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For the second consecutive year Roger Federer came within a match of becoming the first man to win eight Wimbledon titles, but despite the setback in Sunday’s final against Novak Djokovic, the 17-time major champion is quite confident heading into the final leg of the 2015 Grand Slam season.

Video: Djokovic, Serena Williams Cut Rug at Wimbledon Ball

“I think I was able to show on court today how close it really was,” Federer told reporters after losing in four sets to Djokovic in their 40th career meeting. “Even though at the end it might have looked as if it was routine, I don’t think it was the case.”

He added: “I’m right there, my game’s good. I got broken very few times this tournament. I played on my terms. Things are alright. It’s just I ran into guys sometimes who are just really playing very well.”

Federer’s form through the semifinals gave rise to a wellspring of hope that he might claim his first major in over three years. The 33-year-old played a near-perfect match in the semifinals, taking down Andy Murray in straight sets with awe-inspiring serving and timely shotmaking. But on Sunday he found it more difficult to rip through service games when the world-class return game of Novak Djokovic forced him to defend more often. Still he had chances to win the opening set and was close in the third and fourth as well.


“I lost against the world No. 1 at the moment, and that’s the kind of guy you probably can lose against,” said Federer. “I’m not going to accept and just say ‘Oh, it’s normal.’ It’s not. I’ve beaten him a few times. I’m one of the only guys who has gotten a chance [of late]… So, Clearly I was always going to believe hard today that I was going to come through as the winner, but still always being humble and knowing how tough it was going to be.”

On court after the final, Federer told the crowd that he felt good about his game, that he enjoyed the final, and that he was hungry to return.

It was a sentiment he elaborated on with reporters after the match.

“I still think I had a great tournament,” he said. “You can have good tournament without winning as well. You know at the end I still won six matches and lost one, so the ratio remains very good, but of course you sort of walk away empty-handed. For me a finals trophy is not the same. Everybody knows that. Thankfully I’ve won here in the past so it does not feel like I’m chasing anything. But clearly I would have loved to win today, there’s no doubt about it and I still think I can be very happy with the level of play. Today it was fine.”

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