I missed an incredible opportunity to win, says Federer

Roger Federer belatedly revealed the depth of his disappointment last night as he rued “such an incredible opportunity missed” after his agonising Wimbledon final defeat by Novak Djokovic.

Having been surprisingly chipper in his on-court interview, a far more downbeat Federer said in his post-match press conference: “I

don’t know what I feel. I just feel like it’s such an incredible opportunity missed, I can’t believe it.”

When asked if he would have preferred to lose comfortably rather than becoming the first man to lose a Wimbledon final after being up championship point since 1948, Federer said: “It’s hard to tell. It actually doesn’t matter to some extent. You might feel more disappointed, sad, over angry.”

The crushing disappointment Federer felt was entirely understandable. He ended the five-set and almost five-hour match having won 14 more points than his opponent, and hit 32 more winners than unforced errors compared to a ratio of just plus two for Djokovic. Ultimately though he fell short at the crucial moments and, like in the epic 2008 final against Rafael Nadal, ended up the loser after an all-time classic match.

Djokovic, meanwhile, revealed that he had come up with a novel way for dealing with the overwhelmingly pro-federer crowd. At times the atmosphere was like an international football match, with the crowd doing all they could to try to will Federer on to a ninth Wimbledon title.

“When the crowd is chanting ‘Roger’ I hear ‘Novak’,” Djokovic said afterwards with a broad grin. “It sounds silly, but it is like that. I try to convince myself that it’s like that. It’s hard to not be aware [of the crowd]. You have that kind of electric atmosphere, that kind of noise,

especially in some decisive moments where we’re quite even. If you have the majority of the crowd on your side, it helps, it gives you motivation, it gives you strength, it gives you energy. When you don’t, then you have to find it within, I guess.”

As well as finding a way to overcome the crowd’s hostility, Djokovic’s victory also means that he is closer than ever to overhauling Federer’s total of 20 grand slam titles. Djokovic is now up to 16, and at almost six years Federer’s junior, has time on his side. “We’re making each other grow and evolve and still be in this game,” Djokovic said of the rivalry of tennis’s “Big Three”.

“Those two guys are probably one of the biggest reasons I still compete at this level. The fact that they made history of this sport motivates me as well, inspires me to try to do what they have done, what they’ve achieved, and even more.”

He then added ominously: “I’m not really looking at age as a restriction of any kind for me at least.” Federer, who at almost 38 is the master of age-defying brilliance, said: “I take motivation from different places. Not so much from trying to stay ahead because I broke the record, and if somebody else does, well, that’s great for them. You can’t protect everything anyway.”

Federer’s protests sounded genuine, but you can be sure he will be back next year doing all he can to protect tennis’s most precious record.