Roger Federer ready to move past the Olympics

Roger Federer thought winning the silver medal at the Olympics was a "great result" for him. (Getty Images) MASON, Ohio -- Roger Federer hasn't had any
Roger Federer ready to move past the Olympics
Roger Federer ready to move past the Olympics /

Roger Federer thought winning the silver medal at the Olympics was a "great result" for him. (Getty Images)

Roger-Federer-Olympics

MASON, Ohio -- Roger Federer hasn't had any trouble getting over his lopsided loss to Andy Murray in the gold-medal match of the London Olympics.

"I haven't thought about it much," Federer said at a news conference amid preparations for his first match at the Western & Southern Open. "It's one of those matches you try to move on from. Unfortunately, there is no repeat of it where I can just come back, rewind and just play it again and hopefully feel better. But I accepted quickly that Murray was better on the day. That was it. I wasn't going to let it ruin my Olympics campaign just because I didn't win gold. I still thought silver was a great result for me. That's how I felt when I got back."

After a few days rest following the Olympic final, Federer arrived in Cincinnati late last week, a move that has allowed him to get a good amount of practice on the slow hard courts while also letting him fight off the jet lag that may affect players arriving later. Federer has won the tournament here four times, but he's also had a number of early exits.

"Honestly, here either I play really, really well or sometimes I just play really bad," Federer said. "So that's why the focus is big in the early rounds. It's true that once I get rolling here, I do play extremely well. I've always enjoyed coming here."

The top-ranked Federer joins Murray and Rogers Cup champion Novak Djokovic in a field that is missing Rafael Nadal. Federer admitted that he was surprised by the absence of his longtime rival from Spain. Nadal, who withdrew from the Olympics and Toronto due to his knees, also pulled out of Cincinnati and may be questionable for the U.S. Open.

"I was going to write him and check on him because I can't believe he's been out that long," Federer said. "I thought the Olympics, OK, that's fine. That's a personal choice. I thought for sure we would see him in Toronto, but now he missed Toronto and Cincinnati. It's very surprising, because it was nothing that we heard of prior to the injury. He played so well on clay, and then actually seemed fine at Wimbledon. He had more time by losing earlier at Wimbledon. So it came as big surprise now, these two pull-outs for me. Even the Olympics, too. So I'm sad for him. I hope he'll be back for the [U.S.] Open."


Published
Courtney Nguyen
COURTNEY NGUYEN

Contributor, SI.com Nguyen is a freelance writer for SI.com, providing full coverage of professional tennis both on and off the court. Her content has become a must-read for fans and insiders to stay up-to-date with a sport that rarely rests. She has appeared on radio and TV talk shows all over the world and is one of the co-hosts of No Challenges Remaining, a weekly podcast available on iTunes. Nguyen graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 1999 and received a law degree from the University of California, Davis in 2002. She lives in the Bay Area.