Roger Federer: No Excuses, He Was Better

Written by: Staff on 21st July 2013

Roger Federer: No Excuses, He Was Better

epa03794389 Switzerland's Roger Federer returns the ball to Argentina's Federico Delbonis during their men's single semifinal match at the 2013 International German Open tennis tournament in Hamburg, Germany, 20 July 2013. EPA/AXEL HEIMKEN |

Original link: http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2013/07/29/Hamburg-Saturday-Federer-Reaction.aspx

Roger Federer rued his missed opportunities in a 7-6(7), 7-6(4) semi-final defeat to Federico Delbonis on Saturday in Hamburg, but credited the qualifier with better play on the clutch points.

Federer led by an early break in the first set and also had a set point in the tie-break. He had a chance to break Delbonis midway through the second set, but could not take his opportunity to push the match into a third set.

“I think he was a bit better than me today,” said Federer, a four-time former winner of the bet-at-home Open – German Tennis Championships. “Both sets could have gone either way. So, it’s clearly a pity I couldn’t win either of the sets because I was starting to feel better towards the end of the match. But unfortunately I couldn’t push him further and create more chances today.

“I think the conditions were totally different to last night. It was wet and heavy last night, under the lights,” said Federer, who had battled past Florian Mayer on Friday evening. “It’s a quick turnaround to quick conditions today and a totally different opponent. But that’s no excuse.”

After a shock second-round exit at Wimbledon, where he was also beaten by a player outside the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings – World No. 116 Sergiy Stakgovsky, Federer had transitioned to a larger racquet frame. He made his debut with the new 98 square-inch frame this week and was pleased to have battled through three tough matches.

“I don’t think it had much to do with the racket today,” said Federer. “I tried everything I could at this tournament. It’s been a difficult week throughout. But I’m happy I fought through many matches. It gives me the matches I was looking for.

“I was clearly hoping, after winning a tough one yesterday, to somehow get through today and then give myself an opportunity to win the title tomorrow. It’s disappointing, but defeats like that happen sometimes.

“I had a great time. I really enjoyed playing in front of the people here in Hamburg on the Centre Court where I’ve had so many nice moments in my career. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to the finals, but nevertheless, I did have four good matches and these are the kind of matches I need.”

Topics: Federer, Federico Delbonis, German tennis news, Hamburg Open, Roger Federer, Swiss tennis news

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10sBalls_com says:

July 21, 2013 at 11:47 am

Roger Federer: No Excuses, He Was Better – http://t.co/Rg73WsKgNy @rogerfederer @FedererNews @BleacherReport @ESPNTennis