ATP Finals: Roger Federer has 'no regrets' over missing out on No. 1 ranking

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  • Undefeated: Roger Federer claimed a third win in as many matches this week.

    Roger Federer insists he has no regrets over not playing more tournaments even though he knows he might end the season just a few points behind world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the world rankings.

    The Swiss world No. 2 has gone undefeated in the round robin stage at the ATP Finals this week, claiming his third win in as many matches on Thursday with a 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-1 over Marin Cilic, who had also lost to Federer in the Wimbledon final in London four months ago.

    If Federer wins the ATP Finals, he will finish 2017 a mere 140 points behind Nadal in the rankings.

    The 36-year-old has played just 12 tournaments this year — winning seven of them so far — but suffered surprise early upsets by Russian world No. 116 Evgeny Donskoy in the Dubai second round, and Germany’s Tommy Haas in their opener in Stuttgart.

    Federer, who had told reporters on Tuesday how much more “ranking-conscious” players are when they are younger, says he’s not too fussed about missing out on the top spot this season.

    “Regrets, I don’t have any. But maybe losing to Tommy Haas and Donskoy ended up haunting me,” he said with a smile. “I had match points in both matches. It’s not like I didn’t try.

    “To have regrets because of these matches, you know, if I miss out because of that for world No. 1, then maybe I was unlucky. But I also did win matches in Miami, saving match points against (Tomas) Berdych, other matches throughout the season that it could have been gone either way as well. In Australia, (Kei) Nishikori. You name it. Things could have turned very quickly much earlier.

    “So I’m just happy I’m playing a great season. I’m so happy that I was able to reach this level of play and still being able to play also at the end of the year. It wasn’t just, like, one tournament at the beginning, then nothing after that. So it was just throughout I’ve had a great year.

    “I have no regrets because I totally over-exceeded my expectations. Just happy I’m injury-free and healthy right now, enjoying myself still.”

    Adventurer Bear Grylls (l), Bernard Foley and Will Genia (r) of the Australian Wallabies watched Federer's match on Thursday.

    Adventurer Bear Grylls (l), Bernard Foley and Will Genia (r) of the Australian Wallabies watched Federer’s match on Thursday.

    Federer tops Group Boris Becker and will face either Dominic Thiem or David Goffin in the semi-finals on Saturday.

    Since the start of the year to date, Federer has lost just four matches and is enjoying a tremendous season.

    Will it be on his mind to target the No. 1 ranking next year, knowing he can be ever so close to Nadal in the standings?

    “I have 2,000 points to defend in Australia, he doesn’t. So there’s the problem already. I know he has a lot of points to defend, too, in Australia, but not as many as me,” Federer noted.

    “That’s why I always said, look, it’s not a realistic goal in some ways, you know, world No. 1. It is interesting. It’s the ultimate achievement in tennis in some ways, it always has been for me. But at this age, it just can’t be because I think I’ll make mistakes if I start chasing it.

    “I’m not sure how much the body allows me to chase goals like this. Maybe if I start thinking about it too often and too much, I think I’m maybe also not playing the way I’m supposed to be playing, maybe I tense up, maybe I’m nervous, maybe that’s not good for my back. Who knows what it is.

    “Still far away from being close in the points with Rafa. Still need to win this tournament before it’s actually really close. I’m only in the semis. The big points are really coming in now. So that’s why my focus is on the semis. If I would win that, of course it’s just on the finals.”

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