It was 1:50 a.m. Wednesday, and Roger Federer was in the Sony Ericsson Open interview room, recapping the latest he has played in his career. First in English. Then in German. Then French. The consummate professional, he accommodates the press, even at such unusually early hours.

His fourth-round match against Olivier Rochus began at 12:35 a.m. because of rain delays and an unusually long women’s match between Maria Sharapova and Alexandra Dulgheru.

Federer took 52 minutes to knock off Rochus 6-3, 6-1, so it was just before 1:30 a.m. when he walked off the court. Much to his surprise, there still were 4,000 to 5,000 fans in the stands. And while he did his interviews, there were 25 or so fans waiting with posters and giant tennis balls for him to sign outside the players’ gate.

“It was nice to see fans actually stuck around,” Federer said. “It’s a big thank you to them because I really expected them to leave after the first set or just not be around at all anymore when we came out. It was just really nice to see.”

He said the only comparable match as far as lateness was a best-of-5 U.S. Open match against Max Mirnyi that started at 11:30 p.m. on an outside court. “I’ve gone for sure on some really late ones,” Federer said. “But this one could be the latest one for sure.”

Tee Time?

Mardy Fish loves golf almost as much as tennis. Over the years, he became good friends with Sergio Garcia, who has been in Fish’s box for his matches this week, and will be there again Friday for Fish’s semifinal against Novak Djokovic. Garcia also hit with Sam Querrey earlier in the week.

“He’s a huge tennis fan,” Fish said of Garcia. “He has a good game on his own. He’s probably the best golfing tennis player. Put golf and tennis together, I think I got him, though. And you can tell him I said that.”

Special bracelet

Andrea Petkovic wears several bracelets on her arms and was asked if they have any special meaning. She pointed to only one and smiled.

“This was the hair tie when I played the worst tennis of my life,” she said. “Every time when I get frustrated with myself, I look at it and say, ‘OK, it has been much worse.’ That’s good motivation sometimes.”

Love-Love

Maria Sharapova, who is engaged to New Jersey Nets guard Sasha Vujacic, said being in a relationship with a professional athlete can be beneficial because they understand each other.

“It obviously helps that he’s an athlete and understands the perspective and the mind-set going into matches and being an athlete,” she said. “It’s quite different from many other things in life and careers. We have that between us. We’re in different sports, but we understand each other.”

Paparazzi alert

Among the celebrities who had tickets for Thursday’s matches were Reggie Bush, Cheyenne, Gabriella Sabatini and Scottie Pippen.