Federer not disheartened, will make a winning comeback soon – Tennis Special
In an epic clash between two former world number one stars, Roger Federer was outclassed by the Spanish number one, Rafael Nadal, in a four set mouth-watering match at the Australian Open 2012 on Thursday. Regardless of his 18th loss against the
Spaniard, Federer was not disheartened and diverts his attention to what he achieved in his career.
In the block buster final four duel between Federer and Nadal, who were facing each other for the 27th time, the Swiss displayed extraordinary skills but was eventually ousted in a three hours and 42 minutes long marathon.
"I was slightly disappointed, obviously, leaving centre court, because I felt like my game was good and I could have done something in the final potentially. But I don't have to worry about that now anymore. It's fine. I feel okay now. It's in the past already,"
the Swiss ace said after the battle.
Federer flashed his old self after entering the Rod Laver Arena and quickly swiped in the opening three games in a row. Despite losing his edge later in the set, he dominated in the tie-breaker and bagged the opener with a 7-6(5) win in almost an hour.
The 30-year-old carried his momentum in the second set and earned the desiderated break in the opening game. However, he lost his track afterwards and subsequently suffered a 2-6 defeat.
The Swiss veteran sought another chance of making a comeback in the third set and went 4-3 up with a break of serve. However, he lost his serve in the very next game and dragged the set to a tie-breaker. Federer was outmuscled in it and consequently suffered
a 6-7(5) defeat.
In the last set, Swiss number one squandered a break chance in the eighth game which cost the match. He lost his serve in the following game and eventually sealed the set with a 4-6 loss.
Overall, the world number three, Federer, registered an impressive 57 out of 86 points on his first serve share and smashed 46 winners. However, he committed 63 unforced errors and several double faults, ultimately exiting the Melbourne Park with disappointment.
"Don't feel too sorry for me. You look at that I haven't lost in five months or something - it's not that bad. Obviously I would have loved to have come through and gotten a crack, a chance, at winning the title here again,” Federer stated.
After his loss on Thursday, the Swiss trails 9-18 in the FedEx ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Head2Head series against the second seed, Nadal. He is also 2-8 in Grand Slam championships matches against the left-handed Spaniard but this doesn’t
bother him. It was his ninth straight semi-final at this Grand Slam event in his 12th appearance. Federer was bidding to become the second man to grab five titles here as he previously triumphed in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2010. He was also eying to
win his 500th tour level hard court match but after this defeat, he dropped to a 63-9 record at the Melbourne Grand Slam.
Regardless of the Swiss’ dreams being crushed again, he is happy for what he achieved in his life. He shelved a total of 70 ATP career titles including 16 Grand Slam trophies. It’s true, if Nadal doesn’t exist, Federer could’ve achieved a lot more. However,
he still has accomplished everything and will grab more titles.
In their last meeting at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, the third seeded Swiss crushed Nadal with a bagel. He displayed his top notch performance in London and advanced to clinch the title. The Swiss is expected to make a comeback and conquer Nadal
once more in the next tournament they play together. Federer will next play at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament taking place in the third week of February in Rotterdam. He is not only eying to avenge his defeat but also to reclaim his top rank at the South
African Airways ATP World Rankings.
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