Mr. Federer, How did you cope with the early Wimbledon Out?
After I had always been at the Grand Slams at least nine years in the quarter-finals, it was of course unusual to pack your bags at once. Within 24 hours I had then but have an idea: That I would like to play in Hamburg that I could play Gstaad,. I had a great run at the Grand Slams and it was about to happen one day. Of course I hoped that it wouldn’t happen in Wimbledon.
Does such a loss bother you the same as 4, 5 years ago?
Hard to say. Sometimes you think, life goes even further, I’m not even in the first year of my career. And sometimes it hits you harder and you think you will not be able to play 15 times in Wimbledon. Five years ago, when I won 2, 3 Grand Slam titles in a season, such a loss would have hurt me much more because I would have been the main favorite back then.
You slipped for the first time in ten years out of the top four in the world. What are your future goals?
Generally, I want to be successful for a long time, pick tournament victories from time to time. I never said that I must now remain in the top four or forever in the top ten. For short terms, I have to see that I play better and that I can get over the Wimbledon loss. There is still much to accomplish!
For example, in Hamburg, one of your favorite places in Germany, as once you have said. What do you as a Swiss like about the North?
Honestly the cool weather is not really my thing. But the longer I was allowed to stay if I played well, the better I liked it. You can spend more time in town, talk to people, develop connection with the fans. Hamburg is just a beautiful city, the Alster River, the people – I always feel very comfortable here.
2002, you celebrated your first Masters triumph at Rothenbaum. Where do you classify this a success?
It was very emotional, which remains safe in memory. This victory was a huge breakthrough for me, has a high priority because I came into the Top 10 for the first time with it.
You and your pal Tommy Haas are the driving force in Hamburg this year. How do you deal with being the crowd favorite?
I’m searching for this pressure- otherwise I’d just stay at home and work or finish my career. This pressure makes me stronger, makes me dream of great things. I like being the crowd favorite, one who brings tennis forward. I played a lot of Masters 1000 and Grand Slam tournaments but I really miss the smaller tournaments – so the pleasure is now very high on my side and the audience will feel it.
You won four times in Hamburg – Haas never. Suppose you both are in the finals this year. Would you give him the victory?
I already did it in Halle (Gerry Weber Open 2012,) (Laughs) The tournament in Hamburg is of course very special, I know that he used to live there and that success will really mean a lot to him. But I’ll give everything against every player, and unfortunately you have to forget that there is a buddy on the other side of the net. If he wins, then I’m happy for him.
How do you see Haas off court?
I met Tommy a lot better in recent years. Since he got a daughter too, we spend more time with our families, which is very funny and nice. Tommy on the court is a bit different. He needs his tantrums, this Energetic personality on court in order to play good. .In private life he needs that too I’m always happy to join it. I also like to train with Tommy – but there were also times when we have not trained so much together because we were both too much hotheads and that didn’t work out well. But now we are both steady and happy that we can still play. I am really happy for Tommy that he that he fought back and that is amazing! It’s also an Inspiration for me to see that you can hang around with the others without a problem even at his age.
