Federer and Roddick to Play in Miami

Roger Federer and Andy Roddick are scheduled to play in the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open on Monday. This will be the 24th meeting between the two, with Federer leading the head to head 21–3. Below are some quotes from their press conferences in Miami on how they feel about their upcoming match.

Roddick on playing Federer: 
"I know the name value for a third round is certainly there if I play Roger. We've played a ton; there's no secrets. I know I have to execute really, really well. There's a small window of percentages where you have to be right, you know. What he does is he shrinks that window with his strengths. We have had a couple really tight ones here before at night. I'm guessing that's when it would be. I think we played here twice. I won one four in the third and lost one four in the third. It's always fun. It's always fun."

Roddick on his win over Federer in Miami '08: 
"I mean, there's no getting around the fact that it's been he's been the biggest obstacle in my career, and, you know, his game matches up well against mine. You know, just the Xs and Os of it, I have to be really good to give myself a shot against him, better than against most. So it's rewarding. When you beat a guy who's the best ever at his sport, it's a big deal. Doesn't matter where it is. So I was obviously very happy with that."

Passing Shots: Safin, Navratilova, Federer and More!

Some interesting tennis news from this week...

Steve Tignor on the importance of the OOP (Order of Play) (Tennis.com)

Federer's improved backhand the key to beating Nadal? (The Fan Child's Two Cents)

Best player quotes from Indian Wells (Beyond the Baseline)

Marat Safin getting married?!? Nooooooooooooo (Open Court)

Yes, I think it's pretty clear Federer's game is up to snuff (ESPN)

Martina Navratilova on Dancing with the Stars! (LA Times)

Federer's press conference after his win over Isner (Indian Wells)

And Isner's presser after his defeat (Indian Wells)

Interview Aces This Week

Cincinnati Masters

Q. I guess this win gets you back in the top 10 when the next world rankings come out. Is that something you pay any attention to at all?
ANDY RODDICK: (Laughing.) Um, I wish I got to talk about it as much when I am in the top 10 as opposed to when I'm not. It's only a story when I'm not.

Q. Can I ask you about a serve that you didn't make tonight, but that's obviously being talked about a lot on the Internet. Is that for real?
ROGER FEDERER: Oh, that thing? Yeah. Well, there's a lot of the debate at the moment, you know. You know how it is with magicians. They don't tell how their tricks work, you know. (Smiling.) I don't do it that much, but, yeah, it was shot in one piece and it was — the guy took a chance. (Smiling.) It worked out. I'm happy.
[later]
Q. Back to the video for a second, have you ever done anything like that before, knocked something off somebody's head?
ROGER FEDERER: Um, well, I had to do it before so I knew I could do it, otherwise it was risky for him, right? But no — what was the — what did you mean exactly?
Q. Knocking the thing off the guy's head.
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, it worked out. I've done it before.
Q. So it was definitely real?
ROGER FEDERER: Not saying that. A magician doesn't tell how his tricks work, so... (Laughter.)

Q. First game of the match you hit a dropshot winner, and he [Andy Murray] gave you a stare down. You kind of looked over like, What's going on? I noticed that. And then even at the changeover he appeared to say something. Was something going on right out of the gate with him?
MARDY FISH: No. I mean, you know, we're not in the first round of a small tournament anymore. I mean, these are the big -- it's big money here; big points here; bigtime confidence going into the US Open, you know. So it's two competitive guys. I welcome it. I like a little bit of trash talk. It's fine. I was fine with it.