Roger Federer surveyed the wreckage of another French Open and insisted he can bounce back by becoming the oldest man to win Wimbledon.
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The 17-time Grand Slam winner was knocked out of Roland Garros in the quarter-finals in straight sets by Swiss compatriot Stan Wawrinka.
Federer will be 34 in August – the oldest man to win Wimbledon in the modern era was Arthur Ashe who was 31 years and 11 months when he triumphed at the All England Club in 1975.
He is likely to finish his career with just one French Open title from 2009 at Roland Garros, the scene of his least successful Grand Slam performances.
The world No2 won the last of his 17 majors at Wimbledon in 2012 and in the three years since, he has only contested one Grand Slam
final – finishing as runner-up to Novak Djokovic at SW19 last year.
It’s a far cry from the golden days of 2003-2010 when he never went a year without winning at least one major.
Since his runner-up spot at Wimbledon in 2014, Federer has been a semi-finalist at the US Open where he lost to Marin Cilic before being ousted in the third round in Australia in January by Italian journeyman Andreas Seppi.
That was Federer’s earliest loss in Melbourne in 14 years.
At least yesterday’s quarter-final exit to Wawrinka was an improvement on last year’s Roland Garros performance – a fourth-round loss to
Ernests Gulbis.
“I am already thinking about Wimbledon because it’s a big goal for the season,” said Federer after his 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) loss to Wawrinka.
“That’s where I want to play my best. This year is a bit different as we have an extra week to prepare but there is nothing positive about losing today because I don’t need the extra days.
“I will recover and spend time with my family, then look forward to Halle and Wimbledon. It’s a big goal.
“I want to win it and I feel like my game is good. It’s been solid, it’s been positive and I have just got to keep it up.”