Roger Federer enjoyed playing Nadal in his last match of the season
The 29-year-old Roger Federer started the season with an Australian Open tournament and concluded with a win over his arch rival Rafael Nadal for the trophy at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London.
In spite of the fact that the Swiss tennis maestro captured no Grand Slam titles in between, Roger considers the 2010 year to have been another great season.
While talking to the media on Monday, the sixteen time Grand Slam champion, Roger Federer said that every time people had written him off, he bounced back well on time.
The right hander, who made his debut on the ATP World Tour back in 2002, acknowledged that Rafa was supreme in 2010, picking up three major crowns and regaining the number one spot in the rankings.
Federer, however, also noted that he was pleased to overcome a midseason dip – final eight departures at the French Open as well as the grass court Grand Slam tournament and ended on a high note. As a result of his quarterfinal finish at Roland Garros and
Wimbledon, the Swiss Superstar also snapped his 23 Grand Slam semi final appearances in a row.
Then again, the Basel native chuckled at the notion that he simply played well at very beginning and very end of the season.
“It almost makes it feel or sound like I played horrible through the summer or I did not play at all. That is not the way it was. I grinded it out. I played and I played and I played, and I tried, and I had some really good matches. And then I did have some
tough losses, and some guys played better than me, and the next thing you know, half the season is gone. But I really felt like I had some amazing weeks. It is special to have the last match of the year against Nadal, because maybe you can enjoy it more instead
of simply running to the next competition and playing another match,” declared Federer.
The setbacks at the second and third Grand Slam tournaments also brought back the kind of whispers he had heard before when the Swiss went through short periods of suddenly not winning everything in sight.
The Fed Express, however, does not let that bother him, “I am not angry. As an athlete, you should be open to criticism, and you are allowed to be criticised, as not everybody has the same opinion, not everybody likes the same players. The rankings are quite
volatile - today you are great, tomorrow you are not but then you are great again. It makes for great stories. Now, I always look at the long-term and by doing that, obviously, I can stay calm through the storm. And I think that is what I have been able to
do so many times,” explained Roger, who slipped to number three in the rankings after Wimbledon, however, will now end the season at number two.
Federer went 5-0 and took ten of the eleven sets he played at the year-ending competition in London, capping it with a three-setter victory over Nadal on Sunday. The final match score was 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
He will take few days off and then start practicing again for 2011 in mid-December. The Swiss tennis maestro will begin the 2011 Grand Slam year in January as the defending champion in Melbourne.
However, during his time off, the professional tennis ace from Switzerland will not pick up a racket, as he while talking to the reporters, said that during holidays he does not hit.
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