Roger Federer is one of the game's premier closers.
The eight-time Wimbledon winner said his inability to convert two championship points serving for the Wimbledon title at 8-7 in the fifth set left him in disbelief.
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The 37-year-old Federer fell in an epic four-hour, 57-minute thriller to Novak Djokovic in the longest Wimbledon final in history and first men's major championship match decided in a decisive fifth-set tie break.
"I don't know if losing 2-2-2 feels better than this one," Federer told the media afterward. "At the end it actually doesn't matter to some extent. You might feel more disappointed, sad, over-angry. I don't know what I feel right now. I just feel like it's such an incredible opportunity missed, I can't believe it. It is what it is, you know."
World No. 1 Djokovic denied Federer's quest for a ninth Wimbledon title and bid to become the oldest men's Grand Slam singles champion in the Open Era.
Djokovic captured his 16th career Grand Slam title narrowing the gap on 18-time major champion Rafael Nadal and 20-time Grand Slam king Federer.
Asked if maintaining the all-time major record is a source of motivation or stress, Federer replied "you can't protect everything anyway."
"I mean, used to be a really, really big deal, you know, I guess when you were close," Federer said. "I guess two behind, then eventually you tie, then eventually you break. That was big. It's been different since, naturally because the chase is in a different place.
"I take motivation from different places, you know. Not so much from trying to stay ahead because I broke the record, and if somebody else does, well, that's great for them. You can't protect everything anyway. I didn't become a tennis player for that. I really didn't. It's about trying to win Wimbledon, trying to have good runs here, playing in front of such an amazing crowd in this Centre Court against players like Novak and so forth. That's what I play for."
Photo credit: CameraSport/Rob Newell