Roger Federer vows to return stronger next season

Roger Federer during the US Open final on Sunday

Roger Federer will continue his pursuit for an elusive 18th Grand Slam title, despite his heart-wrenching four set loss to Novak Djokovic on Sunday, and has vowed to return next year. The 34-year old said that his passion and love for the sport will make him come back next year. “I love the sport, I’ve got a lot of passion and I’ll see you guys next year”, he said to the capacity crowd at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. He also said he had no plans of slowing down and that he was happy with his current level of Tennis. “I am playing a good year. I’m playing good tennis. I am happy with where my level is at. I’m able to be consistent, very consistent.”, he continued, as quoted by Fox Sports Australia.Earlier in a thrilling four-set encounter which was delayed by nearly 3 hours due to rain, Djokovic overcame the 34-year old Swiss ace 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-4, to record his 10th Grand Slam title and his second major win this season against Federer after he beat him in the Wimbledon final in July this year. Throughout the final, the New York crowd were rooting for their favourite European player, Federer, and were even seen cheering when Djokovic missed a few shots or faulted. Federer in return acknowledged the crowd during the post-match presentation and said that they were the reason he still wants to keep going. “The crowd, they kept me going and that’s definitely one of the reasons I still keep playing, because of these moments, goosebump moments. It’s great”, he quipped.

I had my chances: Federer

The 17-time Grand Slam champion lamented lost chances and wondered what might’ve been if only he’d converted any of those three break points in the last game. “Sure I’m very disappointed. I had my chances on my racquet. I should never been down in the score the way I was, Novak did a great job of fending them off and all of that, but I had too many break chances. Of course some of them I could have done better, should have done better”, he said. However, the former champion remained optimistic about the current season and still believed he could finish the season on a high. “The one I got I was very happy the way I was playing. Year’s not over yet. I usually do have a strong finish to the season, and I hope I can do that again.”, he concluded.