"I'm not too disappointed. I feel like he had to come up with the goods, and it did feel like to some extent it was on my racket"
Monday 18 March 2019 15:52, UK
Roger Federer says there is "no reason to get down" after his defeat to Dominic Thiem in the final of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells at the weekend.
The 37-year-old saw his hopes of a sixth title in the Southern California desert sunk by Dominic Thiem 3-6 6-3 7-5.
Federer was playing in the final for the third straight year but his hopes were dashed for the second consecutive year, having lost to Juan Martin del Potro in 2018, although he has still won 12 of 14 matches this year and claimed his 100 tour-level title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
"I'm not too disappointed. I feel like he had to come up with the goods, and it did feel like to some extent it was on my racket," Federer said.
"I just came up against somebody who was, on the day, a bit better when it really mattered. That's how it goes. Sure, it's frustrating and disappointing and sad to some extent. But look, I have been in these positions so many times that I get over it very quickly.
"The body is perfectly fine. That also always keeps me upbeat, and I feel it's a privilege when I feel this way leaving a tournament," he added. "I have been playing every single day for the past three weeks. I can be very happy and proud of that fact.
"I feel really good, so why shouldn't I go into the tournament and to the event confident?"
Victory for Thiem means he now moves into the fourth spot in the world rankings. The Austrian will now head to Miami, hoping to complete the "Sunshine Double".
"It's unreal," Thiem told the ATP website. "I had to get used to Roger's game. In the first set he was playing amazing.
It was completely different from my opponents before him. I was struggling to work my way into the match.
"I had to fight to save those break points early in the second set. It was a very good match until the end and I had to fight to serve it out."
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