The 2016 season has been full of ups and downs for Roger Federer. The Swiss star was on the verge of adding on to his 17 Grand Slam tally at the Australian Open but was denied once again by Novak Djokovic in the summit clash; and it has been all plummeting for him ever since.
The 34-year-old Federer – who is racing against time to get back in shape ahead of the prestigious Wimbledon Championships – suffered his third straight early exit in as many tournaments after he went down to Dominic Thiem in the semi-finals of the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart on Saturday.
Although Federer looked at his usual best en route to winning the first set 6-3, the top seed ran out of gas in the second as his Austrian adversary opened up a 5-0 lead. He, however, staged a stellar fightback to make it 5-5 before the duo consolidated their serves to force a tiebreaker.
The Swiss ace had a golden opportunity to close it out in straight sets when he had a match point at 7-6, but Thiem held his nerves to snatch three points in a row to make it one set all. He, then, rode on the momentum to close out the match by pulling off the third set 6-4.
“Any match you lose is disappointing. But to lose when you have match point means it was a close one,” Federerwas quoted as saying by ATP World Tour. “We both had our chances throughout. After coming back from 0-5 in the second, it was tough to lose the tie-break.
“It was a tough match for both of us. I could have played better at some of the bigger moments. At the same time, Thiem came up with some really good shots when he needed them. It’s just unfortunate. It’s just a matter of working hard and maybe things will go my way next time.
“I want to be in a position to talk more about my matches, rather than the way that I am training coming back from injury. I’m happy that it is in the past, and I am looking forward to the second half of the season,” concluded the Swiss, who will be defending his crown in Halle next week.
