Roger Federer Misses a Gold Medal Now, But There Is Rio de Janeiro Coming

Written by: Staff on 6th August 2012

Roger Federer Misses a Gold Medal Now, But There Is Rio de Janeiro Coming

epa03337446 Roger Federer of Switzerland reacts during his men's semi final match against Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina during the London 2012 Olympic Games Tennis competition in Wimbledon, Greater London, Britain, 03 August 2012. EPA/ANDY RAIN |

Roger Federer has long stressed that the one notable thing missing from his resume after a singles career that has achieved almost everything else, is an Olympic gold medal. But the world no.1 was brimful of praise for Andy Murray after being forced to accept silver.

“Andy was much better than I was in many aspects of the game,” admitted Federer who beat Murray to win his seventh Wimbledon title on the very same Centre Court at the All England Club exactly four weeks earlier.

But Federer has not discounted the possibility of him taking another shot at singles gold at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, even though he will be closing in on his 35th birthday at the time. “The Games don’t come around every year so obviously there is a different feel to it,” he said. “Every Olympics has been a life changer for me; in Sydney, Athens and Beijing. Good or bad I took away a lot of positives from the Olympic spirit. I said before the tournament, it’s not impossible I could take part in Rio. Right now it’s not front or center of my mind but of course I’d love an Olympic gold in singles.”

Federer will try to console himself with the gold he won at doubles four years ago in Beijing alongside Stanislas Wawrinka but said: “Don’t feel too bad for me. I won Wimbledon and I became the world no.1 again. I felt like I won my silver, I didn’t lose it. So I feel really happy.”

The Swiss has had moments of controversy with Murray in the past. At Dubai in 2008 he criticized the Scot for being rather one-dimensional in his game style saying: “He’s going to have to grind very hard for the next few years if he keeps playing this way.” And there was the infamous pre-final assertion before the pair met in the 2010 Australian Open final when the Swiss put more pressure on his opponent by saying: “I know he’d like to win the first Grand Slam title for British tennis in, what is it, 150,000 years.”

But Federer took a different approach after the 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 Olympic final defeat. “It was obvious Andy was going to become a better player over the years. Obviously he’s learned how to play more aggressively . He’s more consistent. All these things are minor tweaks but they make a big difference at the highest of levels.

“I was happy for him, that he was able to bring such a performance and bring home gold for Great Britain. It’s a long time coming for him and he did great.

“I’ve always said he can absorb pace incredibly well. He has great balance and anticipation. Now he is a big threat at the U.S. Open but let’s not forget Novak and Rafa are as well. I’m sure it’s going to be an interesting U.S. Open.”

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: All England Club, Andy Murray, Federer, Olympic tennis news, Rio de Janeiro tennis open, Roger Federer, Sports, Tennis News