Roger Federer remained in positive mood
after his shock semi-final defeat to David Goffin at the ATP Finals on Saturday, saying he's "enjoyed" his comeback season.
The Swiss superstar was gunning for a seventh Tour Finals title and faced a man who had taken just two sets off him in their
previous six meetings.
But Goffin produced an unexpected display at London's O2 Arena to fight back from a
set down to triumph 2-6 6-3 6-4 - denying Federer the chance to register an eighth title of the year, and a 96th career victory. Federer took the second half of 2016 off to fully recover from a knee and back injuries and returned with a vengeance to win the Australian Open and Wimbledon - taking his
Grand Slam tally to 19.
And he reflected on just his fifth defeat of the year by looking ahead to the first Grand Slam of 2018 in Melbourne.
I can't wait to play there [Australia] again. I had the best time of my life this year, so can't wait to go back there.
Roger Federer
"Yeah, it's been an amazing year for me," said the 36-year-old. "Been so happy that I was playing at this level from the beginning
till basically the end, till today. So it's been great. Really enjoyed myself in the process. "I felt I was playing forward, playing
attacking tennis. I wish I could have done that a little bit more today. It's kind of disappointing to finish on this note. But whatever happened today is less important
than if I look at the entire season. With thatseason, I'm extremely happy.
"Looking ahead, look, clearly the build-up is not going to be six months like it was last time around. It's not going to be six weeks of tennis. It's just going to be two, three weeks. It's going to be short.
"Then I'm just looking forward to some time off now, away from the match court, away from the pressure, then hopefully play
well in Australia. I can't wait to play there again. I had the best time of my life this year, so can't wait to go back there." Goffin revealed before the match that he
had come up with a different gameplan following those six previous defeats.
And Federer said: "Yeah. He played better. That was a good plan. It's a bit disappointing for me because it's indoors, it's a court I like to play on. But I had my chances and missed them.
"When he had them, he was very
committed. I think that was the difference. He's crushed me too many times in practice to not also do it once in a match situation."
Looking ahead, look, clearly the build-up is not going to be six months like it was last time around. It's not going to be six weeks of tennis. It's just going to be two, three weeks. It's going to be short.
Looking ahead, look, clearly the build-up is not going to be six months like it was last time around. It's not going to be six weeks of tennis. It's just going to be two, three weeks. It's going to be short.