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Hall of Fame
Roger Federer begins US Open mind games with Novak Djokovic
George BellshawTuesday 14 Aug 2018 7:30 am
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Ahead of his first match in Cincinnati, Federer said: ‘Novak can play with less pressure again I guess, to some extent, but you can always get caught up in the pressure, the media saying “well clearly now you’re going to win the US Open”, and you’re like “Well, I guess so, yes”.
‘And then rather than you being able to say “Well, we’ll see what happens”, perspective changes from your side but also from the media.
‘But definitely exciting times, a lot of the best players are back in the game and I think the US Open is going to be epic.’
Federer admitted he was ‘happy’ to see Djokovic come through the other side after a difficult spell and claimed any return to glory after a long layoff was ‘more beautiful’.
‘Novak winning Wimbledon obviously that was massive, I don’t think he expected it,’ he added.
‘I remember the press conference he gave after [losing to Marco Cecchinato in] Paris when he was like “I don’t know yet I was frustrated, I just want to get out of here”.
‘And people were asking him “What, you’re not going to play the grass?” And then he should have won Queens and goes on to win Wimbledon, so things can turn very quickly, regardless if you’re positive or not, sometimes when you just put yourself out there and then you get excited in a quarters or semis of a Slam you can start playing your best tennis.
‘I thought it was great for the sport, I’m happy for him because I know it probably it hasn’t been easy the last couple of years for him but then again I don’t think anybody should be feeling sorry for him, like people feeling sorry for me or Rafa, we’ve had so much success that it’s just more beautiful when you do come back after a tough time.’
...
I should admit that while the transcript reads "salty" and twisted, Federer sounds genuine and frank in the video.
George BellshawTuesday 14 Aug 2018 7:30 am
...
Ahead of his first match in Cincinnati, Federer said: ‘Novak can play with less pressure again I guess, to some extent, but you can always get caught up in the pressure, the media saying “well clearly now you’re going to win the US Open”, and you’re like “Well, I guess so, yes”.
‘And then rather than you being able to say “Well, we’ll see what happens”, perspective changes from your side but also from the media.
‘But definitely exciting times, a lot of the best players are back in the game and I think the US Open is going to be epic.’
Federer admitted he was ‘happy’ to see Djokovic come through the other side after a difficult spell and claimed any return to glory after a long layoff was ‘more beautiful’.
‘Novak winning Wimbledon obviously that was massive, I don’t think he expected it,’ he added.
‘I remember the press conference he gave after [losing to Marco Cecchinato in] Paris when he was like “I don’t know yet I was frustrated, I just want to get out of here”.
‘And people were asking him “What, you’re not going to play the grass?” And then he should have won Queens and goes on to win Wimbledon, so things can turn very quickly, regardless if you’re positive or not, sometimes when you just put yourself out there and then you get excited in a quarters or semis of a Slam you can start playing your best tennis.
‘I thought it was great for the sport, I’m happy for him because I know it probably it hasn’t been easy the last couple of years for him but then again I don’t think anybody should be feeling sorry for him, like people feeling sorry for me or Rafa, we’ve had so much success that it’s just more beautiful when you do come back after a tough time.’
...
I should admit that while the transcript reads "salty" and twisted, Federer sounds genuine and frank in the video.
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