Roger Federer as soon as candidly expressed his frustration at his incapacity to lick his wounds in non-public following a loss to arch-rival Rafael Nadal on the Australian Open.
Federer had a primary alternative to equal Pete Sampras’ longstanding file of 14 Grand Slam titles on the 2009 Australian Open, squaring off towards Nadal within the last. The Swiss had already secured three titles on the Melbourne Slam, whereas the Spaniard had not but tasted glory on the Main.
After an intense four-hour and nine-minute lengthy battle, it was Nadal who in the end achieved a historic milestone in his profession by clinching his maiden Australian Open title, defeating the Swiss 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-3.
In his post-match press convention, a dismayed Federer revealed that though the defeat wasn’t tougher to take as a result of he had didn’t safe his historic 14th Main title, it was tough to manage as soon as the overwhelming feelings of shock, disappointment and disappointment hit.
He emphasised the problem of being required to remain on the courtroom and undergo the motions reasonably than retreating to the locker room to take care of the loss in non-public.
“Not really. I mean, honestly, no. I mean, it’s more like, you know, in the first moment you’re disappointed, you’re shocked, you’re sad, you know, then all of a sudden it overwhelms you,” he stated.
“The problem is you can’t go in the locker room and just take it easy and take a cold shower. You can’t. You know, you’re stuck out there. It’s the worst feeling, you know. So, I don’t know, it’s rough,” he added.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have met on the Australian Open on 4 events
Over the course of their storied rivalry, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal locked horns in 40 tour-level encounters, with the Spaniard having fun with a 24-16 lead of their head-to-head file.
Nadal additionally secured a dominant 10-4 profitable file of their matches at Grand Slam tournaments. 4 of their 14 conferences on the Majors happened on the Australian Open.
The Spaniard triumphed of their first-ever encounter on the Melbourne Slam, defeating Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-3 within the 2009 last. Subsequently, he claimed a hard-fought 6-7(5), 6-2, 7-6(5), 6-4 victory within the semifinals of the 2012 version of the occasion. The Mallorcan continued his profitable streak towards the Swiss legend within the 2014 semifinals, reserving a spot within the last with a 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-3 win.
Federer, in the meantime, emerged victorious towards the Spaniard within the 2017 Australian Open last, profitable 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to clinch the fifth of his six titles on the prestigious occasion.
