'Half-broken': Roger Federer's devastating admission about Wimbledon final
Roger Federer says he was ‘half-broken’ after his loss to Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final, but got over it on a caravan holiday with his family.
The Swiss legend served for the Wimbledon title deep in the fifth set against Djokovic, but couldn’t convert two championship points as he missed out on claiming his 21st grand slam crown.
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Ahead of his return at the Cincinnati Masters on Tuesday, Federer has opened up about how the heartbreaking near-miss affected him.
“I was half-broken from Wimbledon,” Federer said.
However a trip around his native Switzerland in a caravan took his mind off the loss.
“I slept in a caravan the day after my Wimbledon final,” he said.
“It was a tough first few steps down the ladder from the bed. And it was a bad night’s sleep. But the kids wanted to do it so, so badly so we went.
“We enjoyed being home in Switzerland. We went to do hikes and sort of walked around and barbecued, so we had the best time.”
Federer and Djokovic back in action
The Wimbledon finalists will make late-summer hardcourt starts in Cincinnati on Tuesday.
Federer, who turned 38 last week, will need to lift his game immediately as he prepares for the US Open.
Federer has claimed the Cincinnati trophy seven times, most recently in 2015.
The icon with 20 grand slam singles titles has been holding off Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who continue to close in on his record with 16 and 18 titles respectively.
Fans were initially frothing over the prospect of seeing Federer, Djokovic, Nadal and Andy Murray all back in action at the same tournament for the first time since the Australian Open.
However Nadal was a late withdrawal, keen to rest after winning the Rogers Cup in Montreal.
Murray made his long-awaited singles return on Monday, but fell 6-4, 6-4 to Richard Gasquet.
He had been hoping to enter the upcoming US Open singles, but opted out of accepting a wildcard.
with agencies