Sheesh. If I as a fan have not yet recovered from Roger Federer's 7-6 in the third loss to Guillermo Canas at the Miami tournament (his second loss to Canas in a month), it seems that Federer is faster at digesting his losses than I am!
Ruerters reports today that Federer has pronounced himself he fully fired-up for the start of the claycourt season .
despite his recent shock defeats to Argentina's Guillermo Canas.
"They were tough matches for me and Miami hurt in particular because losing 7-6 in the third set is never fun," Federer told a news conference in his home city of Basel where a postage stamp bearing his likeness was unveiled. "But I would honestly rather lose to the same guy twice than lose to two different guys. I think if I lost to two different players I would think I wasn't playing well but with one guy I can think 'okay, this guy is on a roll'. It's just easier to digest."
He is due to fly to Monaco on Wednesday for next week's claycourt Master Series tournament in Monte Carlo.
The world number one has not competed since his second defeat to Canas on March 27. He is hoping his rare slump (He's lost just 12 matches since the start of the 2005 season) could even prove a blessing in the long-term -- by giving him more time to prepare for his tough summer schedule.
"That's the only advantage I can see, because it has definitely taken away my confidence a little bit, but it has also given me more time and maybe that is just as good a thing. It's exactly what I didn't have for the last two or three years, one of those surprise losses where all of a sudden I got more time off so I hope it can help me out."
Federer said he had spent time since the second defeat building up his fitness levels with conditioning coach Pierre Paganini and would use Monte Carlo to test the level of his claycourt play.
"There were a few seasons when I skipped Monaco to give myself more of a break but I have stopped doing that because the tournament gives you a good idea of how you are playing and what stuff you still have to work on at the practice courts. It's similar to the French Open in the way it plays and even if you lose in the first round it helps give an indication of how the other guys are playing and reminds you how clay is supposed to be played."
Federer has won four straight Wimbledons, three straight U.S. Opens and a trio of Australian Opens but the closest he's gotten to winning the French Open was reaching the final last year where he won the first set 6-1 against Rafael Nadal then lost the next three when his level of play dropped. It was one of three claycourt losses to Nadal in 2006.
"Last year I couldn't win a single claycourt tournament, so I want to do that this year, and the French Open is obviously huge for me as the one Slam I haven't yet won," Federer said. If I can win it this year it would also mean I could still win all four Slams in a row. Then the following month I will be trying to equal Bjorn Borg's record (of five successive Wimbledon titles), so it's going to be a very interesting summer for me. Hopefully the time off after Miami should be an important part of making sure I'm absolutely ready for the next tough 12 weeks."