Roger Federer summed up episode 50 of his rivalry with Novak Djokovic in one word: "horrible."
Pained by the strained groin he suffered in his miraculous five-set comeback win over Tennys Sandgren, Federer struggled with his movement in a 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-3 AO semifinal loss to defending champion Djokovic.
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The 20-time Grand Slam champion said he took the court with a "3% chance to win."
"Today was horrible, to go through what I did," Federer told the media afterward. "Nice entrance, nice sendoff, and in between is one to forget because you know you have a 3% chance to win. You know, got to go for it. You never know.
"But once you can see it coming, that it's not going to work anymore, it's tough. No, look, at the end of the day I'm very happy. I think I overall played all right. I know I can play better. At the same time I also know I can play much worse. With no tournaments beforehand, I think it's a very, very good result."
The 38-year-old Swiss, who held two championship points before bowing to Djokovic in an epic Wimbledon final last July, said he still believes he can win a 21st Grand Slam crown.
"Yes, I do believe that," Federer said. "I think by having the year that I had last year, also with what I have in my game, how I'm playing, I do feel that, yeah. "
Completing his 21st Australian Open, the six-time champion suggested this is not his Melbourne farewell.
"You never know what the future holds," Federer said. "But especially my age, you don't know. I'm confident. I'm happy how I'm feeling, to be honest. I got through a good, nice training block.
"No plans to retire. From that standpoint, we'll see how the year goes, how everything is with the family. We'll go from there. Of course, I hope to be back."
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