ROGER FEDERER FEELING FIT AHEAD OF RICHARD GASQUET CLASH

Written by: Staff on 8th September 2015

ROGER FEDERER FEELING FIT AHEAD OF RICHARD GASQUET CLASH |

At the age of 34, Roger Federer is feeling fresh and fighting fit going into the US Open quarter-finals.

Thinking back to his US Open semi-final defeat to eventual champion Marin Cilic 12 months ago, Federer admits emotional and physical tiredness from a five-set quarter-final win over Gael Monfils could have played a part.

But as he enters the 2015 quarter-finals on a nine-match winning streak, and yet to drop a set at the championships, the 34-year-old Swiss vowed that won’t happen again this year.

“I will tell myself it cannot happen,” said Federer, who came into Flushing Meadows on the back of winning his 87th tour-level title at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati (d. Djokovic).

“Even if I play five sets, it doesn’t matter. I think I’ve had a great preparation with Cincinnati, now here playing great, not dropping sets. Clearly I feel really good about my chances in the quarters.

“I’ve worked hard in the off-season,” continued the Basel native, who spent the majority of his time between reaching the Wimbledon final (l. to Djokovic) and returning in Cincinnati working hard on his form and fitness at home in Switzerland.

“I gave myself that extra week to be in the gym, be on the practice courts. Thankfully it was nice and hot in Switzerland that time around. We also had around 90 degrees as I was practising. So I feel like I could work on my game a little bit, I could rest up as well. So I come into the business end of the tournament with a good mindset and a good body.”

Federer is readying himself to play Richard Gasquet in the quarter-finals in New York. He has a commanding 14-2 FedEx ATP Head2Head record over the Frenchman and has not lost to him since 2011. But the Swiss is expecting a stern challenge from Gasquet, who is looking to reach his second Grand Slam semi-final in a row after making the final four at Wimbledon (l. to Djokovic).

“I’m not sure if I’ve seen Gasquet play as well as he is right now,” said Federer of the Frenchman, who rallied from a set down to beat Tomas Berdych in the fourth round on Monday.

“I really like the way he played in Wimbledon, and also now here. I haven’t seen that much. But the matches I saw that he played against Stan and Novak at Wimbledon were impressive. He had a good attitude. He was fighting. Good shot selection. It was nice.

“Now he’s backing it up. I’m sure he gained confidence from Wimbledon. That’s why I expect it to be tougher than maybe in previous years against him or previous times. I feel like this could be one of the tougher Gasquets I’ve played in previous years, so I expect it to be difficult.”

( Courtesy of the ATP and Original Link – http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/federer-feeling-fit-ahead-of-gasquet-clash )

Topics: 2015 U.S. Open, Atp World Tour, Flushing Meadows, Richard Gasquet, Roger Federer, sports news, Tennis, US Open tennis

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oladseyOOE says:

September 8, 2015 at 9:04 am

RT @TennisNewsOne: ROGER FEDERER FEELING FIT AHEAD OF RICHARD GASQUET CLASH http://t.co/pciT3y3ZBZ #tennis
10sBalls_com says:

September 8, 2015 at 10:05 am

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