Dubai – Roger Federer revealed on Sunday that he celebrated with a rare post-match drink after losing in the third round of the Australian Open in January, saying his unexpected early loss gave him the chance to take a much-needed pause in a hectic tennis schedule.
“It (loss to Andreas Seppi) gave me more time off, I had champagne with my team that night,” said the world the number two who will start his bid for a seventh title on Monday at the Dubai Classic when he meets Russian Mikhail Youzhny in the first round.
Federer be taking to the court after a month away, with the Swiss slipping off with his wife and two sets of twins for a post-Open holiday at an undisclosed location.
Now back at his training base in Dubai for almost a week, he is keen to get stuck into hardcourt play as he defends another title.
“The way I look at it, he (Seppi) gave me an extra nine days off. That allowed me time for training and for some vacation. I was hoping to come back strong, that is the goal after a loss like that.
“You don’t question anything, but you want to bounce back as quick and strong as possible. I’ve been playing very well the past six month,” added the winner of the Brisbane event in January.
Federer said that his eye is off the top ranking for the moment as he gets back into tournament mode at a tournament where he is seeded second behind Novak Djokovic and ahead of Andy Murray, who moves back to third in the world after a Brazilian semi-final loss for Rafael Nadal.
“I had a great 2014 and I’m not disappointed that I didn’t get back to number one. Novak deserved it. If he shows up across the net from me, I’ll try to beat him, just like always,” said Federer.
The winner of 17 grand slam titles insists that looking on the bright side is a necessity in the sport.
“After every loss there is a re-set, there is always a new plan. There is always something to look forward to. The best strategy is to try and play well here and stay healthy and motivated and moving forward.
“Being happy in your personal life helps, it makes thing so much easier. Plus, I like to play tennis. That makes it quite easy to practise and to play matches.
“I know number one now is totally out of the question. Novak is playing great at the moment. I’m so far behind him (about 4 000
ranking points). It’s back to normal, playing week by week and trying to make the best results I can.”
Between them Djokovic and Federer have won 10 of the last 13 Dubai editions. – Sapa-dpa