Roger Federer on distractions: In our lives, there is always stuff going on
In a press conference at the Miami Open, Roger Federer was asked to comment on Novak Djokovic saying that the many off-court things he had to think about this month affected his on-court performances. The Serb lost to Philipp Kohlschreiber in Indian Wells and to Roberto Bautista Agut in Miami. "There is always, I think, a lot going on regardless of ATP politics or not," said Federer. "In the life that Novak or me or we live in, I want to say there is always stuff going on. So from that standpoint, it's nothing new. But sometimes it can get a bit much or you get tired of it or you get tired of having an injury or tired of -- I don't know what it is. Maybe there is negotiations going on with a sponsor, with management, I don't know what. All that stuff can sometimes take some energy away from you, takes the mind off things. So this maybe he felt a little bit more. I don't know exactly what he's talking about in details, but, yeah, he's not the only one. I have had that in the past, too. But, you know, I think it's normal. It's not an excuse. It's just a fact."
Federer also commented on his relationship with Nicolas Massu who is now coaching Dominic Thiem: "I know him obviously from the juniors, actually funny enough. I played him when he was no. 1 seed in Milan. It was one of my big, big wins that I had way back when. I also played him on the tour afterwards, and it was amazing what he did at the Olympics, winning singles gold. Now seeing him back on the tour, coaching, I always enjoy that when great players from the past come back and almost can't get enough of tennis. He seems like also back in the day how he used to get hyped up for his games and stuff, I'm sure a lot of players can learn something from him. I appreciate the nice things he said about me. I think we have always had a lot of respect for one another. We saw each other in the locker room after the finals in Indian Wells, and I was really happy for him. He was very respectful, you know, towards me, too. He came to just say "Congratulations, great event. Look, I'm sorry." But he was very nice. I'm happy to see him on tour. I'm sure he's going to do very well."
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2JRtDUi
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