It’s a decent result, claims flogged Fed
ROGER FEDERER saw the defence of his Wimbledon title come to a halt on Centre Court yesterday, but insisted: “It’s a decent result.”
The Swiss top seed went down 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to 12th seed Tomas Berdych – his first defeat before the final at SW19 since 2002.
Federer cited a back and thigh injury, picked up at the pre-tournament grass-court event in Halle, Germany, as a contributing factor to this defeat, which will now see him drop to No3 in the world rankings for the first time since November 2003.
Indeed, the 15-time Grand Slam winner insists he was satisfied with his Wimbledon campaign as a whole and has vowed to bounce back for the US Open in September.
“I’m definitely struggling at the moment,” he said. “I’m looking forward to a rest and then I’ll attack again in North America.
“Reaching the quarter-finals is a decent result. Obviously some people think it’s shocking, but many players would die to play a Grand Slam quarter-final. I don’t think I played poorly but he went after it. I was not able to defend well enough and he played well when he had to – it was brutal for me. Every time he had a chance, he took it.”
In contrast, Berdych, 24, played the match of his life to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final and become the first Czech player to reach the last four at Wimbledon since Ivan Lendl in 1990.
“It’s really tough to explain how I’m feeling, it’s unbelievable,” Berdych said. “To play on this stadium against a player as great as Roger and to be standing here as the winner is amazing.
“This was the toughest match of my career to close out, it’s a big step forward and I’m so happy.
“Right now it’s really tough to think about my next match – I just want a few minutes and hours to enjoy this. Then I have to get ready and prepare for my next opponent.”
Berdych now takes on third seed Novak Djokovic in the semi-final after the Serbian cruised past Andy Roddick’s conqueror, Yen-Hsun Lu, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.