TNT Sports
Invincible Federer beaten
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Published 27/01/2005 at 18:15 GMT
Roger Federer's dramatic loss to Russian Marat Safin in the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Thursday not only brought to an end the defence of his title but also proved something to the rest of the tennis world - The Swiss world number one is not in
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Three grand slam titles out of the past four, 11 titles in 2004 and a run of 21 straight matches without defeat had helped make Federer one of the hottest favourites in Australian Open history.
Since October 2003, Federer had won 24 straight matches against top-10 players and five matches without dropping a set served only to reinforce feelings that the 23-year-old would stroll to his fifth grand slam title.
But after almost four and a half hours of the most dramatic tennis imaginable, Safin showed the rest the way with a stunning victory, saving a match point and squandering six of his own before clinching a 5-7 6-4 5-7 7-6 9-7 victory.
Despite having a match point at 6-5 in the fourth-set tiebreak, Federer had no arguments about his defeat.
"Losing by having match point, it's always going to hurt, no matter how great the match was," he said.
'GUTSY LOB'
On his match point, Federer ran back for a Safin lob and played a between-the-legs shot which found the net. "I thought I would have lost the point anyway. He came up with a good shot to lob me. Got to have some guts to do that, so it's well done."
Federer, who struggled with a nerve-end problem and a blister on his foot, said: "I surprised myself by coming back because I had all these problems, and he has a great serve and a great game."
He needed treatment for back problems during the four-hour 28-minute match and came back from 5-3 down in the final set. "He was obviously more fresh than me, so I thought there was probably no way coming back. I had the feeling, like he gave me a second chance, you know, and I almost took it.
"It's really a pity. A point here and there changed the match. I had my chances, but he didn't allow me to take them," he added. "But at least I can leave the place feeling good about myself because I thought I gave it all I had, and that's all I got. He was the better player in the end."
Federer, whose number one ranking is not under threat, said he was looking forward to getting his revenge over Safin.
"Of course, I'm hoping for a rematch so I can beat him again. I haven't been involved in too many such great matches. But it was a thrill actually to be a part of it, that's very clear."
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