Roger Federer talked almost as if the French Open were a tuneup for the real Grand Slam event coming up at the end of the month.
Federer's 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (4) loss to compatriot Stan Wawrinka on Tuesday earned dubious distinction on at least one front. The elder Swiss statesman failed to break an opponent's serve at a major for the first time since 2002 at the U.S. Open, according to USA TODAY Sports' For the Win.
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ESPN reported that a gusty wind that prevailed throughout their match was a bigger advantage to the younger Swiss player than the casual observer might realize.
"The ambient advantage Wawrinka enjoyed Tuesday was the gusting wind," ESPN reported. "The 30-year-old from Lausanne may be the master of a glorious backhand, but he's also the owner of a roughneck game. For all his timing and even those dazzling flashes of touch, he's best at muscling the ball. Hurting it. He hits through it, all right -- so much so that half the time you expect to see it come out the back side of his racket face, a melting hot mess as he follows through."
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Federer, who is renowned for his finesse, seemed to buy into the theory that Wawrinka had a huge advantage because his postgame comments showed he had already checked out of Roland Garros and was preparing for Wimbledon.
"I'm already thinking what I'm going to do over the next few days, because Wimbledon is going to be a big goal for the season," said the seven-time Wimbledon champion.
"That's where I want to play my best. It's a big goal for me. I want to win it, and I feel like my game is good.
"It's been solid, it's been positive, and I have just got to keep it up now."
Federer also was complimentary of his compatriot's play, acknowledging that he thinks the clay suits Wawrinka's game.
"It's just nice for [Wawrinka] to string it together on a big occasion like this at the French, where I always thought he'd have his best chance to do well," he said, according to The Guardian. "As for what contributed to his defeat, he offered: "Mostly it's because of Stan's quality of shot-making, forehand, backhand, serving big when he had to. For me it was trying to hang on."
Leading to the only hint that Federer exhausted his arsenal in trying to figure out Wawrinka.
"I tried many things. One of them was trying to put it up high," he said, according to ESPN. "Another one was trying to chip it shorter. Another one was trying to hit through the wind. Obviously, I was not going to, you know, leave the French Open without having tried everything out there."
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