McEnroe Analyzes Masters Cup

McEnroe, Drysdale,Carillo By Richard Pagliaro
11/10/2006


The Tennis Masters Cup's $3.7 million prize purse makes it one of the most lucrative tournaments on the ATP Tour, but ESPN2 analyst Patrick McEnroe believes the currency carried on court by top-ranked Roger Federer may be even more valuable in determining who cashes the champion's check at the conclusion of the season-ending championships.



Federer delivers a reality check that puts many opponents in deep psychological debt to the nine-time Grand Slam champion before he even strikes a shot and Federer's ability to reel off winners faster than an ATM machine spits out $20 bills makes him the favorite to regain the Tennis Masters Cup crown he held in 2004-2005.

"I think (opponents) go in facing the reality, which is the guy has been utterly dominant for three years and clearly the guy is up a break before he comes out of the locker room against most players and the guy he doesn't have that edge against is Nadal and even at Wimbledon Nadal got down after that first set and still fought back," McEnroe told Tennis Week. "Yes, I think Federer has the intimidation factor, but I think he's earned it. But guys know if they can't throw something very different at Federer at times, then there's the feeling that they have to play the perfect match against him. I think you have to go in saying "I have to play a great match and I have to hope that Roger is a little bit off" and if you get a break point or 30-all point then you've got to step in and take your best shot and just go for it."

The Tennis Masters Cup starts in style on Sunday in Shanghai as Federer faces defending champion David Nalbandian in a rematch of the 2005 final, which Nalbandian won 6-7(4), 6-7(11), 6-2, 6-1, 7-6(3).

ESPN2 is planning 29 total hours of coverage from Shanghai, starting on Sunday, November 12 at 11 p.m. Eastern time. Monday, November 13 through Friday, November 17, ESPN2 will offer live daily coverage from 6-8 a.m. and again 3-5 p.m. on tape delay.

ESPN2 Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai

Sunday, November 12: 11 p.m. – 1 a.m. round robin play (tape delay)
Monday, November 13: 6–8 a.m. round robin play (live); 3-5 p.m. round robin play (tape delay)
Tuesday, November 14: 6–8 a.m. round robin play (live); 3-5 p.m. round robin play (tape delay)
Wednesday, November 15: 6–8 a.m. round robin play (live); 3-5 p.m. round robin play (tape delay)
Thursday, November 16: 6–8 a.m. round robin play (live); 3-5 p.m. round robin play (tape delay)
Friday, November 17: 6–8 a.m. round robin play (live); 3-5 p.m. round robin play (tape delay)
Saturday, November 18: 10 p.m. –2 a.m. semifinals (tape delay)
Sunday, November 19: 12:30–3:30 p.m. (tape delay)
McEnroe, who became a first-time father in April when wife Melissa Errico gave birth to the couple's daughter, flies to Shanghai today, the day after his long-time ESPN2 broadcast partner Cliff Drysdale departed.

Tennis Week caught up with the U.S. Davis Cup captain on Wednesday afternoon shortly after his daughter's afternoon feeding and before he settled in to watch former ESPN2 colleague Martina Hingis take the court against Nadia Petrova in Madrid. In this interview, McEnroe dissects the Shanghai draw, discusses the need to revise the Davis Cup format and offers his view of the current state of tennis on television.

Tennis Week: The Federer-Nalbandian match that opens the Tennis Masters Cup on Sunday is a rematch of the 2005 final. The Red Group featuring Federer, Nalbandian, Ljubicic and Roddick is the tougher group because you've got three guys playing off for one spot assuming Federer plays to the level he has all year. How do you assess this group and what do you expect from the Federer-Nalbandian match?

Patrick McEnroe: I think that Federer will be pretty locked in from the start. He's had a week off, he hasn't lost a match since he lost to Murray in Cincinnati last summer. He got to Shanghai early to practice and I've read his comments where he says he feels healthy and fit and usually when he says that the rest of the field is in trouble. He's had such a phenomenal year he would look at (winning the Tennis Masters Cup) as a nice way to finish this off. Clearly, he is a massive favorite. I'm interested to see how the court is playing and if it's similar to last year then it will be slow and kind of low bouncing. Nalbandian comes in with a few more question marks than Federer and he's not playing with the confidence he had last year. I would say that Federer is the heavy favorite, but that's definitely the tougher of the two round-robin groups with Federer, Roddick, Nalbandian and Ljubicic.

Tennis Week: I realize Roddick had the ankle issue in Madrid, but it was surprising he didn't play more indoor tournaments with his serve. Are you surprised Roddick didn't play Paris and will Connors accompany Roddick to Shanghai?

Patrick McEnroe: Indoors is not really his favorite surface, he actually prefers outdoors. I wasn't that surprised to see him pull out of Paris. I don't think he likes that long trip in the fall. I think he's going in there relatively fresh; Andy hasn't played that much in the fall. He's been working with Connors. I am assuming Connors is going, but I don't know that for a fact. I spoke to Andy briefly and he said he was leaving for Shanghai yesterday and Blake was leaving today. I think Connors will be there and that would be good. Roddick's definitely in the tougher group and Ljubicic certainly has better results indoors and all those guys in that group are capable. That's clearly the tougher group. That first match is key for both Roddick and Ljubicic — it will be asking a lot for both guys to come off a loss in that match and then go 2-0 against Federer and Nalbandian. Obviously, you have to look at Federer making it through that group so then the battle for second is pretty tight between Roddick, Ljubicic and Nalbandian.

Tennis Week: When people in tennis analyze the Federer-Nadal match, the conventional wisdom is that Nadal's ability to hit the heavy topspin, particularly off his forehand, to Federer's one-handed backhand, as well as his great court coverage, creates problems Federer has struggled to solve. What do you think about Nadal's mentality against Federer — the fact that he steps on court believing he can win and is not intimidated? How important is that and additionally, do you think the guys in Federer's group really go into these matches believing they can win or if they get down early is it "Oh, no Federer's going to take over again" sort of thinking? My question is: how do these guys approach playing Federer and how should they approach playing Federer?

Patrick McEnroe: I think they go in facing the reality, which is the guy has been utterly dominant for three years and clearly the guy is up a break before he comes out of the locker room against most players and the guy he doesn't have that edge against is Nadal and even at Wimbledon Nadal got down after that first set and still fought back. Yes, I think Federer has the intimidation factor, but I think he's earned it. But guys know if they can't throw something very different at Federer at times, then there's the feeling that they have to play the perfect match against him. I think you have to go in saying "I have to play a great match and I have to hope that Roger is a little bit off" and if you get a break point or 30-all point then you've got to step in and take your best shot and just go for it.

Tennis Week: Isn't there a tendency among some players to overplay against Federer? Because he covers the court so quickly, he can defend so well when he has to that sometimes it looks like he almost prods guys into going for too much because it's so tough to get a ball by him on a hard court.

Patrick McEnroe: Yes, and obviously to some extent that's playing into Federer's hands. Federer has become the ultimate match player. He's always had the shots and he's always had the ability, but years back he liked to try to hit the spectacular winner. Now, if it takes waiting for the other guy to miss, he's perfectly happy to do that. What he's most concerned with is winning and he's perfectly happy to take it if it means him running down balls and playing longer rallies or hitting winners if the opportunity is there. The Federer of four years ago was always looking to hit the great shot. Now, he'll take the style points when he can get them, but if he's not feeling it in a given match, then he's perfectly happy to do whatever it takes to win. His defensive skills have gotten so much better so even when he's not feeling it offensively he's able to use his defensive skills very effectively.

Tennis Week: Speaking of defensive skills, the Gold Group, you've got three very effective counter punchers and skilled defensive players in Nadal, Davydenko, who comes in as one of the hottest players on tour, and Robredo. To me, Blake is the best offensive player, on hard court, of that group and for that reason I think Blake has a good shot to advance to the semis. I realize it's his first time playing the Masters Cup and he didn't perform particularly well in Madrid or Paris, but how do you view Blake's chances of making the final four.

Patrick McEnroe: I think he could part of it, but the big question is how the courts are playing. If it's a very slow hard court, then he's playing three guys who are sort of counter punchers and very effective playing that style. So if James is feeling he's got to press a little bit and he starts to try to hit bigger shots then the court will allow him to do consistently, it could be a concern. You'd have to put Davydenko as the favorite to advance from that group. Davydenko has earned everything he's gotten and after last year, I think some people may have thought "This guy Davydenko had a fluke of a year or maybe he's another Rainer Schuettler", but Davydenko has truly earned his way back to Shanghai.

Tennis Week: Sure, he's second to Federer for most wins on the season. I think the fact that he plays so many tournaments, he's not a big guy and his legs are so important to his success that perhaps some questioned if his stamina would hold up?

Patrick McEnroe: I think at Davis Cup was where he got a little burned out and he didn't play there, but then he sort of re found his energy and he looked very good in winning Paris. Look, this guy plays well indoors he probably has some of the best footwork in the world. Davydenko's not exactly the flashiest guy in the world to watch, but if you're someone who appreciates technique, footwork, balance and seeing a guy who sets up so well then he's guy you can learn a lot from.

Tennis Week: Getting back to your prior point that if the court is playing slow, Blake has to show some restraint in shot selection. Agreed, but don't you think Blake's best shot of getting through round-robin is to take it to all three of those guys and because he has such explosive offensive skills on hard court couldn't you argue that at least he will have the say in how those round-robin matches are played out? Blake plays Nadal in his first match, how does he need to play that match?

Patrick McEnroe: If you're James Blake, you have to take it to and yet not go for too much. James has had a very good year and it would be a big accomplishment for James to have a big tournament. What's he's lacked is making a huge run at a big tournament so for him to get to the semis would be a break through. He's got a good shot — all those round-robin matches are matches he'll have more say. I'm interested to see how he'll do and it's been a long road for James to reach Shanghai. He sort of snuck in through the back door to get in and I'm really excited to see how he's going to handle it and if he really believes he can take the next step then this is a good opportunity to do it.

Tennis Week: When do you actually leave for Shanghai and a question I've often wanted to ask you and Cliff is: how does consideration for the viewing audience impact the way you call a match? For instance, if you're calling the U.S. Open on a network like CBS I would think you've got to be a bit more broad because the audience for the Open is going to include casual tennis fans who don't watch the sport regularly, whereas viewers who get up at 6 a.m. next week to watch Shanghai are almost surely going to be a die-hard fan. So do you consider your audience when you analyze a match and how does that consideration affect your commentary?

Patrick McEnroe: Cliff is leaving for Shanghai today (Wednesday) and I'm leaving Thursday. I think in general, I would say in a big U.S. Open match or a big Wimbledon match or an Australian Open final there are going to be people watching who are not gung-ho tennis fans, so yes you take that into account. I take it for granted, you take it for granted and your readers may take it for granted that we know everything about Tommy Robredo because we follow the sport closely, but people flicking around the channels who come across the Tennis Masters Cup next week maybe don't know anything about Tommy Robredo so you have to consider that. I think that annoys some die-hard tennis fans because they feel like we sometimes state the obvious, but some of that is due to the fact that when you draw people who are flicking through the channels, they might be new to the tennis audience and they might know an Andy Roddick or a James Blake, but they may not know anything about Tommy Robredo. So in those cases you might state things some diehard fans view as obvious, but once the match gets going, you get into the nuts and bolts of the match and you call it just like you call any match.

Tennis Week: Hawk-Eye has been a great innovation for both players and viewers, we have one of the most gifted players in the history of the game in Federer, a real rivalry with Federer-Nadal and Sharapova has stepped up on the women's side. These are all great signs for the game, yet at the same time, ESPN2 did not renew its Roland Garros rights, Agassi has retired, American success, outside of Roddick and Blake, is waning, a few television executives tell us the tennis industry itself does not step up and support televised tournament tennis adequately enough and we're again plagued with the problem of player pull outs at the end of the season. My question is: how do you view the state of tennis on television right now and looking ahead to the short-term future?

Patrick McEnroe: I'm encouraged. I was very much in favor of the instant reply, I thought that was great for tennis and I think that proved to be the case for the U.S. Open and I think both the casual fans and die-hard fans have really responded to it. I think continuing to tinker with things like that is important for tennis, but it is still a challenge because tennis is very traditional and because you're dealing with just two players. Think about it: in every other sport, except boxing, you have more than two players. So in baseball, for instance, you can cut to the manager or the guy warming up in the bullpen or the outfielders, you can do a lot in those sports because there are more people involved. You may have a phenomenal tennis match, but if people don't really recognize the players then it's hard to get the viewers. I think we're trying to do more with the instant replay rule, with on-court interviews that can be heard in the stadium, interviewing coaches and I think there's a lot more we can be doing and there's a lot more the players can be doing out there. We've talked about this for years and the stuff they do at the U.S. Open with the on-court interviews and pre-match interviews is positive for tennis and has helped TV sell the sport, but at the end of the day it's about having superstars and marketable personalities and, at least in this country, we need some Americans to play well. You need characters in the game and obviously we have some great characters in Marat Safin, Nadal, Andy Murray, Baghdatis, who is so much fun to watch and there are talented young players like Gasquet and Djokovic. These are all interesting young guys who are talents, but the challenge always for us in America is being able to sell them to audiences particularly if they're not American. You can do everything you can to make the game more attractive on television and you can do it incredibly well and it still comes down to the sport needs superstars and personalities and rivalries and in this country Americans do want to see American players.

Tennis Week: Over the years, we've talked about the Davis Cup format and you've always been very vocal about the need to modify it. Last year, you told me you felt the only way the ITF would consider changing the format would be for an entire nation to pull out of Davis Cup. Yet, the other day Federer, who is traditionally a loyal Davis Cup player, announced he will not play Switzerland's home tie in February against Spain and Nadal may not play as well. We've seen dedicated Davis Cup players like Agassi and Henman simply not able to continue to play as they got older because of schedule demands. ATP Chairman Etienne de Villiers has been adamant in saying the schedule must be revised and now we're hearing the ITF may finally be willing to at least consider revising the Davis Cup format? What are you hearing about this? And do you think the ITF, which has been so stubborn in its refusal to modify the Davis Cup schedule will finally seriously consider it, particularly with the top two players in the world probably not playing the first round?

Patrick McEnroe: Let me answer that question this way: During the course of the last month I was following all the events and I remember reading online about Federer playing in his hometown tournament in Basel. Federer played against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the second round and there were 9,200 people there to watch a second-round match in Basel. A few weeks earlier, Serbia and Montenegro played Switzerland in Davis Cup in Switzerland and they had trouble filling a 4,000-seat stadium. And that was not only with Federer playing three matches, but with Djokovic, who is a talented young player also playing. So you look at that and you tell me there's not a problem with the Davis Cup format. I'm so sick and tired of hearing the ITF say "It's an American problem" when it comes to the Davis Cup schedule; they (the ITF) say "Only in America is it an issue." To me, it's a much bigger issue. I would love to see the format tinkered with and (Tennis Week writer) Richard Evans (in his Roving Eye column) and others have made some good proposals of how to improve the format. Whether it is going to happen, I don't know. My job is to field our best team and try to win the Cup. I still love Davis Cup, but I'm sick of hearing them say it's an American problem. It's not. Federer is not going to play the first round and Nadal is probably not going to play and that's the reality of it. The world we live in, sports needs major media coverage and when the Davis Cup happens so frequently and is spread out so much (at different sites) it's hard for people to grasp this is a major event. I think there's an opportunity there to make changes and improve the format and attract more exposure, but obviously the ITF is control of it. Davis Cup is a great competition and has a great tradition in tennis, but at the same time it could be so much greater and make such a larger impact on our sport, but that's not going to happen unless they make changes.

Tennis Week: Would you agree that with both the ATP and WTA publicly promising to make scheduling changes that this is the ideal time for the ITF to get on board with the concept of improving the Davis Cup format? I mean, now is the time to do it?

Patrick McEnroe: It is an ideal time because the Chairman of the ATP and CEO of the WTA realize it and the ITF should realize it is an ideal time to change Davis Cup and make it even bigger and better than it is, but tennis is often slow to change. My point is just because it's always been one way doesn't mean you should always keep it that way. It is the ideal time to make a change, whether the ITF will make a change, I don't know.

Tennis Week: How do you feel about on-court coaching and the ATP's experimenting with round-robin play at tournaments next season?

Patrick McEnroe: I'm sort of down on on-court coaching. I think the round-robin format is a worthwhile exercise. I think we should take chances for certain events. I think it's a good idea because they can experiment with it at smaller events that maybe don't have as many top players in the field so the fans are assured of seeing those players. Isn't this about serving the customers and the tennis fans? At the end of the day, we sometimes forget that. That's the business we're in and we need to consider our fans who buy tickets and sponsors who pay to advertise. And when it's hard to sell sponsors to tennis events on television, which it is hard to do, and maybe a sponsor knows we're going to get Andy Roddick for a few matches then maybe that's one way to give back to the fans and the sponsors. At least it's worth trying.

Tennis Week: What's the story with the new Patrick McEnroe Tennis Center in Miami? It's your new home court, will you be moving to Miami as well?

Patrick McEnroe: I am definitely not moving. It's a luxury boutique hotel, the Grove Isle Hotel & Spa, it's a great facility and I'm excited about it. I'll be there a few times a year and we'll have a very good staff there running the programs. My input is in what types of programs, tournament and clinics are conducted and things like that. These guys have a very good track record and it's a great facility.

Tennis Week: Is this something you want to pursue in the future as Cliff Drysdale has done?

Patrick McEnroe: Definitely. I figure I've learned so much from Cliff about television I can learn a lot from him here too.

Tennis Week: I know from watching him for years Cliff has a real fondness and fascination with Mallorca so perhaps the two of you could partner and pursue creating your own tennis facility in Mallorca.

Patrick McEnroe: (laughs). There's a good idea. The "men from Mallorca" — that's who we'll be.

Courtesy of Tennis Week

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Press Conference Roger Federer (vs Nalbandian)

Madrid, 21th October

Q. Very bad match today. You lost your serve once. What happened?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, what happened? It was great. I knew it was going to be tough. Nalbandian, look at the record between him and myself. I lost to him many times in the beginning. We've had some close ones recently in Rome and Shanghai and also at the French Open before he retired. I'm really pleased with the way I played. I could really play aggressive, play my game. I served pretty well. He's obviously the best return player I've played all week. It was an excellent match for a semi finals. That's for sure.

Q. What did you do better today than the other days against him?
ROGER FEDERER: You're just talking about David now?

Q. Yes, David.
ROGER FEDERER: I always feel like it has to do also with him, how he plays. Sometimes he just returns way better, and sometimes he just doesn't read it very well. That was what I could do well today, served well in the beginning and then always mix it up well. That's what happened also in the first round in Shanghai, and it didn't happen in the finals. He picked all the serves. He definitely made more errors today, but I think I forced him to by playing aggressive. It depends on how well I play and how he plays. And today it all went my way, which is good.

Q. Did you also feel that you were able to move and hit more freely after winning the first set?
ROGER FEDERER: You always kind of tend to feel better obviously because the other guy is more under pressure. He makes one more mistake and the match is kind of running away from him. I definitely try to put the pressure on in the beginning. It doesn't mean I'm hitting freely. It means I'm trying to play solid, make the other player work hard. Hopefully, when I have the chance to play aggressive, then I do, and play well. The second set was phenomenal and I thought this is when I could start to hit freely, hit the returns more, take more chances. It all worked out. It was great.

Q. The second set, can you describe for us ‑‑ we are human beings, you are not. But what was the feeling in the second set when you were able to hit everywhere, every shot? What were you feeling?
ROGER FEDERER: It's a great feeling. At 3‑love you start to feel like this is his last chance he has. If he plays another average game, it's not going to be enough because by now I feel great. Then you also feel the spectators start to wonder is this going to be over in two minutes or is it going to be over in one hour. They're all hoping for more. It's just more and more good shots coming from my end. It was actually great fun for me of course, because I make them kind of feel that they're living through something special maybe. I don't know. In the end I told myself I might as well go for it. And then it all worked out. It's really a feeling you don't get very often. It's like what I explained. He was tired and everything. It was good.

Q. You played three tie breaks, four matches in straight sets. Is that the ideal way with which to go into the final?
ROGER FEDERER: It wouldn't matter really how to get to the finals as long as you get there. I feel I'm tough enough physically to handle all these matches no matter if they all go three hours. Don't forget the seeds only need five matches to win instead of six. So that helps us, obviously. I think it's been a very solid and good tournament so far. This was by far my best match. And I hope that with the best of five match tomorrow I can have a good start and hopefully roll away. It's going to be difficult. They're dangerous players, both of them. We'll see what happened.

Q. You played great on the second set. I still have a question for you. On your shots, which shots do you think has the most margin to be perfected?
ROGER FEDERER: I play with what I've got. And I know my strengths and a bit of my weaknesses. And I know what works better for me and what doesn't work so well. And I think I know when to go for shots and when I should play it a bit more safe. I feel I have my biggest margin on my forehand just because it's always been my shot I attacked with. It keeps me in the rally. It saves me and everything. My back hand has really improved in defense. It used to be on the attack was a slice, and then I started to stay more back and my back hand I had to be more steady. That was what I was struggling with in the past. I have gotten steady. I have got the variation of the slice and the back spin. I definitely feel I can improve the return on the drive, I play with what I have, and I try to improve bit by bit. Practicing a lot with Tony. We're going to work on that again at the end of the year, and hopefully I'm a bit better again next year.

Q. You were Junior World Champion, and for a while you didn't get your game on top. I saw you lose the first round in Challenger to John Barcells. Can you point out one thing that got to you the pro level, to maybe jump to another level?
ROGER FEDERER: I think the juniors always have a struggle eventually. You can't come out of juniors and win four Grand Slams. Obviously you're going to be told you still need more time. It's obvious. We're playing grown men who have beards and who have been around. We're just coming along. It's kind of tough. I thought I made the jump actually pretty quickly. The last year of juniors I was already playing seniors as well. I finished 300 to No. 1 in the world, after I was 65. The tournament that helped me most was Marseille when I beat Moya when he was 4 in the world and I was 200 or something. I played quarter finals in Rotterdam as well and within two months I went from 300 to 120. Then I had to struggle for a few months, but then I finished 65. I always had a consistent improvement until I became No. 1. Since I've stayed at No. 1.

Q. Do you watch your matches? Do you tape your matches and watch them regularly?
ROGER FEDERER: The ATP gives the matches to me, but I have very little time to sit down and watch my matches anymore. I used to do that coming up. I just have no time anymore.

Q. There's a chance you will play with Fernando tomorrow. What do you think about him?
ROGER FEDERER: He's been on a good run. He played in the finals of Vienna. I know he can play very well indoors. He just qualified for the Masters last year and should have won to play against me, but ended up losing. So I played Gaston. I've had some good matches with Fernando, even though I beat him every time. I think he's improved over the last few years. He's become more steady. His forehand is still as dangerous as always. I think the indoor takes away that sun and wind and everything factor. So he hits the ball even better. It's a difficult match if it were Gonzalez. But the same for Berdych. Indoors we can see what he can do. He won Bercy and beat Nadal again yesterday. It will be a tough final.

Q. David Nalbandian had no coach at the beginning of the season. Did you have at some stage in the match today of playing against somebody without guidance, without game plan?
ROGER FEDERER: No. No. I didn't even know he didn't have a coach. He has two guys travelling with him. That is like a team as well. And I always said that a player needs to decide for himself if he has only his girlfriend with him or he travels alone or he has a coach or a condition trainer or physio or whatever it is. He needs to know what his game needs. If he thinks no coach, I think that's the right decision. For me it worked out in '04. I'm here this week also having no coach. I only have friends and my girlfriend. It also seems to work out.

Q. Is to have a coach less important than in the Connors, McEnroe, Villas era?
ROGER FEDERER: They didn't have coaches before that era. Then the coaches came. Now sometimes they go again. That's a normal way of going at things. It's just a coincidence that there's times when many of the top players are looking for coaches because maybe they've been together for a long time or something didn't work out. But the coaching was definitely a trend for about 10‑20 years, where I think today players realize that it's maybe not always what they need.

Q. Any thoughts when Nalbandian challenged the last point in the first set?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah. Might as well.

Q. Sorry?
ROGER FEDERER: Why not.

Q. But because you're opposed to Hawk‑Eye, did you find that funny as well? You said you found that funny in the past when you have to wait. Well, this time the set was decided on a review?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, it's obviously awkward. They're not looking at you. They're looking at the big screen. So it's okay.

Q. On the court you said you are not surprised that Berdych beat Nadal on that surface. Can you explain why he's so dangerous on such a surface, Berdych.
ROGER FEDERER: Not only on this surface. I played him at the French Open. I played him at Wimbleton. I played him elsewhere as well on clay in Hamburg, other places ‑‑ in the Olympics obviously. I've played him basically on all surfaces. He's got one of the biggest games out there. If he plays well he can basically beat anybody. He's kind of a Safin type. He's just got the big shots. It seems like his game really matches up well with Rafa. That's why I knew it was going to be a really difficult match for Rafa.

Q. I was taught that a forehand drop shot would be the biggest weapon to compliment your thundering forehand against Nadal. I've heard some mixed feelings for the use of the drop shot. You told me once it would be great to use that as to have a forehand drop shot. Then I've also read somewhere that you had mixed feelings against the use of the drop shot.
ROGER FEDERER: No. What I meant is I don't need drop shots to win a match. Because I feel in any situation I can always hit a winner with my fore hand, so why hit a drop shot. I can open up the court so well with my forehand, that I never really used it or needed it. It's just because other players played it, and sometimes it does work. Then you feel like you've almost got to do it yourself as well. I just use it for variation. Sometimes I use my back hand because there I can disguise it more because I don't know if I can play the slice long or short. On the forehand side I will pretty much always use the classic forehand. All right.

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Press Conference Rafa Nadal

Madrid, 20th October

Q. Rafa, what did you say to Berdych at the end of the game? He said that you told him that he was a bad guy, he was very bad. Is that correct?
RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah. Correct.

Q. What do you mean by that?
RAFAEL NADAL: Huh?

Q. What do you mean when you say he's very bad? In what ways is he very bad?
RAFAEL NADAL: Maybe he'. The question was if I had said to Berdych that he was very bad. That was the question. Okay? And the answer is that I've told him that, yes. With my emotions because I'm very ‑‑ I get cold when I lose. But I think he's a player that week after week shows he's one of the top players in the world. He's very close to being in the Top‑10. Next year he'll probably reach the Top‑10 because he has a very high tennis level. But I said that because in Toronto I didn't say anything, but he was constantly giving bad looks and nasty looks to the opponent. At that time it was not good. And today during the match it happened again constantly. He looked, and he looked at me with not a very friendly face. During the match I'm focused on my game. I wasn't about to say anything during the match. But maybe the last thing he did with his finger was out of place. The crowd was supporting me. It has been excellent. But nothing against him. The crowd supports a Spanish player. I've also played in the Czech Republic, and I want to thank the crowd. It has been an incredible atmosphere. And for me it's been an honor to play here again. Even though I'm leaving in the quarter finals, my feelings are great. Well, he did that at the end with his finger. I won the fifth point in Czech Republic, which I think is more important than quarter finals here, and the crowd was not supporting me that time either. And I didn't do anything with my fingers or my face or my attitude there. In my opinion that's what he should have been doing here. For the rest, nothing else to say. You need to analyze the match itself and not what happens afterwards, the consequences of everything. What you need to analyze is the match. For the rest we will go ‑‑ he'll go his way, I'll go mine, and we will meet or not. We'll see.

Q. You almost won the second set.
RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah. I played a good set. The set point, I could have been doing much better. But he was doing, Berdych was doing great with his shots and his backhand and was putting pressure on me. My second serve was a bit forced maybe. Oh well, that's how things are. I think my level has been very high, but he has won me. With playing a bad match anyway. His level was high as well. My level was high, too.

Q. Last year Federer and you won almost everything. Berdych only won Paris, Bercy. Does it make you feel better towards Shanghai?
RAFAEL NADAL: No, not at all. Because for me Madrid is one of the most important tournaments of the year. After the four Grand Slams. Well, Masters, Shanghai. Madrid is there for me, to play at home is very special, in the Masters Series, it's more special. I don't think it has been good for Shanghai. What's been good here is to keep playing at my high level. I'm in a good way, and this is a good experience. I think I am training hard and with enthusiasm for a long time. And right now I'm achieving to become a more comprehensive player, better serve. My drive is working well now. Back hand is usually good. I'm at a very good stage of my career. For me that's very very important, and I've worked hard to be here.

Q. I need to go back to the subject that we talked about before. Don't you think you may have made a slight error when you shook hands with him and on TV you said he was an asshole?
RAFAEL NADAL: No, I didn't say that. Maybe you heard me wrong. I said he was stupid. That's a little bit less disrespectful. No, in my opinion it hasn't been an error. In you're saying it's been an error, I respect you.

Q. No, I'm not here to give my opinion.
RAFAEL NADAL: Yes, you've given your opinion. You're going to have yours, and I'm going to have mine. An interviewer can have their opinion. In my opinion he's a player that has an irate attitude. It's not an irate attitude that I have. He's not a bad person. He's said I said it in a cold tone of voice. End of story. You saw he left the stadium with the whistles of the crowd.

Q. You've played all around the world, and you've known many crowds, many different republics. Do you think the crowd here in Madrid has behaved correctly?
RAFAEL NADAL: Yes. It's been a great crowd.

Q. Last detail about the subject. He said you said, "You're very bad at the net." According to him he said, "Yes, but I won against you three times." Very few players have beaten you three times. That's something I heard somewhere.
RAFAEL NADAL: Has he said that? I didn't listen to that point.

Q. It was logical for the press that you would play the final?
RAFAEL NADAL: Logical for you, press, for you. I've been saying here every day it was not logical. For me it was a match I could lose, and I lost it. But I got a good image on every point. It's been lost. It's a match that I lost against a great player. He won Roddick yesterday. He defeated him in two sets. That's something to take into account. He is at a high level, and you cannot stop him sometimes. And that's it. If he said he won me three times, he's right.

Q. The other day when the first round match ended, when you were signing autographs a girl asked you if you were going to play the final, and you said very seriously, "No, I'm sorry, but I won't." Why? Why did you do that? It was in the tunnel.
RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. I don't know. I said, "I'm sorry, but, no", but I didn't say no like ‑‑ it was a no like, well, it's tough. I knew it was going to be difficult. It's a surface that suits me, but it is tough. And you need to take that into account. It's a final in the Masters Series. It's not a bad result where I've reached against a great player. I'm not leaving the tournament with a poor feeling of myself. I'm satisfied. I don't want to go into excuses. Even though we had this thing at the end, this incident, I wouldn't want the press conference to be focused on that, to see that in the press tomorrow. The match is won with the racket. The rest is only something which can dirty the image of tennis. It hasn't been that serious. It's something that he could have not done, and that's it. For the rest, I accept it.

Q. Are you going to stay and watch Real Madrid?
RAFAEL NADAL: I don't know. What do the real supporters think? Do you want me to watch the final match or not? Because they say I am jinxed. I am not jinxed. Maybe I stay, yes, and watch it. I don't know.

Q. Could I ask you one last question about the crowd. Berdych said what he didn't like was the fact that the crowd ‑‑ he understood that the crowd supported you, but he didn't like the way the crowd was cheering his mistakes. And in particular when he served a double fault. What did you feel about the crowd's behavior at that point?
RAFAEL NADAL: I feel one thing. I feel when I was playing in Czech Republic in Davis Cup, when I had a double fault and the public supported him a lot and said, "Rafael", because I remember the public. I don't remember he don't say, "Please stop, stop, that's not correct." So now is the same.

Q. What he said though is that he expects that in the Davis Cup, but he would not expect it in another tournament.
RAFAEL NADAL: That's not true, because I play a lot of tournaments. And if you play against any local player, that's normal. That's good for tennis. Everything, the public support one player, the local player. Maybe for me the public of today was not bad with him. The public supported me a lot, and that's very nice. Last week I played against players in Stockholm, and the public supported them a lot and supported when I made a double fault, when I made one mistake. So when I go to the press conference, I don't say nothing. So I say the public was very good, because that's good for the tennis. That's good for tennis. And in football, 1,000 people support his team, and the other team is normal. If you play in your house at home, it's normal that the public supports their player or their team.

Q. Different styles match up in different ways. Is there something about his style which matches up bad for you?
RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah. He plays very aggressive. He has very good shots, very tough shots. He drives the ball very hard. He plays very long. It's difficult. I am trying to sometimes returning inside the court. I am trying to sometimes go from the back for a return. I'm trying to play a little bit more aggressive, a little bit more defensive. I'm trying all the time to find a way. But it was very difficult. He was playing very good. I find a way, because I played a very good second set. I had my chances, and I didn't have good luck in those moments. For me it was a nice match with different styles. He was good. He was playing very, very good. I was playing good, too. The tennis is two points sometimes. Today I had a chance with myself in the 6‑5 and after in the 6‑6. It was his ball and he had the passing shot, with the back hand, passing shot. At that moment the match changed a lot in one point. That's it. But the match for me was a very nice match, a very good level with different styleBBoth styles were good. His worked a little bit better, but I am trying for next year. I'll work harder for playing next year. And I want to win this match next year for sure. Thank you.

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Press Conference Roger Federer (Madrid, QF)

Madrid, 20th October

Q. You've won your 80th victory this year. Two years in a row you won 80 matches. What does it mean for you, such consistency?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, it's obviously to great to win. It always is a sign of the hard work paying off somewhere. And the best way that it pays off is in wins. So you can imagine, I've walked off the court 80 times as a winner this season, only five times as a loser. That's a great record for me. I'm really proud of those last two years now. I've only lost a small number. The 80 is not more special than 70 or 90, but it's a great number to reach that's for sure.

Q. You've played three tie breaks in Madrid. Is that a concern for you, is that an issue for you?
ROGER FEDERER: No. I'm winning them, so it's okay.

Q. It's not a surprise because you usually win all the matches, and here in Madrid you seem to be having a little bit of trouble.
ROGER FEDERER: The results always look very easy, but when you're here in person and see you see difficult the matches are, it actually shows how close every match is. This surface here is a bit faster. It's hard to break. So obviously you're going to play tie breakers. But it's no reason to become nervous. The tie breaker belongs to tennis as well. It's important that you have a good record and you can win them. So far for me there has been no reason to panic at all, no.

Q. One more Hawk‑Eye question. What happened with Mohammed during the match in talking about the Hawk‑Eye?
ROGER FEDERER: The thing was ‑‑ well, the ball wasn't called, and Ginepri was going to challenge. Then Mohammed overruled pretty late. So by him overruling, he's making me challenge the call instead of Ginepri, who was sure he was going challenge it. So I said I'm not going challenge it because I though that Robbie is right and I also felt the ball was out. And he understood I challenged the call. So after that I lost the call. And after my second call basically I lost, I told him, you know, "I have one more call left, right?" Because I didn't challenge the first one. And he misunderstood, and they already told. So then they decided to not let me have any more challenges. It was just more an issue of clearing things up, because he decided too quickly to challenge because I didn't want it to be challenged. It was just a misunderstanding between him and me. There's no problem.

Q. The game tomorrow with Nalbandian, is it kind of special for you, you played 12 times with him, 6‑6?
ROGER FEDERER: Of course. We've played some great matches. Played many times, Grand Slams, Australian Open, French Open, U.S. Open, Masters Cups, every. The big scenes. We've helped each other in some ways in our career, we've killed each other in some ways in our careers. I think it's always interesting when we play each other. We've always had good matches. He's had a really tough time getting so far, but he's always a good player and tough to beat. So I'm excited to play him again. I hope I can keep the winning record against him I've had lately against him.

Q. Did you see him play this week?
ROGER FEDERER: Just today.

Q. What do you think about his game, his level, because he's always recovering at the end of the match?
ROGER FEDERER: He definitely got unlucky/lucky. He should have won in two sets and then should have lost. But ended up winning. He fought well and played really well when he had to. So in the end I guess he deserves it. He was awfully close. That's maybe his problem, he makes too many close matches. That's why he occasionally loses once in a while. I thought he played well today.

Q. Going back to the Hawk‑Eye challenge. Don't you think if the system is there, why not take full advantage of it? Wouldn't you feel more comfortable knowing that every single close call would be cleared up? What is your take on that?
ROGER FEDERER: If it's there, it's there to be used. If it's not there, that's how it usually is, you know. I don't feel like I need this guaranty of knowing if I'm right or wrong or if I'm getting a bad call or not. Because I feel there's still going to be bad calls. Soderling missed also two or three serves which were on the line, but he didn't challenge them because he didn't feel like they were in or whatever. There's still missed calls out there. That's why for me it's not relevant, the system.

Q. Don't you think it takes the responsibility out of the umpire? Because him knowing that you can challenge if you want ‑‑
ROGER FEDERER: It's definitely easier for the umpire now. He can sit back and relax and once in a while, only when he's 100 percent sure, he can make a call. Otherwise it's between us and the system.

Q. Another thing, you're playing on consecutive weeks. Are you going to play Basel?
ROGER FEDERER: Mm‑hmm.

Q. And then Bercy?
ROGER FEDERER: Mm‑hmm.

Q. You seldom do that.
ROGER FEDERER: Mm‑hmm. What's the reason?

Q. Sorry?
ROGER FEDERER: What's the reason why I do that?

Q. To play in your home town, right?
ROGER FEDERER: Exactly.

Q. Of course. My question is do you have special preparation when you're going to play three weeks in a row including two Masters Series events?
ROGER FEDERER: No. I can't prepare especially for this. Preparations go more on Grand Slams and the entire season. I used to sometimes play five tournaments in a row. So now I feel like I'm fit enough to play three in a row. I don't think it should be a problem. It's the end of the season. I think that's the difficult part, because you always have to be a bit careful with injuries. That's the problem I've had in the last couple of years. My goal is really to try to play the three tournaments and then play Shanghai. Because the last couple of years I've never played indoors, and I'd love to win Madrid. I'd love to win Basel and Paris. There's tournaments that I have not been able to win yet, so I'm trying to give myself the best chance this year.

Q. The last time you played against David on such a surface was in Shanghai. If you had to compare your physical shape here and in Shanghai with numbers, what would you say you were?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, obviously I feel way better now. I was struggling in Shanghai all the way through, but I beat him in the first round robin match. People don't remember. And then eventually I ended up losing against him in the finals. This surface is quite different than the one in Shanghai because it's a rubber court there. Here it's on wood. I always think it favors me because he's beaten me in Basel as well on that surface before. I hope I can use this surface which is my favorite surface indoors to beat him tomorrow.

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