Roger Federer has revealed the one match that he would like to play again, but it is not the one that most tennis fans expect, as he insisted his 2019 Wimbledon defeat to Novak Djokovic did not leave him devastated.
Looking to win a record-extending ninth Wimbledon trophy and take his Grand Slam tally to 21, Federer defeated his great rival Rafael Nadal in the semi-final to set up a match against Djokovic.
The pair produced the longest Wimbledon final as they slugged it out for four hours and 57 minutes with the match going to a fifth set and a final set tie-breaker to decide the outcome. Federer found himself with two match points at 8-7 in the fifth set, but Djokovic saved both and broke back before winning 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 13-12 (7-3).
The outcome left Federer fans devastated and it also turned out to be his last Grand Slam final, but in an interview with Tagesanzeiger.ch’s Simon Graf, the tennis legend said he moved on quickly from that defeat.
“Funnily enough, that one didn’t bother me for long. No idea why. Maybe it was because of the children. Maybe because I’d beaten Rafa in the semi-final,” he explained.
“But I felt like: It was over, I’d played a great tournament, shame I lost, and on we go. I analysed it very matter-of-factly for myself. In the following days I had the occasional flashback. But never again after that.
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When told that the match was traumatic for many of his fans, the former world No 1 replied: “Not for me. I said to myself: From now on it’s just a good memory.
“The last thing I wanted was to drive myself crazy over it. I didn’t deserve that, because I really had played well.
“I still remember coming back home after the final and the children rushing toward me. I said: ‘Hey, I just need five minutes.’ I had to let off steam briefly and lie on the bed. Then I went down to the living room. There were 30 people there, and we had a good evening together.”
Instead, the match that resulted in a lot of flashbacks was his defeat to Juan Martin del Potro in the final of the US Open in 2009.
After winning five consecutive titles at Flushing Meadows from 2004 to 2008, Federer was looking to become the first player to win six in a row at the US Open in the Open Era and he breezed into the final as he dropped only two sets.
But then he came up against the powerful Del Potro and the Argentine stunned him 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 to win his only Grand Slam trophy.
“I should have won that one,” Federer said. “Back then I had back pain in the warm-up and then missed so many chances. That was one of the matches I shouldn’t have lost. It also broke my streak at the US Open.”
The post Why Roger Federer moved on quickly from THAT Wimbledon final defeat, but not 2009 US Open final appeared first on Tennis365.
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