Federer heads 'back to drawing board' after shocking loss to Berdych
Swiss ace voices dismay about his shocking US Open quarter-final loss to Tomas Berdych, which snaps his run of 21 unbeaten matches
Shaken by his shocking US Open quarter-final loss to Tomas Berdych, World No.1 Roger Federer is going "back to the drawing board" to try and pick up the pieces of a suddenly shattered season.
Czech sixth seed Berdych stunned the Swiss top seed 7-6 (7-1), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to book a berth in the semi-finals against British third seed Andy Murray, who beat Croatian Marin Cilic 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, 6-0.
"I've got to go back to the drawing board from here and see what's really a priority," said Federer. "I'm disappointed. I really expected myself to play better."
Federer saw his 21-match unbeaten run in night matches at Arthur Ashe Stadium snapped by a rival whom he had beaten in 11 of 15 prior meetings, one who had never played a night match in the largest grand slam tennis venue.
After collecting his first grand slam title in 2-1/2 years by beating Murray in the Wimbledon final, taking an Olympic silver medal and reclaiming the World No 1 ranking, Federer was handed his worst US Open loss since a fourth-round ouster in 2003 by David Nalbandian.
"The goal has been achieved, but now this is disappointing for me," Federer said. "We'll see where I go from now and if I go to Davis Cup or not, about what's to come for the remainder for the season."
Fighting for the season-ending World No.1 spot will play a role in his decision once the sting of defeat has eased.