He speaks french but you have the translation in english here ....
RF :
Perhaps it's a great gift for him that I beat Novak, still, because he's on four consecutive losses against Novak. Playing against Rafa, my main rival is always super. Another grand slam final… it's for those moments we live as tennis players… He still did a great tournament in the end even though people thought he had forgotten to play tennis. He's there and it will be a very difficult final.
RF (continued) :
I really like to play against Novak because every time it's super athletic with great points being played so it was a treat for me. It's because of him that the match was so good.
CP :
(to the crowd) he's a great champion… and now you will face another great champion and old acquaintance… Rafa in the finals sunday… Pronostic?
RF :
Is that his birthday today?
CP :
Yes, it's not sunday, it's today.
RF :
Yes, the first set was monstrous. I think we both were a little bit tired after in the second because honestly the rhythm was unbelievable and it's clear I had a little bit of luck because he had two set points but it usually comes down to a couple of points when we play each other. There is little missing in our matches. I had match points against him at the US Open and afterwards in Australia it was super close too even though it was straight sets and again tonight.
RF (continued) : It's been a pleasure playing against him. I've played some great matches but it's one of the best we played against each other…
(the match) ended at night with such an ambiance so I think it was really something extraordinary.
CP :There was a lot of important moments during the entire match… but do you think having won the first set was determinant for the continuation?
CP :
Also, I don't know if John McEnroe is around here but we'll give him a wink because you're the first player to beat Novak this year and so you're keeping his record of 42 consecutive victories alive. Do you think he'll offer you a little bottle of champagne for example?
RF :
Honestly, I don't need that. I told Novak at the net that his winning streak, even if
it's not the longest ever… today, it's so physical and so professional… what he just accomplished is just incredible.
Cedric Pioline :
I don't know about you but I've got goosebumps from standing in this ambiance… it's craziness.
Roger Federer :
Yeah, me too… and it's not even the finals!
CP :
Before talking about the match itself, it's for moments like that we play tennis… to get to the finals… for this ambiance…?
RF :
Clearly. I've trained all my life for this kind of match. There was a lot of pressure on Novak and I think he played really well.
