‘We should all back and support the event’
Former world No. 1 upbeat about his chances for the new season
Between 2005 and 2010, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer shared 21 of the 24 Grand Slam titles. No wonder Federer was quite eager to land up with his Obi UAE Royals teammates in New Delhi for his first match in Season Two of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) on Saturday. He played Nadal again, and lost.
In between, on his regular pitstop in Dubai, Federer made time to practice and then spend a few moments with the media. Below are the excerpts.
What exactly are your expectations from the final three rounds that you feature in at this season’s IPTL? face to it and at the same time people want to watch some serious tennis as well. In itself, the IPTL is creative. It has new ideas and then there is the team aspect that brings all of us players together on one platform.
Do you feel that you can be the world number one again? my game. And after reaching at this stage it is more about winning tournaments and not about chasing what ranking you would like to be.
You’ve had a fantastic 2015. How does this season compare with some of your season especially when you were unbeatable? score of 10. But more than this, I am pleased with 2015 as I have been competitive, aggressive and healthy and I thought that is the great part of my game at this stage. In the past two years, and with Stefan [Edberg] as my coach, I have had eleven titles altogether. This has been due to the creativity of both my coaches Severin Luthi and Edberg.
Last year, the UAE Royals ended runners-up. What do you reckon your chances are for this season? I definitely think the UAE Royals can win the second season of the IPTL. Dubai has always been a happy hunting ground for me. I feel pumped up playing for the Royals. As players we need to see how we can contribute and make the IPTL stronger and allow it to grow.
What will be plans for 2016?