Great result for Andy, though he went around it the long way, but he has a career high ranking now. He will need to improve his 2nd serve, before he can really progress.
Press conference in English.
Press Conference with ANDREAS SEPPI
Seppi - Kiefer 6:3, 5:7, 7:5
Q: Was there a moment where you thought, you might have let the match you nearly won slip away again?
SEPPI: Of course, when I lost the second set, many thoughts went through my mind, "... you lost the match already ...". But I fought until the end, although when I was down 3:5, I thought, let him serve, maybe the same thing will happen to him. I was able to turn the match around luckily.
Q: What happened at 5:2? It was a strange match after that.
SEPPI: I played the bad game at 5:2, where I made 2 or 3 mistakes at my returns at his second serve, which never happened before. I was much more aggressive before that and maybe I was a bit too defensive at 2:5. Then the 2 or 3 mistakes happened. And it wasn't such a bad game at 5:2. He played well. From 4:5 on he had 3 games where he felt a bit more confident, pushed himself up and played better. That was it more or less.
Q: Is this your greatest success so far?
SEPPI: I think so. A semis at the Masters is something special for sure. And then against Federer, Djokovic, and maybe Nadal if he wins now, me as the third one. That's something special for sure.
Q: But this is not your first time at Rothenbaum?
SEPPI: No, I played the quarterfinals here in 2005, when I lost against Gasquet. The tournament suits me well. I love the courts because they are a little bit heavier as normal clay courts. The balls are faster. The conditions work very well for me.
Q: How was it out there, as the audience was so much behind Kiefer?
SEPPI: Yes, I knew that before. I love it when the audience is the enemy as well. I don't have that much of a problem with that, neither at the Davis Cup. I don't mind too much. It was a great atmosphere.
Q: Do you have the impression that you turned it around at the end or did Kiefer lose his strength and his concentration?
SEPPI: I think I played a very good game at 3:5, a bit more aggressively as a before, and I think he was a bit nervous at 4:5 as well. He made three forehand mistakes. I knew I would maybe return well for 2,3 times and then would stand a chance again. I think the last two games were very balanced. Each of us could have won.
Q: So maybe the situation at the end was more in your favour because you didn't feel any pressure anymore?
SEPPI: Not pressure, I wouldn't say pressure. Even if you are behind 3:5 in the third set and manage to come back to 5 all, the pressure is always there. But I have to say I felt less pressure at 5 all than at 6:3, 5:2 in the second set. Maybe that was the deciding thing for me.
Q: Now you played for 3 hours 13 minutes against Kiefer and tomorrow you have to play against Federer who was able to relax quite a bit. What do you expect there?
SEPPI: I have to see how it will go tomorrow. Until now I feel okay. Maybe I feel some pain tomorrow after such a long match. I have nothing to lose tomorrow: I will try to play aggressively and play my tennis. I played him once in Monte Carlo, lost 7:6, 7:6 on clay. We'll see how it will go tomorrow.