By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, July 7, 2021
Roger Federer rebuilt his right knee, but concedes he's still putting the pieces of his game back together.
Hubert Hurkacz handed Federer his first Wimbledon straight-sets loss in 19 years, a 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-0 quarterfinal conquest that brought a buzz-kill end to Federer's electric return.
Federer: Reassess Everything
Afterward, a candid Federer discussed rehab from two right knee surgeries and the state of his game. Federer, who celebrates his 40th birthday in 31 days, concedes advancing age, a surgically-repaired right knee, and minimal match play over the past couple of years have sapped some elements of his game.
The instinctual improvisational brilliance Federer has displayed in 105 career Wimbledon wins wasn't there in today's second-set tiebreak when he netted a forehand drive volley then slipped on the center stripe botching a routine smash.
The elegant explosiveness Federer has shown reaching 12 Wimbledon finals was missing as simple moves can seem more complicated to the 39-year-old Swiss superstar.
"But clearly there's still a lot of things missing in my game that maybe 10, 15, 20 years ago were very simple and very normal for me to do," Federer said. "Nowadays they don't happen naturally anymore. I got to always put in the extra effort mentally to remind myself, Remember to do this or do that.
"I have a lot of ideas on the court, but sometimes I can't do what I want to do. I think it's a bit of a tricky situation sometimes, come tough matches against great players. I feel like I made the most of it. The team and me were actually very happy I made it as far as the quarters here. Even though of course I'm disappointed I lost today, I feel like there was a chance, but again, that's how it goes. I'll be fine. I have perspective about it, so it's all good."
It's as if there's a split second now to process Federer's thought into action whereas in the past shots flowed like all the right answers on an exam. Playing more matches can help sharpen court sense, the question is can a 40-year-old Federer physically withstand the rigors of a greater match workload?
The 20-time Grand Slam champion says he's feeling physically fitter but must strengthen his game if he's going to compete with the elite.
"I'm not sure if it's necessarily matches, to be honest, because the body actually overall feels fine from the matches," Federer said. "I'm happy I went through all the process of taking losses and trying to play in Paris and Geneva and Doha and Halle, getting myself into match toughness and fitness here in Wimbledon.
"I definitely need to be a better player if I want to be more competitive at the highest of levels. 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: CameraSport