Roger Federer Loses In Madrid And Drops To Three Ranking

Written by: Staff on 10th May 2013

Roger Federer Loses In Madrid And Drops To Three Ranking |

Italy’s leading sports newspaper Gazzetta Dello Sport ran a banner headline this morning after Roger Federer was thrust out of the Mutua Madrid Open after losing to Japan’s Kei Nishikori: “Federer does hara-kiri”

Things weren’t quite as terminal as that but Federer’s defeat against Kei Nishikori didn’t just prematurely end his title defense at the Madrid Masters 1000 series event, it also effectively relegated him back to third place in the world rankings and provided further evidence for those ready to write off the great Swiss and reigning Wimbledon champion as a spent force.

However Federer remains set in his plans on playing an avowed reduced schedule to ensure he is fit and most likely to produce his best at the four Grand Slam events and Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the end of the 2013 calendar.

Federer appeared a very downcast figure as he trudged off Madrid’s Caja Magica Manolo Santana court following the 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 defeat to 16th ranked Nishikori. It was only the former world.no.1’s second match since losing in the BNP Paribas Open quarter final to Rafael Nadal at Indian Wells eight weeks earlier and his lack of match practice was clearly evident. And he was fulsome in his praise for Nishikori who is now mounting a concerted campaign for a top ten place: “Credit to Kei,” said Federer.

“He got it done and was more solid in the wind. He played better than I did, so the better guy won today, that’s for sure.”

There were no excuses and Federer clearly appreciated he had paid the price for his scheduling. “I’m going to go back to the practice court, train hard, and make sure I don’t have these kinds of days anymore,” he insisted after playing a match in the most difficult conditions with gusting winds blowing across the Spanish capital.

“I was lacking control from the baseline, and that pretty much carried through from start to finish. I’m pretty disappointed with my play. I’m not sure how well Kei thought he played. I didn’t think he had to play his very best either, which is even more disappointing.”

Federer had lead coach Paul Annacone in his entourage and will now immediately move on to Rome where he will contest next week’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia where he has never won the title with an eight year domination by Nadal and Novak Djokovic stretching back to Carlos Moya’s win in 2004.

“At least I’ll come out with some ideas of what I need to work on,” said the 31-year-old Federer, who was playing on clay for the first time since scoring two wins in last September’s Davis Cup tie against the Dutch in Amsterdam.

“Clearly the ball flies here and it’s faster, so that makes it sometimes trickier to find your rhythm. We’re so accustomed to always finding that rhythm eventually, so it’s even more disappointing if you never really find it, which was the case today.”

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: Atp, clay court tennis, Kei Nishikori, Mutua Madrid Masters, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Sports, Tennis News