NEW YORK — Roger Federer is not a fan of ESPN’s in-match interviews at the US Open.
To be fair, ESPN has only done one so far, when Pam Shriver interviewed Coco Vandeweghe for a 35-second Q&A in between sets of her first-round match against Sloane Stephens on Monday.
A player must agree to the interview before the match and can wave off the interviewer if they choose.
“I understand the idea, but what’s too much? What’s enough?” Federer said Tuesday after crushing Leonardo Mayer, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2, to advance to the second round of the Open. “All these things. I understand pushing the boundaries and being more accessible.
“I haven’t done it in 17 years, so why start now? At the same time, you might think, Who cares, you know? Honestly I think I’m pretty relaxed when I’m sitting there at the change of ends.
“But you don’t want it to impact your game and you don’t want to look back and think, What a stupid move that was in hindsight, you know. Then you’re frustrated about it. So I don’t know. I understand the request, but I’m not sure if many players are actually doing it.”
According to a report, this was a joint ESPN/USTA initiative and ESPN didn’t go through the ATP, which Federer wasn’t pleased about.
“What I heard is they didn’t really go through the ATP, which would be the normal thing to do,” he said. “I think they went straight to the players. That’s not the way to go.”
