ROGER FEDERER SAYS HE THOUGHT SPANISH RIVAL WOULD “BRING IT HOME”

Written by: Staff on 6th September 2015

ROGER FEDERER SAYS HE THOUGHT SPANISH RIVAL WOULD "BRING IT HOME"

epa04915388 Roger Federer of Switzerland hits a return to Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany during their match on the sixth day of the 2015 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 05 September 2015. The US Open runs through 13 September, which is a return to a 14-day schedule. EPA/ANDREW GOMBERT |

Unlike most tennis fans, Roger Federer missed Friday night’s third round marathon between Fabio Fognini and Rafael Nadal.

“I went to see Hamilton [the musical],” said Federer, who caught some of the third and fourth sets when he returned. “When I went to bed, [I] clearly thought Rafa was going to bring it home and that was it. Then I heard the news when I woke up. I wish I did see the match because I didn’t expect it to be this thrilling, but that would have been bad preparation for my match today,” said the second seed after his win over 29th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber.

“From what I heard, it was very exciting,” he said of the match that lasted 3 hours and 46 minutes and included 70 winners off the Italian’s racket. “Tough for Rafa, but what a great win for Fabio, he’s a great shot maker,” said Federer.

Rafael Nadal of Spain hits a return against Fabio Fognini of Italy during their match on the fifth day of the 2015 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 04 September 2015. The US Open runs through 13 September, which is a return to a 14-day schedule EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO

The Swiss compared the late finish to the famed 2008 Australian Open battle between Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis, which wrapped up at 4.33am.

“I missed the end there, too, because at 3:30 I bailed,” admitted Federer. “I love watching tennis, but sometimes you just have to decide to be professional,” he added. “It hurts, but [you] just gotta do it, you don’t want to lose the next day and have regrets,” said the 34-year-old father of four.

Separately, Federer said he focuses on varying his game, enjoying his time on court and working on his concentration to reduce the chance of surprise losses.

“Because of the unique scoring system we have in tennis, there is always a reset after each set. You always feel like something could happen and you’re only safe once you get over the finish line,” said the Swiss. “Before that, you have to be careful, and that’s kind of how I see it, even sometimes [when] the scoreline is in your favor.”

The 17-time major winner said match play is crucial, because in practise, “you can never really recreate the intensity.”

“That’s why you see sometimes guys cramping after two sets or after one set in Davis Cup or in a Grand Slam or in their home tournament, just because they are so excited and they are so tense that it’s not about fatigue or anything. That’s mental stress,” observed Federer. “That’s why it’s important for players to play matches, even if it’s an exhibition match, sometimes that can just help have people in the stadium, linesman, umpires, ball boys, the whole thing. It creates this unique environment we like so much.”

( Courtesy of the ATP and original link – http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/federer-missed-fognini-nadal )

Topics: 2015 U.S. Open, Atp World Tour, Fabio Fognini, Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer, Tennis News, US Open tennis

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10sBalls_com says:

September 6, 2015 at 10:25 am

-@rogerfederer SAYS HE THOUGHT SPANISH RIVAL WOULD “BRING IT HOME”- http://t.co/gBu1wMosII #Nadal #tennis #USOpen2015 @RafaelNadal #Federer