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18th Grand Slam title eludes Federer
Roger Federer says he won’t become obsessed over winning an elusive 18th grand slam title after his latest attempt ended with a shock semi-final defeat to Marin Cilic at the US Open.
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The 33-year-old was beaten in straight sets by world No.16 Cilic last Saturday and has now failed to reach the final at Flushing Meadows for the last five years.
His recent record stands in remarkable contrast to his five successive titles in New York between 2004 and 2008, a run brought to a halt with his defeat to Juan Martin del Potro in the 2009 final.
“It’s not important to my life. I don’t need it to be more happy or anything,” said Federer when asked how significant an achievement it would be to win an 18th grand slam.
Federer’s most recent major title was his seventh Wimbledon triumph in 2012 — which came more than two years after winning his 16th grand slam crown at the 2010 Australian Open.
“The moment itself, it would mean a lot. I keep working hard to win titles on the tour, not just No.18,” he added.
“I’ll give it a go again in Australia in 2015; I hope to be healthy there. I enjoy playing there. It’s been one of my most consistent slams. I hope to get another chance at it. I can’t do more than try really hard, which I'm doing.”
Federer was hoping to become the oldest grand slam champion for more than 40 years at the US Open, but was stunned 6-3 6-4 6-4 in just one hour and 45 minutes by Cilic.
The Wimbledon final in July, where he lost in five sets to Novak Djokovic — who was also dumped out of the semi-finals with a shock defeat to Kei Nishikori — is Federer’s only final appearance in his last nine grand slam outings.
“No holding back from his side. I just couldn’t hang with him for long enough to create some doubts in his mind. I didn’t play good enough overall. I think when a match is like that I can move on quickly.”
— espn.co.uk