It’s killing me… will return next year

Not akin to his style, the Master, Roger Federer, broke down after he lost to Rafael Nadal in the five-setter Australian Open Finals on Sunday. An emotional Fed broke down after receiving the Runners up trophy from legendary Rod Laver. “It’s killing me…” were the words which Fed uttered before becoming inconsolable while the audience gave him a standing ovation. But when Nadal came at the podium and hugged him, he took the microphone again and said “… will return next year.”

Later speaking to organisers, when he was urged to tell about the emotions he is undergoing, Fed said: “I mean, I fought hard, you know. I mean, I think I played well. I'm happy with where my game's at. I wish my serve would have been better, but that's something that sometimes is a bit, you know, day-form issue, you know… But, look, I mean, I love this game. It means the world to me, so it hurts when you lose.”

He said that this final would be one of the matches in his career where he felt that he “could have or should have won.” “But you can't go through your whole life as a tennis player taking every victory, you know, that's out there. You've got to live with those, you know. But they hurt even more so like if you're that close, you know, like at Wimbledon or like here at the Australian Open. So that's what's tough about it. But I have no regrets, you know. So it's all right,” he added. Rejecting the notion that he was hurt more since today’s win could have fetched him 14th Grand Slam title, Fed said, “ In the first moment you're disappointed, you're shocked, you're sad, you know, then all of a sudden it overwhelms you. The problem is you can't go in the locker room and just take it easy and take a cold shower. You can't. You know, you're stuck out there. It's the worst feeling, you know. So, I don't know, it's rough.”

(pic courtesy Getty Images)