Roger Federer – “Novak Was The Better Man on That Day”

World Number three, Roger Federer was an early bird at Flushing Meadows this year and he rallied with a few tennis players on the Arthur Ashe Stadium. In his pre-tournament press conference of the US Open 2019, Federer recalled about his marathon Wimbledon final against Novak Djokovic last month.

The Swiss maestro evaporated two Wimbledon championship points in the 15th game of the final set. However, Roger Federer was delighted to be part of one of the spectacular matches of tennis history.

“If I look back, I’m very happy I was part of such an entertaining match as well,” Roger Federer said. “We are in entertainment, as well. The crowd paid big money to be part of this match. I was part of the main show with Novak. We put up a great fight. Somebody had to win. Novak was the better man on that day.

The five-time champion US Open champion, Roger Federer hasn’t won the American Slam over the past 11 years now. This time his falls in the top half of the draw and that sets up his semifinal encounter with the defending champion, Novak Djokovic.

Federer is optimistic about his run on the American major courts but at the same time, he keeps his expectations low. “I’m not putting extra pressure on myself. I know it’s going to be tough. I’m not coming in as the overwhelming favorite like maybe I did back in 2006 or 2007. I’m very much aware of how I need to approach this tournament mentally,” he said.

When his arch-rival Rafael Nadal won his first hard-court Slam at Australian Open 2009 by defeating Federer in the finals, the tennis pundits began there predictions about the Swiss legend hitting the sack. However, ten years later his major match victories sum up to 353 and single-handed with his Wilson wand Federer flawed all their prophecies. 

Federer’s level of tennis is getting upgraded as he is growing older and older. The 38-year-old, played a few mentally and physically challenging matches last month and that has, in turn, uplifted his confidence for the US major.

“I’ve been playing well. Playing well in Slams recently, which has been great. I think also the win over Rafa in the semis was big for me. Also the finals, the way I played that in Wimbledon, is going to give me some extra confidence. It’s going to be a tough tournament to win, no doubt about it. I feel like I’m part of that group who can do it,” Federer mentioned.