Roger Federer: "I can handle it"
After his early end at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati, Roger Federer is not too worried in the run-up to the US Open.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Aug 16, 2019, 01:34 pm
The clear 3-6 and 4-6 defeat to Andrey Rublev marked Federer's fastest defeat since the first round in Sydney against Franco Squillari in 2003. The Argentine had taken 54 minutes to win 16 years ago, Rublev took eight minutes more time to get Federer out of the tournament.
Despite his weakest performance of the season, Federer was not overly concerned after the knockout phase. "I played 45 matches this year, so I think I can handle it," said the 38-year-old after the game.
"When I play against Rafa Nadal or Novak Djokovic, I more or less know what they're going to do. It's different for players you play against for the first time. This may be a small advantage, but you still have to corner it and hitting lines and going on. That's exactly what he did. He was really perfect today. It was a great performance, "said world ranking third Rublev Rosen.
Short break before New York
Of course it wasn't the plan to lose in the first or second round, but he did have some good training sessions and was happy to have come to Cincinnati. Federer also cited the switch from the night session to the day session as a decisive factor.
Before the last Grand Slam tournament of the year in New York, he wanted to take a break for a few days before preparing for the major event in the Big Apple. At the US Open starting on August 26, Federer from the previous year only had to defend the round of 16.