Roger Federer: 'I was not outplayed. I had my chances'
Roger Federer lost to Dominic Thiem 7-5 7-5 at the ATP Finals in London. Talking to reporters, the Basel native said: "I thought he played well. Yeah, I mean, the start definitely didn't help. That put me, you know, on the back foot a little bit. But I recovered well, and I thought after that the match was actually pretty even for a long period of time. Had my chances, I felt, you know. Didn't feel like I was outplayed or anything. Just maybe that first-round hiccups a little bit, not hitting your spots on the serve when you need to, getting into trouble early in the service games which maybe doesn't happen later on in the tournament. I thought also Dominic saved himself real well when he had to, so I thought he played a tough first-round performance today, and my game was probably just not good enough, and the start didn't help."
Federer was also asked how it must feel like for his opponents to play with the whole crowd cheering on him: "I don't think it's that incredibly difficult for the opponents. I don't think that the fans are unfair or anything. I mean, I think my opponents are pretty happy when they play against me, as well, because usually it's on a big court and they make a good atmosphere, and that's what we play for. From that standpoint, I thought the atmosphere was great. Tonight I wish I could have given them a bit more something to celebrate, but I felt like the fans were waiting and they were ready to go, but never quite took off, you know, and never could really quite take the lead. Maybe getting that break in the second set would have done exactly that, but I thought -- you know, it's a wonderful event here. I'm happy I have played here so many times so I could enjoy the crowds here, and I'm looking forward to the next two."
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2KbCJt0
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