEDERER: I'm very happy. (Laughter.)
I'm feeling very good, and I'm obviously proud about this achievement. I don't remember me doing this maybe here at the French Open. Maybe I have; maybe not.
But it's definitely always nice to be in semifinals of a Grand Slam. Look, I mean, it's where the media attention is the highest and the matches are the toughest.
I hope to play well here with a tricky draw ‑‑ similar to Novak and Rafa. I think we all had tough draws. I'm happy that I made my way through to the semis and I never diverted from my plan of focusing on myself and not on someone else.
I'm very happy with also the way I'm playing. So like I said, I'm very happy.
Q. Besides to of course win the match and going in next match and going to the final, it means something to you like kind of extra motivation to beat Novak and to keep him apart from No. 1 position?
ROGER FEDERER: It's not the driving force behind this match, to be honest. For me, the plan is trying to get a step further and into the finals of the French Open.
At the end of the day, that's, for me, the big picture, and that's why I entered the French Open. It wasn't to stop Novak.
So that's that situation. I know he has a lot on the line, which we all know about. I have been there myself before in 2004 when I was going for world No. 1 against Ferrer in Australia in the semis of a Grand Slam, as well. So it's a similar situation.
Yeah, and, look, I'm looking forward to that match. I think we always really play well against each other. I think Australia was fantastic; Indian Wells was good, too. Dubai a bit more disappointing match.
But I think in Grand Slams we also have tough matches, and that's what I'm looking forward to play against him, as well.
Q. We know you have been enjoying this happy lack of pressure and playing at ease. What do you think is at stake in this semifinal after, you know, not being able to make it big in the last slams? We're waiting, of course, for something big from you.
ROGER FEDERER: I think there's less at stake for me than for him. He's got a lot of things going on for him. Sure, I'd love to be again in the Grand Slam final because I haven't achieved that in a few slams.
But nothing major for me as long as I, you know, keep on giving myself chances. I think I'm playing really well again. Look, even I thought during the clay court season I wasn't playing poorly. I had some tough losses. Okay.
But now I can really play the way I was hoping to play here at the French Open, and I'm able to show it. I'll give everything I have, and then we'll talk about it later.
Q. What do you need to change in this match in order to change the results you've had with Novak the three previous matches? How does the clay influence the tactics, the way you have to play against him, whereas previously in Australia that was hard courts, London, US Open?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, look, we've played quite a bit up until Indian Wells really in a six‑month period. I think we played six, seven times, maybe.
So this is obviously different. They were all on hard court, indoor, and so forth. This is on clay. Like we saw today, I mean, windy conditions change everything, really.
I mean, Gaël wasn't serving the way he can serve, for instance, today, and that's why we also have to see on that given day what the conditions are gonna be. On grass and hard court and so forth if there is any rain you come off the court; here you can play through the rain.
All these little things make a big difference. But at the end of the day, I think against each other we always tend to play aggressively, you know, to take time away from each other. Yeah, I mean, he's been playing fantastic this season, so I know I have to play some of my best tennis.
I have a couple of days to prepare for that and come up with a good game plan. I don't think I have to change a whole lot, but there is a lot to change because it's a clay‑court match. That's where I have to go back in time, because I haven't played him that much on clay, and it's been a long time ago, so we'll see how it goes.
Q. We see that you come well‑dressed. Down on the court, is it cold? Hot? What's...
ROGER FEDERER: Well, it wasn't hot. (Laughter.) This ain't Spain. No, it was cold. Honestly, I was warming up this morning, and already I felt like the wind blowing in my ear. I was like, Oh, this is cold.
So the moment the clouds were covering the sun I thought it was pretty chilly, and you definitely feel the body aches a bit more than you would in nice and warm weather.
But, you know, as long as there is no rain I think it's fine. So it was tricky conditions to play, and not just because of the cold. I mean, I've experienced worse conditions than this today, but I think the wind made it tricky for great, great tennis.
So that's why I think it was a good match. I think I played well. But it wasn't our best match against each other because of the tough conditions.
Q. Can you just give us an idea of how extraordinary you think Novak Djokovic's 2011 has been ‑ and you've obviously had experience of going on great streaks yourself ‑ and whether there comes a time, perhaps when a player is least expecting it, when perhaps mentally or physically they've just had enough and the level drops?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I mean, you just ‑‑ I just think he just tries to keep up a good level. Sometimes the earlier rounds are more tricky than actually the later stages just because usually you play against better players, you know, and you know what to expect. If you played a guy 25 times, it's a bit more straightforward than the guy you play for the first time.
I think he's done really, really well. I mean, look, he's had the best start to a season ‑‑ I don't know in history or not, but he's done extremely well. And he's keeping it up, you know. He's not making a big fuss about it, which is a good thing for him.
Obviously a big question remains: How long can you keep it up? I said it a couple weeks ago. It's just hard day in and day out to be asked the questions, How many more wins can you get? You would just like to, you know, not talk about it. Just go out there and do it over and over again.
So I'm sure it's been tricky for him, but he's been doing a great job. Now maybe the streak is less at stake in some ways because it's more of a big match against me so it's easier to focus just on playing me instead of the whole situation.
But I think the No. 1 situation is the big one right now for him, I think, and not so much the streak. But it all goes hand in hand. It's going to be an interesting day.
THE MODERATOR: French questions, please.
Q. Given the conditions, would you say you're particularly happy with your tennis today or not?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, yes, of course I'm happy. Three sets to zero against Gaël in Paris, I'm happy. The beginning was difficult. I had two double faults. I had many problems at the beginning due to the wind on my service game.
I'm really happy, because I managed to find my game back. Then to end the match, my match was good, even though the circumstances were difficult and there were changes.
I was broken at least once in each and every single set, so it was not just the match. I was on the court, I broke him, and then I ended the match in three sets easily.
So it was not just playing against Gaël. It was playing against the conditions, playing against the wind. So at the end of the day, I'm relieved and satisfied with my performance today.
Q. Today in L'Equipe, Wilander says he's got the impression you're playing your best tennis on clay since the beginning of the tournament. Would you agree with Mats, or not, compared with the previous years?
ROGER FEDERER: I don't know. I've not lost any sets so far. So it probably means something, but it doesn't mean it all. So I have the impression the draw was difficult for the top three, but we're still there. So maybe it really shows that we're all fit.
You know, it might happen that we might play well in parallel, the three of us, even though one of us three is going to win. People tend to forget this. This is the difficulty in this sport, in tennis. That is, there is just one winner.
Anyway, I'm happy with my performance, but that's when I'd like to play my best game against Gaël or Djokovic, for instance.
Q. Roger, you've not lost a set; that's true. Many say you play your best tennis on clay ‑ your best tennis on clay. Is it because you were considered as an outsider before the tournament that you feel you're totally free, you're not nervous, you have total control?
ROGER FEDERER: Honestly, I don't think so. I play well. That's about it. I've managed my matches well so far. I have found that on my service games and on my returns ‑‑ that is the two most important shots in tennis ‑‑ I didn't feel any pressure.
I was feeling like ‑‑ how can I say? I was dominating my service. So I have the impression if I wanted to serve a good service in a corner, I can do it. Sometimes, you know, there are moments when you can't enjoy this feeling, so I'm happy about this.
And then on my returns, I think I had enough time to return the balls. Usually you feel more stress. Even if the ball has been kicked, very simply you have the impression you're stressed.
Whereas today I didn't have this feeling, either. So this is due to the fact I think that my season has been good so far. I've played so many matches. I've played rather well in the past three tournaments on clay.
So maybe some have thought I was not really in a good form, but I was fit. I have proven it so far.
Q. In France, you're absolutely popular, you're crazily popular. The crowd was with you supporting you. Don't you have the impression that people want you to defeat Djokovic?
ROGER FEDERER: I don't know. We will see.
In any case, I think the crowd for this match wanted to support me, even though ‑‑ they didn't have enough respect for Gaël, because he played incredible matches here in Paris in Bercy and Roland Garros.
But how can I say? I'm always very happy when I get this type of support or standing ovation here in Paris against a French player. I had the impression that, you know, it's similar to what I experienced here in 2008 or 2009, 2010. When the spectators are with me, they want me to win the tournament, I think. That's my impression this year.
And the difference between now and 2009 is that today I can win the matches more easily. In 2009 there were three or four matches that were huge matches. I reached the finals. Whereas this year people had less time to put their hands together for me because I spent less time on the court.
But they're still with me supporting me, and I'm really looking forward to this big match against Novak. The spectators will be in the match, too, which will be nice.
Q. What do you think about Nadal/Soderling, the other semifinals? What do you think about Rafael's situation, that is, his position and the pressure on Rafa? He has had to answer many questions concerning pressure.
ROGER FEDERER: Well, it's going to be a big match between him and Robin. You know, I played against Robin in Madrid. I saw that he was fit, even though he lost during the quarterfinals, anyway.
That is why he was able to show that he was fit early in the tournament. He was hitting his balls correctly. He was really fit. It's going to be a problem for Rafa, even though I think that Rafa is still the favorite for me.
So for Rafa now, it's not going to be a major problem. He's still in the tournament. He's reached quarterfinals. This is where he wanted to be. Now he can defeat another top 10 player to move forward to the semifinals. He will be the best favorite, I think.
Now, we don't know. On the other side of the draw nobody's reached the semis yet, so we'll have to keep a close eye on this. But this Nadal/Soderling match is going to be a good match. You should watch it carefully. Everybody should.
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