London: Swiss superstar Roger Federer feels he is on the right path as he chases a record 18th Grand Slam next season.
Federer failed in his attempt to win his seventh year-ending crown when he went down in straight sets to Novak Djokovic at the O2 Arena on Sunday night. It was the 44th career meeting between the two, which is tied 22-22.
Federer’s last triumph at the season-ending event came in 2011 when he went past Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in three sets. But after that, it has been Djokovic all the way. The victory has draws the Serb level with Federer with five titles each.
“I’ve got to keep pushing forward and keep practising hard. Right now I need to rest, recover and enjoy with my family. Then once I get back to practice, the gym, enjoy that part as well, which I do. Thankfully, I found a way to embrace that part as well over the years,” Federer said on Sunday.
“I don’t think there’s much I need to change, maybe some tactical approaches against some players at times. Of course, one always got to handle the conditions. Focusing maybe just solely on Novak or any other player would be the wrong approach because I lost third round last year at the Australian Open against [Andreas] Seppi,” he added.
Though Federer had six titles against his name in 2015, but the most important aspect is that he is still not ended the Grand Slam drought since the Wimbledon title he won in 2012. However, the Swiss maestro is unduly bothered. “I think this year had a lot of great things in my game. How I’m able to play at net, how I’m moving and feeling at net in particular is a great thing to have. Then my serve has been really working very consistent, very well throughout the year more or less. If I can just get that to work slightly better at times, that would be incredibly helpful. I’ll work on that as well,” Federer said.
“You want to be fit and fast on the court. That’s the key today. If you look at the matches that are played at the top, Novak is a great example. I don’t want to say it’s all about movement, but movement bails you out of a lot of tough situations.”
Federer felt he could add another Slam or two along with a decent result at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games next season. “I’m looking forward to the Olympics. I just hope I can enjoy it. I hope it’s going to be a full stadium with good support,” the 34-year-old added.
“I have my plan set for the year and I know exactly what I’m doing. But like I said, it’s [Rio Games] not my No. 1 goal. I’m going to set up my schedule in a way that I’ll be ready for the most important tournaments for me personally.”
