Andy Murray confessed that a loss at Wimbledon is tougher to swallow than in any other place for him following his 7-5, 7-5, 6-4 semi-final exit to Roger Federer on Friday.
The world No 4 suffered his sixth defeat to Federer in seven encounters on home soil – Murray’s only win over the Swiss in Britain was in the 2012 London Olympics final – and saw his hopes of capturing a second Wimbledon title dashed in a two-hours and six minutes clash.
Asked if a loss at Wimbledon is tougher to digest compared to his other losses, Murray said: “I think so because I feel like this is my best chance to win a slam. When I play here, I feel like it’s my best surface. I played consistently well here throughout my career. So it’s tough in that aspect.”
Federer has been at his serving best throughout the whole tournament and he came up with goods again yesterday against Murray.
“That’s definitely the best he served against me,” said the 28-year-old Scot.
“He clearly deserved to win the match. He had more opportunities than me. Whether it was only his serving, if I could have returned a little bit better, if it was a combination of him serving extremely well, me not maybe returning so well on the first serve, I don’t know.
“It’s frustrating obviously when you’re out there because I couldn’t get a racquet on a lot of the returns. Even when I was, I wasn’t getting enough depth on the returns to make it tough for him. But at times I played some very good tennis. I served well. It was the best I probably served in the tournament myself. So, yeah, just a tough one.”
– Novak Djokovic into final in straight sets
– Serena Williams powers into Wimbledon final
– Garbine Muguruza reaches Wimbledon final
Murray was criticised by some for opting to receive despite winning the toss before the match started. He ended up playing catch up throughout and was broken once in the last game of each set – which in retrospect made it look like serving second was the wrong choice.
He disagrees however and it is important to note that his only break point of the match came in the opening game, which had he converted would have given him an early lead.
“I wouldn’t say it’s bold. A lot of guys serve first. A lot of guys receive first. It really depends on what your preference is. The way that it worked out today, I mean, the guy served unbelievable. That was the difference, not the fact that he served first,” explained Murray.
Murray is unsure if he’ll be ready to watch the final between Federer and Djokovic on TV but he did have his thoughts on the Swiss’ chances.
“If Roger serves well, serves like he did today, he’ll give himself a great opportunity to win that match,” he added.
