Roger Federer seems to be affected by his age, says former top 15 player
The former world No. 12 Paolo Bertolucci believes that the US Open fourth round loss to John Millman in September this year was the worst of the year for the Swiss player. Bertolucci still cannot believe at it. 'I do not remember such a bad Federer', Bertolucci admitted. 'He suddenly seemed to be affected by the 37 years of ages, he did not have certainties anymore. But amazing players often come back.'
The former tennis player Nicola Pietrangeli added: 'There were already some signs of decline from Roger, but I want to believe that with Millman it was just an accident.'
Pietrangeli also admitted he has some regrets looking back at his tennis career: 'Of course I regret not having won two or three more tournaments, not having behaved a little bit more seriously. It's difficult to explain: now they play for million dollars, I was playing for American sweets.'
What was Pietrangeli's best match? 'The best match was to have defeated cancer. Only ten years after, they told me that I had understood how close I was to the degree.'
Commenting on how Federer's six-month break enjoyed in 2016 with his family helped his longevity, Pietrangeli added: 'It can be, but until a certain point, then you need to always recover your own best qualities to come back firing on the court. Federer chose to stop to take care of himself at the best and it can have allowed him to get a better recovery.'
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from Tennis World USA https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Roger_Federer/63807/roger-federer-seems-to-be-affected-by-his-age-says-former-top-15-player/
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