Roger Federer: 'In 2008 I thought my career was toward the end'
In an interview to Europe 1 Roger Federer commented on his expectations ahead of the French Open. The Swiss player said: "I am not the favorite, I am aware of it, but I still think I can go far, I think I can make the best players here on clay uncomfortable. It has been a good year, I started very well."
Federer did not deny he may comeback to the French Open in the next years: "As long as I am happy and I think i can win the biggest titles and beat the best guys, I will stay a bit longer."
He did not expect to play for such a long time: "I stopped skiing 11 years ago because I thought I was in the end of my days on the court, that I only had four or five good years and that it was finished, and instead 11 years after I am still playing. Anyways, in five years I will be older than 40 years. It's difficult to still see me playing."
The tennis coach Nick Bollettieri commented on the Serena Williams's French Open chances. The American said that the physical condition is the key for the 23-time Grand Slam winner. 'Remember, she hits the ball very early and very flat. So if she doesn't have control of her body, many errors will come, because she's not going to push a ball", said Bollettieri. Before the French Open, referring to Serena's knee injury, Chris Evert had said: ''We just don't know her physical status at this point. She relies so much on the physicality of her game and her movement and her sprinting and just her court coverage and setting up those big shots. Her legs are vital to her game. I don't know if we've seen her 100 percent since the beginning of the year.' She takes great pride in Grand Slams and her lead-in has not been up to her high standards. It's all about the knee, which has been nagging her. It is a concern, especially now on the clay, where you've got to move more to win a point. You use your legs, your knees, more than on any other surface.'' Madison Keys said: ''Serena's always - always - someone that you're thinking about in the draw. Whenever she's there, she can win any tournament that she plays. She played a handful of tournaments last year and made the finals of, what, at least two Grand Slams? So Serena's Serena, and there's a reason that she has so many titles to her name.''
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/31ZQm4i
No comments