After Federer's incredible comeback from two sets down to beat Gael Monfils in a thriller in the quarterfinals, it was a shock and a huge letdown when he lost in straight set to an inspired Marin Cilic. It felt that a trip to the final was pretty much guaranteed with how well he was playing throughout the tournament, and to be honest, I mistakenly wasn't really thinking of Cilic being much of a threat. How wrong I was.
There may have been an element of tiredness involved in the loss after playing a five-setter less than two days earlier, on top of all the other tennis Roger has been playing the last few weeks, getting to the final of one Master's 1000 and winning another. But I think the biggest reason for it was that Cilic simply played out-of-his-mind amazing tennis. I didn't feel like Roger played bad. Sure, there was some untimely errors, but he came out of the match with more winners than errors. Maybe if he had been at full energy he could have found a way to combat the incredible tennis Cilic was playing, but I'm not sure of that. As Cilic said himself, it was the best tennis of his career.
The biggest disappointment comes, of course, because I so desperately want that 18th major title, which seemed very much within reach. Sometimes I think, though, if I could just let that longing go for at least one more major, that I could enjoy the rest of his career a lot more without that pressure of feeling like he just has to win, that he's running out of time, that his record might be passed, etc. The fact that he is still ranked in the top 3, winning titles, getting to the semis and finals of slams, and playing still amazing tennis at 33 years old isn't to be taken for granted, as we have seen. I already get over losses easier than I used to, and I plan to work on not having such high expectations, letting the great victories be joyous but not presumed they will happen.
And even though I'm still really disappointed that Roger isn't in the final with a chance to win it, I still think it's kind of exciting to have some guys in there who no one would have ever expected. Sure it's been great to have the big 4 so dominant, but at some point change has to come and I want to continue to enjoy tennis when other guys are winning. So let's continue to savor the GOAT Federer for as long as he chooses to grace us with his presence on the tennis court, but also continuing to enjoy the great game of tennis itself, realizing there are many talented players out there we can appreciate.
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