By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, July 7, 2021
Parting can be painful.
Enduring the worst Wimbledon loss of his career today, Roger Federer is hoping his wave to Centre Court court fans after his quarterfinal loss to Hubert Hurkacz isn't his final farewell to SW19.
More: Hurkacz Sweeps Federer for First Major Semifinal
The 39-year-old Swiss concedes he's felt physical and emotional struggle in his comeback from two right knee surgeries, but insists "the goal is to play." Federer said he will discuss the state of his game and body with his coaches, Ivan Ljubicic and Severin Luthi, before making a decision on his competitive future.
"For me, now that that's over, you just got to reassess everything," Federer said. "You got to sit down, talk about it, what went well, what didn't go so well, where is the body, where is the knee, where is the mind.
"As you can see, it was a struggle for me and putting in extra effort all the time, especially when things get difficult against Felix in Halle or today against Hurkacz. I knew it was going to be really hard, to be honest. Now I just got to talk to the team, take my time, not feel rushed by you guys or anybody else, for that matter. I got to take my time, take the right decision, the one decision I want to take and where I feel most comfortable. That's where it leaves me. But, no, I hope not that that's going to happen. The goal is to play, of course."
Quarterfinal debutant Hurkacz hammered his tennis hero Federer, 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-0 handing the Swiss his first straight sets loss at Wimbledon in 19 years and just the third straight-sets loss in his 119 career matches at The Championships.
The eight-time Wimbledon champion plans to make a decision on his status for the Tokyo Olympics in the coming days. While Federer's desire to compete remains undiminished, the former world No. 1 concedes he must elevate his game to compete with the elite.
"I definitely need to be a better player if I want to be more competitive at the highest of levels," Federer said. "I knew that coming in. Better players remind you of that, like Hurkacz and Felix did, for instance, in Halle. It gets tough when things get really tricky physically."
Photo credit: Rob Newell/CameraSport