Roger Federer beat big-serving Robin Soderling in three tight sets today: 6-4, 7-6, 7-6. It was good practice for his quarterfinal against Ivo “Ace Machine” Karlovic, who beat Fernando Verdasco today in four.
Federer chatted with the BBC after the match. Roger says he’s happy that his pregnant wife is not being a pain in the ass right now:
Yep, somehow Roger made that sound sweet instead of douchey! Good luck in the quarters, Rog!
Tags: Federer, Federer baby, Mirka Vavrinec, Soderling, tennis, Video of the Day, Wimbledon
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You know, I think that Roger speaks English just well enough for native speakers to think he knows exactly what he’s saying, but not quite well enough for him to say exactly what he really means (at least not all of the time). I often have the impression that some of the things he says are direct translations from French (I’m not fluent in French but conversant and I understand it very well). I think that would explain some of his faux pas.
For sure, his remarks at the French Open giving Agassi best wishes for his personal life didn’t come out quite right. Not wrong, but no native speaker would have said it quite like that. And you know he doesn’t mean to refer to Mirka as a non-pain:-) But we know what he means. His French is beautiful though.
I’ve wondered the same – methinks it’s hard enough to come up with answers on the fly, period, let alone in one’s third or fourth language, so I find myself feeling queasy when a player’s post-match utterance is pounced upon as representative of their entire personality all the time (a tactice I’ve noticed some Fed-haters resorting to).
Alista — I agree with you. Usually at least once per interview he says something that rings “off.” Not wrong, exactly, but it makes you ask the question: Did he mean exactly what he said?
I actually think in this case, Fed is comparing Mirka to a caricature he has of a pregnant woman. But hey, I’m just glad she’s feeling so well. She looked great today also!
About the schedule for us in Los Angeles — SHOCKING!!!! I had to watch Rogers match against Soderling on a grainy on-line video. NBC is the worst — their choices are idiotic — ESPN2 always continues something going on LIVE Why does NBC even get involved during the week? Can you suggest somewhere to complain? I’m worried I’ll miss some of the quarterfinals– they can always do reruns and they’re really messing up for no good reason that I get. HELP!!
Hi Amanda! I know, I know – it’s awful. I sometimes feel like the networks exist just to torture tennis fans, not to actually show them tennis. I have yet to find a good way to really get heard. But at NBC you can email:
DICK EBERSOL, CHAIRMAN OF NBC SPORTS (and dad to Maria Sharapova’s boyfriend): Dick.Ebersol@nbcuni.com
NBC SPORTS: nbcsportshelp@nbcuni.com
There’s also Wimbledon, itself, which I believe sells the broadcast rights to the tournament and could have some sway over how the networks broadcast (or give the rights only to those that promise to show the tournament live.) Obviously that’s a long shot, as NBC pays millions of dollars and has been a fixture at the tournament for some time.
Ultimately we need to figure out a way to get organized and heard. The killer thing is that if more people watched tennis on t.v. in the States, we’d get more respect. But how can casual fans get into a sport that shows its biggest event on tape delay? Catch 22.
Thanks for commenting, Amanda! And I feel your pain.
I agree with Alista too. When he said he wish Andre Agassi all the best in his personal life in his post French open final speech it felt wierd and obstrusive. He means well of course I guess Swiss German or French make different sense when it comes to some terms.
Roger is very interesting to try to interpret because 1. he does think a little differently 2. he tends to cover his opinions in diplomatic language 3. he has a lot of verbal tics, you know? 4. there is the lost in translation issue.
That’s why reading his press conferences are so fun!
I take no offense to Roger’s comment about Mirka, but I do think it’s kind of funny – like thank God, she isn’t being a pain in the ass! Really, that’s the gist of what he’s saying. But to him it seems ridiculous because of course Mirka would never be a pain “she’s already such a wonderful person.” Very cute. I like it when Rog makes these random comments and we can see a bit into his life off court.
Yes, very cute! But really, Mirka is absolutely glowing … I really think she looks fantastic.
as a speaker of German myself I think I understand a little how these statements come out: you are trying to say what you think but you are never quite as fluent in your second language as in your mother tongue, and you end up saying something that sounds like a stereotype or offensive. second, German speakers tend to phrase their ideas in a much more direct way, anyone who has ever worked with Germans will know what I’m talking about. the way English people manage to mask the most accusing and negative statements in perfectly polite and civil sentences is quite a puzzle to us!and since very few English or Americans speak a foreign language really well it is difficult for them to understand this.
actually, I think what Roger wanted to say and stress is that Mirka is handling the pregnancy surprisingly well (most people would expect more problems with all their travelling), but that he knows they’ll need to make lots of adjustments once the baby has arrived.