What They Said: Federer, Tsitsipas, Ram/Salisbury - Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

Roger Federer wins his eighth Dubai title and his 100th title overall, Tsitsipas breaks into the top 10, Ram/Salisbury win their maiden title as a team.

Watch: Trophy Speeches by Federer, Tsitsipas

Roger Federer

Watch: Roger Federer Post-Match Interview

Listen: Federer Press Conference

Transcript: Federer Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Was this one as exciting as winning a slam, or a different kind of excitement?

ROGER FEDERER: I don’t know. It’s just always different. Hmm? I didn’t think of it too much, to be quite honest, all day. I was very calm, very composed. At the same time we’re getting ready to leave tomorrow, as well. That always puts stress on the whole situation because we’re not just packing for one person. Yeah, so I think this one has a deep satisfaction, an immediate one, because I know what it means. I like these type of numbers or records, to be quite honest. A lot of people always emphasize all the slams and all these things. I play on the ATP Tour. This is where I’ve won so many of them. Been around for so long. Yeah, I don’t rest between slams all the time, like people think I might be. But I’m not. I think this number proves that. I think that’s why this was a very exciting week for me. I didn’t come here expecting I was going to win, to be quite honest. I hadn’t played since Australia. Just happy on all fronts how my game progressed, how well I played in the finals, on top of it winning the eighth, winning the 100th. So many magical things going on. Yeah, I’m very, very happy right now.

Stefanos Tsitsipas

Listen: Tsitsipas Press Conference

Transcript: Tsitsipas Press Conference

“I really want to win my first 500 title. I’ve been trying hard, very long now. I mean, it’s a bit sad. I’m a bit sad that I didn’t manage to do it now. I’m actually pretty happy for him, as well. As I said before, I know he has worked very hard to get there. I mean, I didn’t want to give it to him. I’m happy that he had achieved what he achieved. I mean, it was completely different atmosphere today. I don’t know if it played big role in my performance, but I felt like the crowd was really cheering for him. I mean, that’s obvious. He’s a legend. But, yeah, that’s pretty much it.

Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury

Watch: Ram/Salisbury Speech

Listen: Salisbury Interview

THE MODERATOR: First question for your doubles winner, please.

Q. The first one is always the sweetest. What are your thoughts?

JOE SALISBURY: Yeah, really, really happy. We’ve had a great week. Felt like we were playing well. We had our first final together in Brisbane, felt like we didn’t quite perform as well as we could. I think today, even if we lost that match, we don’t think we could have done any more. We played really well. Absolutely delighted with it.

Q. The key of the partnership, what do you think it is between the two of you?

RAJEEV RAM: I think we complement each other really well. He’s just a super athlete on the court, covers a lot of space. I think we both served quite well. I don’t think we actually faced a breakpoint all week, which is pretty good. I think that was the key to us winning here, really is we played some big-serving teams, especially the last two rounds. We were able to hold our own, manufacture some breaks, win a couple tiebreakers. Holding serve is a big part of our identity, if you will.