Vamos Rafa! ;)

I'll post both pressers here being that I don't really see them anywhere else online..

Federer's Press Conference:

Q. Was your right shoulder bothering you at one point? A. Not enough to lose the match because of it. I’ve had muscle pain since the first game, not only in my chest. It’s actually better than yesterday but I just feel that when I keep on serving and then the match extends and I haven’t served in maybe 5 to 10 minutes sometimes it’s just stuff. It’s good to warm up. I was serving okay, I was still able to hit full speed which is most important and I didn’t double fault much so it was fine.

Q. During the week we saw some bad bounces; do you think the court was okay? A. Clay courts always have bad bounces. They try to do a good job and try to even it out every change of ends which I think is a good thing. I don’t think this court is a clay court all year long – I doubt it. So they put it in and try to do their best. It’s a court that has definitely gotten better over the years which is positive for the year to come.

Q. Given that you’d come from behind to win that first set, how big was that dispute at the start of the second set? A. Not that important. If it goes my way it’s obviously huge, if it goes his way it’s huge. At the end of the day I don’t know how it was. At this point I don’t care anymore, it’s in the past. It looked like it was two marks. The one he showed me seemed very small, for me to small for the type of spin and pace the ball came at but maybe it was the type of court it is and these line, maybe. It wasn’t a dispute, it was just disbelief really. I don’t know how tennis you play but they are really hard to see when the line is here and the ball comes across the line. Sometimes it could be just this much out and you just don’t see it because of the line and the ball all kind of blend into one so that’s why it was a tough call obviously. Yesterday I got lucky I guess at 15-40 against Robin when I got a good call, today I didn’t. That’s the way it goes sometimes. I thought Rafa played well and me too at times so it was a good match.

Q. Your reaction in the first set was quite amazing, why did you start playing much better than in previous games? A. I made some easy mistakes on the volley and on the forehand it wasn’t just quite happening yet. Just trying to get a feel for how aggressive I was trying to play and then at the same time getting use to the incredible bounce and spin that Rafa gives you. In the beginning I was missing quite a few forehands from the forehand corner which I really shouldn’t be missing. I ended up being able to iron those mistakes out and then I started to play good tennis. I got into a good return spell and then obviously if I’m able to return him, naturally my service games would be won easier too and that’s what happened so it was it a good first set and even the second set at 6-1 doesn’t tell the truth and the third as well. It was a close match, if I could get a bit lucky – I wouldn’t say take the better decisions because I think I did – I felt it was very close. Maybe the result doesn’t show as much but I thought I was right here.

Q. Compared to Paris, Rome, Monte Carlo; how high is Rafa’s top spin bouncing here in Madrid and how do you feel your backhand did against it? A. I thought I played well. I’m always going to make mistakes with my backhand and from my forehand because that’s what I have to do. I’m not just going to push it into play and hope I play good for the stats and lose two and two. So that’s not the idea behind playing Rafa. I have to take the ball early, I have to create things. Obviously he stands way beyond the baseline, I’m taking it on the rise, he’s also taking it on the rise but on the way back so he has time to react whereas obviously I’m taking the chances really because I’m trying to create the game and he’s playing with more spin and I’m playing more flat and that generates more mistakes. I think overall I played okay, I played the right way and at times it all worked and sometimes it didn’t just because of Rafa’s high level of play. He plays from start to finish on clay really solid on clay and that was to be expected.

Q. You had a chance to break back on the third; do you think it was one of the key points of the match? A. I had more chances. I don’t know what happened at the beginning of the third right now. Clearly it would’ve been nice to get back to 5-4 maybe it was, and you never know. Clearly it was a long way back and yeah, messed up the return – that´s what happened.


Djokovic's Press Conference:

Q. It’s a little like yesterday, you’re down a set and down a break today and you have the maturity to turn it around?
A. Well I always believe throughout the whole match that I can turn it around and I was right. He was definitely the better player for a set and a half. He was more aggressive. I just felt quite slow on the court from the start of the match and it took me a while to really get into the rhythm but when I did, when I made that crucial break it was much better.

Q. Tomorrow, you against Rafa, he on his clay court streak you on your unbeaten record; it’s going to be a special day?
A. It’s great for the crowds it’s great for the tournament and for us in the end because every time it’s a big challenges and we both look forward to it. We are competing a lot in the last couple of months and we’ve had some really good matches, especially the ones in the United States recently. Of course the memories come back from Madrid 2009 when we played that very very long match. It’s going to be great for the people to see us play.

Q. Do you think about the fact that you have never beaten him on clay can be a psychological issue in the match tomorrow?
A. I don’t really think about not beating him, I just think about winning the match and that’s it. Of course I am motivated to win against anybody especially against Rafa because it’s the ultimate challenges on clay courts. I think anyone would wish to play him in the final of a clay court. You want to step in and give your best and you want to try to win. He’s an incredible player, an incredible competitor and he’s been winning on clay courts so much over the past couple of years but we all know that, I know that but I need to believe I need to step on to the court and try to win.

Q. About your knee, you changed your strapping from yesterday; is it a physical thing?
A. No, it just looks better! No, it’s more or less the same really because sometimes the strap that I have goes off when it’s humid so maybe it’s better like this. Sometimes I do this style sometimes the other but it has the same affect.

Q: But you don’t have any pain?
A: No, not something major that can affect my game or my movement.

Q. If you can be honest, were you a little bit surprised by Bellucci’s level today?
A. To be honest I was more surprised with my movement on the court which was really bad in the start but all credit to him he was hitting the ball really well and he was aggressive. He was taking his chances and it gave me results. On the other side I tried to stay calm and hold my emotions and wait for the opportunity because I believe that I will have the opportunity and sooner it later it’s going to come. So it came and I used it and from that break I started playing much better.

Q. Rafa said in his news conference earlier that he thought you had turned down your aggression a little bit recently; would you agree with that?
A. I do have variety in my game that is a positive fact. At this level it’s important to be able to switch from being defensive to offensive and vice versa so depending on the payer, depending on your tactics, on a certain day. You cannot feel the same every day, you cannot feel 100% on the court but you try to bring out your best game. Today I was a little bit too defensive at the start but then I took the control of the match – I was stepping into the court and that gave me a better result.

Q. It’s generally accepted is much stronger than it was a year ago; how about your clay court game? How has that improved in the last year?
A. I’ve been winning all the matches that I’ve played this year on clay. I think that just in general I feel much better as a player, feeling much better on the court, on any surface  hat I played on the court in the last five months than I had twelve months ago. Twelve months ago I wasn’t playing here in Madrid. I was going through a tough period where I
didn’t have good results. Now it’s all coming together. You always have something to  ork on. I’m aware that my game is not perfect as is nobody’s so we always try to improve.

Q. You mentioned that 2009 defeat; that was one of the most painful defeats in your career wasn’t it?
A. It was but on the other hand I know that I can play even against him on this surface in these conditions and that match proved that and I can believe tomorrow that I can win. That’s the only way you can beat Rafa is to believe because he is a very strong player mentally. You basically step in and you have nothing to lose.