Federer has extra incentive to succeed
DUBAI, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Top seed Roger Federer has an extra incentive to
succeed at the Dubai tennis championships, after leaving last year under a cloud
of controversy.
The Swiss, who beat Georgia's Irakli Labadze 6-3 6-3 on Wednesday to advance to
the second round of the $1,000,000 event, was criticised by the tournament direc
tor last year for a lack of effort as he lost to Germany's Rainer Schuettler and
his prize money and appearance fee were both withheld.
After an investigation by the ATP, in which television commentary of the match
was used as evidence, Federer's prize money was paid and it was agreed that he
would receive the appearance fee only if he returned this year.
But Federer, who has made a fine start to the year with a title in Marseille and
a semi-final finish in Rotterdam, insists he is back in Dubai to protect his
reputation, not for the money. He also, while defending himself, admitted that
he had given up the match in question.
"The ATP reviewed the match and didn't believe I wasn't giving my best," said
Federer. "The only thing I can say is that I was really tired and jet-lagged,
and at 4-1 in the second I really thought I had no more chance of winning. It's
not that I just gave him the match, but it was very difficult for me.
"For me it was quite a surprise that he (the tournament director) attacked me.
Now I'm back to try to do better, because I'm not happy that he talked badly
about me. I believe I'm the last guy who is not giving his best, so I'm back to
prove him wrong.
"For me it's important that I stay professional and give my best so people don't
come up with comments like last year. It's not because of the money I'm here.
It's because I want to do better than I did last year."
With a new tournament director to impress, Federer was rarely streched by an
erratic opponent whose style was hit and mostly miss. His big forehand was
always dangerous, but he made far too many errors to pose a problem.
"It was still a tough match," said Federer. "I had to really watch out because I
knew he was dangerous and he takes a lot of risks on his shots. The only thing
I could do was make sure I had a high first serve percentage, scramble a lot of
balls back and make him play and not give him short high balls. That's why I use
d slice a lot today."
--
我因為你而變得更好...
因為我已全然了解你並愛著你的靈魂 ~高更
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.csie.ntu.edu.tw)
◆ From: 61.217.131.105