Q. Can you talk to anything more about rhythm? Is it just a matter of a feel on your shots? Is it just the energy? How critical is it to matches?
ROGER FEDERER: You mean this match today or --
Q. Just in general, the rhythm of the match. Is it an essential factor?
ROGER FEDERER: How important they are?
Q. Yeah.
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, look, when you -- I’ve come back so many times, you know, and every time it seems when I come back, it’s normal. When I don’t come back, it’s like something -- there’s a problem, you know. It’s not the way it is, you know. It’s just a guy put me away when he had to, you know. He played a perfect match in the end, you know. He didn’t give me anymore chances. He served well. He didn’t give me any unforced errors, and I was just playing too poorly in the end to come back, you know.
So the right guy won today. That’s just a fact, and really, of course, it’s important. But I’ve won 50 percent of my matches over the last ten years, you know. I’m not feeling well, you know. It’s just a thing the opponent tries to do to you, is actually try to break your rhythm. And Santoro and some guys are a master at that, so you’re always going to play feeling a bit awkward, always, it’s always going to happen.
Q. Can you recall making 30 errors on your forehand side? You said you were having trouble. There were about 30 errors on the forehand in that two sets.
ROGER FEDERER: Happens all the time. Especially, some guys have statistics, I don’t know where they get the unforced errors from, you know. Some tournaments, like in Australia, you have 10 in a five set and you come to another tournament, you have 60. I don’t understand the guys. It’s definitely not the same guys doing the stats, that’s for sure. In this tournament, this is probably a bit severe.
Q. Could a loss like this actually end up helping you in that you get a little bit of a break in maybe seeing your legs sort of, the push on the clay court season?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, I mean, I’m a very positive thinker, and I think it’s going to be good for me eventually this season, you know. I’ve had a very relaxed opening to the season and just playing the Australian Open and Dubai and having enough time to rest. So I definitely won’t be worn out towards the end of the season, you know. That’s a good thing.
And look over the last one and a half years, I’ve been in all the finals except Cincinnati and now here and maybe somewhere else, I don’t remember. But it’s always been finals. I’ve always been on the edge of having a break and, you know, practice and everything, matches. And it’s always been a -- I was just pushing the limits all the time.
So something like this is actually maybe good for me, you know, just get away from it, have time to rest up again, and practice real hard before Miami. Hopefully win the early rounds over there.
Q. What did the other players say to you in the locker room when you came off, if there was anybody around?
ROGER FEDERER: No, they don’t look at me when I walk in now too much (laughter).
Q. Suppose next time you’re going to meet again him in a match, thinking now that he has the positive score, so to speak, 2 and 1 against you, is it going to be different for you in a match, or just like any other match?
ROGER FEDERER: No. It’s a normal situation. I know I can lose to him. I know I can beat him. Yeah, I know it’s going to be a tough match. I played him years ago in Toronto. It was really hot, and I was the favorite, too, ended up losing against him, and he ended up winning the tournament.
And then I played him here, you know, and I think if I would have played him in the third or fourth round, I would have beaten him, you know. But just not today in the first round, he was too tough.
Q. Does he have top-10 stuff again, could you see him getting back to the top 10?
ROGER FEDERER: I’ve got to see a bit more. He’s been there, so I guess you always have to assume he can get back.
Q. Give me some thoughts when he was suspended for 15 months, whether he’d ever come back again? Are you kind of surprised he’s been able to do what he’s done?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, you know, I’m really -- I don’t know how the whole process of how something like that happens. They always fight for it anyway, everybody that was tested positive, you know. That’s, for me, just not understandable, you know. Everybody who gets caught always says, ”I didn’t do anything,” so...
It’s just not right, you know.
It depends on how long the suspension is. In the end, they always cut them short, you know. So I’m definitely not surprised to see him back, you know. I don’t know what he’s done in the off-season, you know, but he’s playing like he was before. I’m not surprised at all. I think he can get back to the very top, you know. For him, what happened, you know, he must feel a bit awkward, but he’s dealing well with it.
We’ll see what’s going to happen this tournament and the rest of the season for him.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.
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