Agence France-Presse
London, July 9: Roger Federer insisted he will be back at Wimbledon in 2017, when he will be pushing 36, despite his heartbreaking loss to Milos Raonic in the semifinals Friday.
“I hope to be back on Centre Court, to be very clear for you,” said Federer, whose lengthy wave to all parts of the arena prompted speculation that it was indeed goodbye.
“I was looking at Centre Court as in thank you for the crowd. That’s what I was going through, not thinking about this might be my last Wimbledon,” added the Swiss.
Had Federer made Sunday’s final he would have been the oldest finalist since 39-year-old Ken Rosewall finished runner-up to Jimmy Connors in 1974.
This year’s Wimbledon represented the 15th anniversary of Federer’s stunning win over Pete Sampras – when Raonic was just 10 years old and probably not yet thinking about having a tennis career.
But Federer is enduring the toughest year of his career. Injury forced him to skip the French Open ending a streak of 65 successive appearances at the Slams stretching back to 1999.
He has now failed to add to his 88 titles this year, his longest drought since 2000, and he arrived at Wimbledon having suffered back-to-back semifinal losses in Stuttgart and Halle, both on grass which has been his preferred surface of domination.
After his loss Friday, Federer tried to take the pressure off the prospect that an eighth Wimbledon title may remain out of reach.
“It’s a dream to win my eighth here but it’s not the only reason why I play tennis, otherwise I’ll go in a freeze box now and come out before Wimbledon next year,” he asserted.
“I know Wimbledon is important, but it’s not everything. “I have played 10 sets (against Cilic and Raonic). It’s very encouraging for the season. I was insecure coming into Wimbledon,” informed the Swiss.