WATCH: ‘I could go for a nap right now’ – Roger Federer reacts to his Wimbledon exit

Kevin Palmer
July 7, 2021

Roger Federer’s Wimbledon hopes were shattered in a crushing 6-3, 7-6, 6-0 defeat against Hubert Hurkacz in the Wimbledon quarter-finals, with many observers suggesting it may have been his final apparance on the Centre Court.

Federer did not make any announcements about his future at the game, as he admitted he will consider what he will do next over the next few days and failed to confirm he will play in the upcoming Olympic Games.

Here are the key comments Federer offered up:

How do you sum it up?

The last few games obviously as you can feel that you’re not coming back from it. I’m not used to that kind of situation obviously very much, especially not here. Like you said, crowds were amazing. Yeah, the ovation is fantastic. Look, I love it. That’s why I play. That’s why I still play now. So it’s nice to see a hundred percent crowd today. Unfortunately they witnessed a straight-sets defeat of mine Overall still, look, I’m super grateful for all the support I’ve gotten here over the years. Today again was special. You can see they’re happy to be out, watching tennis, trying to get the players, the best out of them. Hubert played great. It was a tough end, of course.

Was that your last Wimbledon match?

I don’t know. I really don’t know. I got to regroup. My goal was always for the last year and more to always try to play another Wimbledon. The initial goal, like you know, was to play last year. That was anyway never going to happen. Plus the pandemic hit. I was able to make it this year, which I’m really happy about. Like I said, with everything that comes after Wimbledon, we were always going to sit down and talk about it because clearly now Wimbledon is over. I got to take a few days.

Will you consider your future?

Obviously we’re going to speak a little bit tonight, depending on how I feel, then the next couple of days as well. Then we go from there. Just see, Okay, what do I need to do to get in better shape so I can be more competitive. I’m actually very happy I made it as far as I did here and I actually was able to play Wimbledon at the level that I did after everything I went through. Of course I would like to play it again, but at my age you’re just never sure what’s around the corner.

Will you play the Olympics?

I’m going to take a couple of days and sit down. I’m sorry if I’m repetitive. I said everything waits till Wimbledon is done. Wimbledon is done now. I haven’t taken a decision yet where we go from here. Yeah, I can’t tell you anything more than that. I will sit down and hopefully make an announcement rather sooner than later, of course, also for me and everybody, my family and team, so forth.

Are you considering retirement?

You just got to reassess everything. 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. I hope not that that’s going to happen. The goal is to play, of course (smiling).

How did you feel at the end of the match?

I felt very disappointed in the moment itself. I still am. At the same time there’s always a weight that falls off your shoulders when a tournament is over, when a huge goal is made or missed. It doesn’t matter actually. You feel the weight is gone and you’re exhausted. I feel horribly exhausted. I could go for a nap right now. That’s how I feel. It’s a funny feeling to have, to be honest. You put everything on the line, and when it’s all over you could just go sleep because you’re so exhausted from the mental, pushing yourself forward, and trying everything. I know will be upbeat again shortly. I know how I am in these situations. I feel like I go maybe very hard on myself, I get very sad, and then go by a few hours, I mean, maybe even a few days, who knows, I don’t think so, then I’ll be totally fine again and be my old self. I just think I need to speak to the team, get it all out, hear what they have to say, tell them how I felt, and then we go from there.

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Roger Federer