The wounds may still be fresh from his narrow loss in the final of the BNP Paribas Open, but Roger Federer is determined to get back to business in Miami.
On Sunday the world No.1 was edged out in three sets by Juan Martin del Potro, who claimed his maiden Masters title at the age of 29. The outcome ended Federer’s perfect start to the year which saw him win 17 consecutive matches. His best ever start to a season. It was a highly animated clash between the two players with both of them expressing their frustrations to the umpire. Although Federer has since played down the occasion.
“I wasn’t complaining about a lot of things. We just had some arguments with the umpire. Maybe that’s a bit more than usual, but at the end of the day it was a tennis match. And I enjoyed it.” He told reporters on Thursday.
“The handshake (with Del Potro) was a good one, you know, so I’m happy about how I played and how I felt afterwards. Didn’t take me a whole lot of time to get over it, to be honest, because I felt like it could have gone either way.
“Unfortunately I wasn’t on the winner’s side because maybe I have had enough luck throughout the last 14 months on my side of the court, so it’s okay to lose some.”
While a loss is never desired, Federer has some consolation that it was against Del Potro. A player who has undergone four wrist surgeries and contemplated retiring from the sport before staging a comeback in 2016. The Argentine is now ranked sixth in the world, which is his highest ranking since for four years. Should he rise an additional three places, he will achieve a career high. The resurgence of the former US Open champion is one that has drawn praise from Federer.
“What I respect a lot from Juan Martin is when he did come back two years ago when I was supposed to play him here, and I eventually had to pull out because I was sick. He put himself out there, knowing very well he was not going to win tournaments.” The 20-time grand slam champion reflected.
“He knew he was just going to try to play again with a slice and see where it takes him, and that takes some guts, to be honest.”
What keeps him going
At the age of 36, the Swiss player has no intentions of retiring yet. He currently tops the Emirates ranked with a lead of 290 points. At the Miami Masters he is required to reach at least the quarter-finals in order to avoid losing his place to Rafael Nadal.
Despite being the only ATP player in history to spend over 300 weeks as world No.1, Federer still insists that it is a key factor that motivates him to continue playing. Prior to this year, he last held the top spot back in 2012.
“Winning tournaments, I guess trying to stay world No. 1, trying to get to world No. 1 at this point because I’m so close, everything is so tight.” He explained about what drives him.
Federer is bidding to win his 98th title at the Miami Open this year. He has already won the event on three previous occasions, including last year.
