Federer aims to get '100% comfortable' on clay

Roger Federer was denied a 12th time in his bid for the elusive Monte Carlo Rolex Masters title, and admitted that lack of comfort - both on clay and against Frenchman Gael Monfils - contributed to his third-round exit Thursday.

“It's the very beginning of the clay court season,” said the four-time Monte Carlo finalist. “It's going to take me some time to feel 100 per cent comfortable... Not many guys are perfect this week. But it was a good week for me anyways to come here and practise with the best, play a couple of matches. At least gives me some information, if I'm trying to be a bit positive right now.”

Federer held a 5-3 lead in the second set tie-break, only to see Monfils win four straight points to clinch the 6-4, 7-6(5) win.

“I never felt at ease, and I never felt the way I wanted to be on the court,” said Federer, who was attempting to record his 200th match win on clay.

“There are many things I could have done better. I could have served better. I could have mixed it up a bit better. Also I didn't play my slice backhand well enough. There are some things I did a little bit better and some other things I didn't do well.  Anyway, I never felt comfortable during the whole match… I only have to accept what went wrong and go from there.”

The 33-year-old Swiss shared that he would return home and “practise really hard” ahead of the inaugural TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open, which gets underway in 11 days, followed by the Mutua Madrid Open.

“I think the only thing I need to do is go out on the court and practise,” he said. “I need to play many hours and see what works best. We will analyse the practice I had on clay and those matches with Seve (Luthi) and (Stefan) Edberg.  We'll try to see what the problems are. I think the important thing is to play well in practice and to play many sets. I'll be able to see what works and what doesn't work.”

It marked just the second time since last year’s Roland Garros that Federer had lost before the quarter-finals of a tournament. Ahead of Monte Carlo, he had made back-to-back final appearances in Dubai (d. Djokovic) and Indian Wells (l. to Djokovic).

“I'm very happy how I worked, how I felt, how my body is, how mentally I feel like I'm in a good place,” said the World No. 2. “It's really my earliest loss besides the Australian Open probably in a year, since Rome last year. I've had a very consistent run. I'm aware of this.

“This is not going to put me under too much. I know it's the first tournament on clay. Of course, I was really hoping to do better because I felt there was an opportunity. Unfortunately, Gaël played well today. It was always going to be a tough match.”

Date: 17th April 2015, Source: ATP

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Federer loses in 3rd round at Monte Carlo

World number two Roger Federer was beaten 6-4, 7-6(5) by local favorite Gael Monfils in the third round of the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters on a bad day for the Swiss which also saw Stanislas Wawrinka exit on Thursday.

“It was not the best end to the match,” said Federer. “I should have done better with the break up in the first. I think I did a good job to hang around the second set. I also had chances of my own.

“It remained close, but I never felt like things were really happening the way I wanted them to be going during the whole match.”

The Frenchman imposed early and, despite a strong effort to level the match from Federer, Monfils reeled off four straight points down 3-5 in the tie-break to clinch the victory in one hour and 44 minutes.

“I'm surprised I was able to increase my power so quickly,” said Monfils. “I played solid and I played better than yesterday. I was able to hit hard from the baseline; to be aggressive. I'm very pleased with the match.”

The World No. 18 hit 22 winners to Federer’s 17, while the Swiss struggled with 38 unforced errors and could only capitalise on one of his three break point opportunities.

A four-time finalist in Monte Carlo, Federer was looking to join a small group of players who have won 200 or more ATP World Tour matches on both hard and clay courts. The only other three players to have hit 200 or more wins on hard and clay courts are Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer and Tommy Robredo.

The Swiss, who has a 633-129 record on hard courts, now holds a 199-63 record on clay.

Federer has changed his schedule this season to allow more time for training and was not expecting to peak early on the dust. His quest for a second French Open begins on May 24 and he believes he has enough time to make the proper adjustments.

“It was a good week for me anyway to come here and practice with the best, play a couple of matches. At least gives me some information, if I'm trying to be a bit positive right now.

“I'm going to go back to Switzerland and practice really hard, you know, from whatever the plan's going to be from tonight on until Istanbul.

“This is good time I should utilise in the right way. I'm looking forward to that.

“I'm playing Istanbul, Madrid. We'll see what happens with Rome. It was never sure I was going to play that anyway.”

Date: 16th April 2015, Source: ATP, Reuters and AFP

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Federer eased into Monte Carlo third round

Second seed Roger Federer required just 55 minutes to cruise past Jeremy Chardy 6-2, 6-1 on Wednesday for a place in the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters third round.

Federer hit 19 winners to five for Chardy, and made 12 unforced errors to record his 17th victory in 19 matches this year, which includes two ATP World Tour titles in Brisbane and Dubai.

“I thought Jeremy didn’t serve very well, and I felt good on the return,” said Federer.

“So I was in a lot of the service games when he was serving. Then I thought I served well, had a high first serve percentage and was able to control the baseline. On clay, things move ahead very quickly, I must say.

“I've had 10 days of clay training and I feel prepared. It's difficult to make any kind of judgment after a 55minute match, but I'm feeling good at training.”

The 33-year-old Federer, who lost to Chardy at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome last year, was competing for the first time since 22 March, when he finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic in Indian Wells.

Federer is competing at the Monte-Carlo Country Club for the 12th time and is looking to finally lay his hands on the winner’s trophy that has so far eluded him. The Basel native was runner-up in 2006-08, losing out to Rafael Nadal each time, and last year was thwarted in the title match by countryman Stan Wawrinka.

Next up for Federer will be either Gael Monfils or Alexandr Dolgopolov.

Date: 15th April 2015, Source: Monte Carlo and AP

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Federer “feeling good” ahead of Monte Carlo Rolex Masters

Last October, Roger Federer ticked the Shanghai Rolex Masters off his ATP World Tour Masters 1000 checklist. With seven of the nine prestigious events conquered, the World No. 2 hopes it will be 12th time lucky as he descends on the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters in search of his first crown.

A four-time finalist in the Principality, Federer was denied by an in-form Stan Wawrinka in last year’s title match. The Swiss admits that coming up just short of the crown hurt, but he is putting the experience into perspective.

"I was close,” said Federer. “I don't remember if I was two points or three points or four points away. I felt like I had some chances, but I remember Stan getting better. It's something I thought about a whole lot. I was very happy for Stan.

"I like that I played very well throughout the tournament, so I look back more on how good I actually played and the final was a good one. I got quite tired in the third set and also had a horrible cold. I was not feeling like my absolute best, but still I was able to play well. Stan deserved the win because I couldn't cross the finish line in the second set when I had to.

"I know how to put it in perspective. I know what a big win it was for Stan and what a good tournament it was for me. There are reasons to be happy to be honest."

The 23-time ATP World Tour Masters 1000 champion is physically and mentally ready to attack the European clay-court season, after capturing a seventh Dubai title and finishing runner-up to Novak Djokovic at the BNP Paribas Open for a second straight year. Federer says he is recharged after taking three weeks off following Indian Wells.

"I'm feeling good about my game and my fitness,” he added. “It's been good to work on that for the last few weeks. I came here early on Thursday to practise on Centre Court, which is something I haven't always had the chance to do. Clearly I feel I've done all the right things to prepare for the clay court season now.

"For fitness and rest, I had to do it more in blocks (compared to last year). That's why I'm happy I got a vacation behind me. For fitness, I will do another block after Monaco when I come back to Switzerland and I might do some more after Madrid. That's the plan and it will work well for Roland Garros and Wimbledon and beyond."

Federer opens against either Jeremy Chardy or Diego Schwartzman. The Swiss knows both potential opponents well, having fallen to Chardy on the clay of Rome last year and having defeated Schwartzman just last month in Indian Wells.

“This is always the first tournament after seven or so months on hard courts. So far, so good. The draws are always tough in these Masters 1000s. I either play Chardy who was playing in Houston or a qualifier who has won two matches here. I'll follow that closely before I get ready for my first round."

Date: 13th April 2015, Source: ATP

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