Roger Federer, like everyone else, has his share of ‘off’ days.
“I was not playing good enough,” he said following his loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Rogers Cup final on Sunday in Toronto. “If you can't hit forehands or whatever, it’s just… it wasn't my day.”
Federer and Tsonga each hit 26 winners during the one hour, 47-minute match, but the Swiss finished with 37 unforced errors to Tsonga’s count of 18. He was also unable to create a break point chance against the Frenchman, who won 94 per cent of his first-service points.
“I definitely felt much further away from victory than he did,” said Federer. “Naturally because of the scoreline – I mean, he was in the lead – but I just didn't feel like I was playing good enough to win today. It was just really frustrating the way I felt out there.
“I fought. I mixed it up, and I was hoping to sort of sneak in a set and then maybe he would get a bit nervous or maybe would play a bad game. But I just couldn't create enough opportunities. So I think he deserved to win at the end of the day.”
Entering Sunday afternoon’s final, Federer had played three straight matches in the night session, including a pair of battling wins against Marin Cilic in the Round of 16 and David Ferrer in the quarter-finals. Though he was quick to give credit to Tsonga, he also called it a difficult transition.
“I think it was the overall day conditions that were tough for me,” he said. “It was faster than in the night, all my previous matches, so I think the turnaround was tough.
“I didn't start poorly,” Federer added. “I think actually the beginning of the match was actually my best part of the match. So from that standpoint I was happy how I was feeling and playing. But then that it actually start to drop off rather than get better, that's what disappointed me the most today.”
Despite the loss, the Swiss drew positives from his performance in his first tournament since a runner-up finish at Wimbledon.
“I'm overall pretty happy that I made the final in my first tournament back on hard courts,” he said. “Had a few tough matches which clearly gave me a lot of information. I know what I need to work on the next few days and next few weeks, which is good to know what I need to do other than feeling lost. I don't feel that way…
“There were things I could have done better, but overall it was a positive week. I go away from this feeling good about my chances next week and also at the US Open and for the rest of the season. It's another good tournament for me, which I'm happy about.”
Federer will continue his Emirates Airline US Open Series campaign next week at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, where he is a five-time champion.
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