ATP Cincinnati: Roger Federer wants to drive out the Wimbledon demons
Roger Federer returns to the tournament at the Cincinnati ATP Masters 1000 tournament. The Swiss wants to forget the bad memories of the Wimbledon final in Ohio.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Aug 13, 2019, 03:55 pm
It was probably the most bitter defeat in Roger Federer's career: On July 14, 2019, the Swiss lost in the final of Wimbledon Novak Djokovic with 12:13 in the fifth set - even though the maestro was at 8: 7 and 40:15 had already had two match balls on his own serve.
A month later, the now 38-year-old returns to the ATP tour in Cincinnati and wants to finally drive away the demons of the Wimbledon final in the state of Ohio. "You look back a few days while you process what happened. There are flashbacks from the finale. Both the good and the bad moments when you return to the training court. These usually disappear after the first couple of training sessions," he said Federer at the mandatory press conference before the start of the tournament.
Most successful Masters 1000 tournament for Federer
With a good performance at the seventh ATP Masters 1000 event of the year, Federer wants to forcefully defeat the defeat from his memory. The chances are not too bad, after all, the third place in the world rankings could not win at this level as often as in Cincinnati (seven times).
"It's peaceful, calm and easy going. We have enough tournaments in big cities. It's a good way for me to start the summer. It also has great fans who come for the game and nothing else. It reminds me of this Senses to Indian Wells ", Federer explains his love affair with the tournament.
Duel with Djokovic already possible in the semifinals
In addition, the Confederate will take a rest after the one-month break. "We drove the caravan and enjoyed Switzerland. I relaxed and then started training later. A little fitness and then tennis," Federer said of his holiday program.
After a walk-through in the first round, the 20-time Grand Slam winner will face Juan Ignacio Londero in his opening game ( with us from 1:00 CET on Wednesday in the live ticker ). A reunion with Djokovic could already happen in the semi-finals - and with a win then all demons would be finally driven away.