Federer "Happy" As He Advances To Australian Open Second Round

AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2015

by ATP Staff

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19.01.2015

What makes Roger Federer confident? The Australian Open No. 2 seed attributes his successful play to making risky commitments.

I always try to keep a young mind because I feel my game needs that risk taking, that committed play, he said after his first-round win in Melbourne. Clearly when I'm confident, I can do it much easier.

When asked to analyse the art of risk-taking in tennis, Federer, who considers himself an extrovert, said I think the most important thing in taking risks is that you actually believe in what you're trying to do, that you're 100 per cent committed; 80 per cent commitment is not enough.

As you're running up to the ball or trying to take the ball early, if you have a little bit of doubt that it's not the right play its funny enough youll fail every single time. You just have to believe and visualise beforehand what's going to happen. You see the play happening in your mind just before you hit it, and then you have the best chance of making it work.

Federer seed was solid in opening match, defeating Yen-Hsun Lu 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 on Rod Laver Arena Monday night. Fresh off a milestone victory in Brisbane and now in Melbourne, the Swiss said he is happy with the way hes been playing.

Winning the first round, it's always a bit of a relief, said Federer, who has never lost in the first round of the Australian Open. I thought I played good.

Looking to win his fifth crown in Melbourne, the 33 year old said he felt comfortable with his start, but acknowledged the fight from his 31-year-old opponent.

I thought I was playing very well through the first couple of sets, he said. I was holding my service games very comfortably. Until probably 5-2 in the second set was the first time he had any play on my service game. I was very happy.

I think he started to serve better in the third. It became a very interesting third set. Instead of just steamrolling through him, he really made it tough for me. I don't want to say I got lucky to not be broken early on in the third [set], but he was playing some really good tennis.

Federer, who has reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open for 11 straight years, will next face Italian Simone Bolelli in the second round. The Swiss owns their FedEx ATP Head2Head Series 3-0.

Now in his 16th Australian Open, the four-time champion (04, 06, 07, 10) is fresh off his 1,000th career match win, which coincided with his 83rd tour-level title at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp. Federer joked when asked how it felt to get to 1,001.

It was nice to get 1,001 here now tonight. We're not going to talk about this every single match now, right? Let's just keep it to this one, he said with a smile.

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Source: http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2015/01/3/Australian-Open-Monday-Federer-Reaction.aspx