Friday, 6 July, 2007
Roger Federer was in statesmanlike mode when he chastised his fellow players today, saying they were wrong to be so harsh on tournament organisers over the way the playing schedule has been managed during this rain-disrupted event. In recent days, several players, including Rafael Nadal, David Nalbandian and Marcos Baghdatis, have expressed their dismay that there was no play on “Middle Sunday”, even though the forecast for the second week of The Championships was less than promising. But following his four-set win over Juan Carlos Ferrero, the top seed was having none of it. “I don’t think it’s really the right way, to go after the tournament. I mean, it rains a lot here sometimes, so we do have that problem. But Wimbledon is doing so many great things next to it. They’ve raised the prize money. They’re building a new roof over Centre Court. They built the Millennium Building in 2000. We’re not upset when they do those things. “When it rains once, we have a scheduling problem, and I don’t think we should start going after the Club right away. I disagree with the players, what they said.” Perhaps it’s easy for him to say. Notwithstanding daily practice sessions, Federer was able to relax at home for five days, far from the tensions of the locker room, and enjoyed a couple of excursions into central London. As a four-time Wimbledon champion, he is also a card-carrying member of the All England Lawn Tennis Club. Whatever the politics, the Swiss star was characteristically sanguine about his return to action after his rain-induced hiatus. “I knew the danger of my first match after the long break - it could have been an advantage and disadvantage. Now that I’m through, I think it’s definitely a bit of an advantage. “I wasn’t even particularly nervous about coming back out on Centre Court, to be honest. I think it showed. I went up an early break. But I would never have guessed we would only play 10 or 11 games. I really thought we could finish the match. Then all of a sudden, once we were back in the dressing room, there was no way we were ever going to come back.” Perhaps he should have known better. But when the match resumed today, with the score evenly poised at 5-5, 30-30, the world number one got straight down to business, capturing the first set in a tiebreak. The second set was a different matter, and Federer admits to needing time to acclimatise properly. “I think I was basically getting used to the conditions because the first set was over in a few minutes. He missed a lot of forehands in the tiebreak and also before. “In the second set, it was both of us trying to find how aggressive we should play. Then I missed a couple of shots and he got the set. “I decided in the third set just to play a bit more offensive, go for my shots a little bit, hit a couple of up-the-line backhands. I started to serve a little bit better and didn’t make those unforced errors.” Next up, Federer takes on the Frenchman Richard Gasquet, the No.12 seed. “With Richard, I think he’s a wonderful player off the back of the court. He mixes it up very well, coming to the net much more. He’s got a nice slice, fantastic backhand. I think he’s going to be one of the good players in the future.” Sightseeing is off the agenda – at least for now. Written by Adam Lincoln
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