WIMBLEDON: Roger Federer has stated that he is ‘happy’ with his performance after narrowly missing out on the Wimbledon title to Novak Djokovic.
The 20-time grand slam champion had two chances to claim his ninth title at The All England Club but was denied by the world No.1. Who prevailed in the fifth set tiebreaker after more than five hours of play. The loss continues Federer’s grand slam title drought to 18 months. However, he has already won more titles in the majors than anybody else in the history of men’s tennis.
“I know what I did well, how close I was. I think I can be happy with my performance.” Said Federer, who won 14 more points than Djokovic in the final.
“If I could have picked it before the match to be at 9-all in the fifth, that wouldn’t be a terrible thing. You just always try to push yourself to see things on the better side.” He added.
“It was definitely tough to have those chances.”
Sunday was the 12th time where the world No.3 played in the final at Wimbledon. A record for the grass-court grand slam. His loss was by far the closest he has come to the trophy without winning. Leaving Federer with mixed feelings.
“I don’t know if losing 2-2-2 feels better than this one.” He explained. “At the end, it actually doesn’t matter to some extent. You might feel more disappointed, sad, over-angry. I don’t know what I feel right now. I just feel like it’s such an incredible opportunity missed, I can’t believe it.”
It could be argued that the outcome of the final might have been different if the format of the match wasn’t changed this year. 2019 is the first year where a tiebreaker has been used when the score is level at 12-12 in the decider. Something Federer has played down the significance of.
“Take it on your chin, you move on. You try to forget, try to take the good things out of this match. There’s just tons of it.”
There are also positives to be taken away from Wimbledon for the tour veteran, who has experienced a more packed schedule than recent years after opting to play on the clay. The first time he has done so since 2016. However, there is always something that has to give. For Federer, he will miss the Rogers Cup in Canada.
“I’m happy I played as good and I felt as good as I did throughout The Championships and also Halle right now, and also now sitting here (in Wimbledon). There’s a lot of positives to take away from the journey I’ve been for the last few months.” He reflected.
“We had decided in the team I was going to skip Montreal anyway already a week ago, just give myself enough time.’
“I’m just going to take enough time off what I can and prepare for Cincinnati and get going from then on again.”
It is the fourth consecutive time the world No.3 has lost to Djokovic and the third within the past 12 months. Meaning that he now trails their head-to-head 22-26.
Federer’s stats in the Wimbledon final
-Aces 25
-First serves won 79%
-Second serves won 51%
-Winners 94
-Unforced errors 62
-Serve and volley points won 13/15
-Total net points won 51/65
-Baseline points won 88/220
