See Roger Federer share tears and laughter with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria
Roger Federer had a big day on Saturday, hitting a double set of back-to-back matches on the Swiss Indoors in Flushing Meadows, New York. After suffering a shock loss to Stanislas Wawrinka, Federer had his chances to rebound before the evening set him back again.
It was the first time Federer had lost consecutive matches in a calendar year. His first loss, to his younger brother Novak last year, had also ended his three-match winning streak. This one was a heartbreaker, as it meant an end to Federer’s winning streak at Indian Wells and his quest to reach a career Grand Slam.
The crowd chanted, “Roger Federer! Roger Federer!” on the court but the Swiss legend appeared to be the only one who was emotional. Federer looked exhausted, his lips were blood red with tears while he was walking and shaking hands with his opponent, who had a glass of the win on his side: Stanislas Wawrinka.
“I don’t have a good memory of New York but this was my first time in the Big Apple,” he told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in an exclusive clip. “I’m really happy. It was a good victory for us. He’s a good fighter, he’s a great guy, I like him a lot. He came into the match in good form. I really like him, just looking at his game.”
At 38 years old, it will be hard for Federer to maintain his position at top of the list of top players in the world but he will have enough time to win three more Grand Slams by winning his next match on the clay of Monte Carlo in two weeks.
It’s hard to know what to think of Federer in the wake of his heartbreaking loss but it’s clear that he wants to do better and he has shown he’s capable of doing so. He has now won his last three matches at Indian Wells and Monte Carlo and now has a chance to seal the deal for a career Grand Slam that he’s been trying for since 2009.
He won the Wimbledon title last year when he was 22 and then went on to win a Masters and a US Open. He then competed at only