Roger Federer flies out of Melbourne and into a busy February on court determined to continue lifting his game despite going out in the Australian Open semifinals to Rafael Nadal.
With the Spaniard now holding an 8-2 record in Grand Slams against his Swiss rival, Federer might be feeling the effects — but that’s not how the 30-year-old with more honours than anyone in the game sees it.
“It’s not that bad. Don’t feel too sorry for me. I haven’t lost in five months or something,” he said after suffering his first defeat in an official match since missing on two match points a US Open semifinal against Novak Djokovic in September.
Since then, he won three straight 2011 tournaments, suffered a walkover due to a bad back in Dubai this month and raced through his field in Melbourne until hitting the Nadal wall.
“What’s important is the reaction from here,” said the methodical Swiss with a record 16 Grand Slam singles titles. “Where do I go from here? You know, start planning other trips. Start planning the preparations and have a good reaction like I showed after the US Open.”
