No 1 spot not a big deal
WILL BE NICE TO STAY THERE BUT IT’S NO MORE IMPORTANT THAN THAT
Roger Federer said this week that retaining his world No 1 ranking is no more than a “mini-goal” as he prepares to defend the ATP Miami Open title.
The 36-year-old Swiss star needs to advance to the quarterfinals in Florida to hold on to his No 1 ranking, or face being supplanted by old rival Rafael Nadal in top spot.
However Federer, who was beaten by Juan Martin Del Potro in Sunday’s Indian Wells final, said he is not attaching too much importance to hanging on to his ranking.
“The No 1 ranking is in my head a little bit, but no more than that,” Federer said. “It’s a mini-goal. It would be nice to stay there but it’s no more important than that.
“You have to win matches to go far here. Going far enough to stay No 1, it helps my motivation to have a goal. But even if I don’t manage it, it’s not the end of the world.”
Federer will launch his Miami campaign today against a qualifier.
Federer, winner of an incredible 20 Grand Slam singles titles, meanwhile spoke admiringly of Del Potro’s rehabilitation following a career-threatening wrist injury.
“I can only look from far away and think, ‘I wonder how it was for him’.
“Hard to imagine how –most important about having had surgeries, I guess, and being injured is the doubts you have. Are you ever going to come back? And overcoming that fear and gaining confidence again,” Federer said.
“It’s such a nice story because he finally did it, but he had to do it the hard way, put himself out there, knowing he was not going to win all the matches he was going to play.
“It’s tough to do that, you know. That deserves a lot of respect, in my opinion, especially knowing what level he can achieve.”
Federer said he had already moved on from Sunday’s loss to Del Potro in Indian Wells, saying he was due a loss after a successful 2017.
“Didn’t take me a whole lot of time to get over it, to be honest. I felt like it could have gone either way,” Federer said. – AFP