The Swiss’ bid to finish as year-end World No. 1 for the sixth time took a hit on Friday as he was beaten in the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Masters by Milos Raonic.
Novak Djokovic leads Federer by 490 points in the Emirates ATP Race To London, the year-to-date standings, and could add another 820 points to his tally with victory at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Paris. It would potentially stretch his lead to 1,310. The Serb plays the in-form Andy Murray in the Paris quarter-finals.
“I always thought it was going to get solved in London,” said Federer. “What this [loss] means is I will have a good preparation for London. It's not that I didn't want to win here, but I knew it was going to be tough from the start. I accept that. Now I will continue to prepare for London.
“I'm going to stay on indoors now,” continued the Swiss. “Obviously two days more is big. So I'm looking forward to some days off right now, really resting my body to the max in a short period of time. I have plenty of days now to get ready for London, which is kind of nice, as well. So I can actually properly practise for a change as well again.”
The 33-year-old Federer came into Paris on a 12-match winning streak, taking in back-to-back titles at the Shanghai Rolex Masters and the Swiss Indoors Basel.
But he came up against a determined Raonic, who beat the Swiss for the first time in seven attempts to keep alive his bid to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.
“I think he played well,” said Federer, who won just 24 per cent of his return points. “Clearly he served well when he had to. I mean, it was a classic indoor match. Few shots here and there went his way today Really credit to him. When I did have the chance, he was there, as well. I didn't do much wrong, either.
“It hurts to lose that way,” said Federer, who was hoping to win his 24th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown this week. “But he deserves credit for serving the way he did and doing those passing shots the way he had to do it. In the tie-break in the first set, he took risks and it worked out.”
“I think he played well,” said Federer, who won just 24 per cent of his return points. “Clearly he served well when he had to. I mean, it was a classic indoor match. Few shots here and there went his way today Really credit to him. When I did have the chance, he was there, as well. I didn't do much wrong, either.
“It hurts to lose that way,” said Federer, who was hoping to win his 24th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown this week. “But he deserves credit for serving the way he did and doing those passing shots the way he had to do it. In the tie-break in the first set, he took risks and it worked out.”
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