Roger Federer self-critical as he explains 'complicated' ATP Finals exit

Roger Federer says he needs to find an answer to the “complicated” problem which has recently arisen.

The Swiss star was knocked out of the ATP Finals semi-finals by Stefanos Tsitsipas this afternoon but he was not without chances.

Tsitsipas converted three of his four break points to earn a 6-3, 6-4 victory whereas Federer only took one of his 12.

It was a similar story in the Wimbledon final this year where the 20-time Grand Slam winner spurred two match points before going on to lose against Novak Djokovic.

And upon reflection, Federer feels he needs to improve in that critical area.

“I think, you know, I’ve got to keep on playing at the level like I have this year, and then I will create some chances. I thought I played some consistent, solid tennis,” Federer said.

“I’ve got to take care of my body, listen to the signs, work well with the team, get the balance right with everything that’s happening in my life.

“Then when the matches come, you know, it’s not maybe as easy as it was maybe 10, 15 years ago where you’re just going to play very good day in, day out, maybe you need to do extra effort sometimes for that to happen.

“Maybe that’s what it felt like today is just things were complicated, you know, but I’ve got to maybe do even a better job at figuring these moments out, because the opportunities were there today, for instance.

“They were there in other moments as well this season, maybe Indian Wells or Wimbledon or whatever.

“That can change an entire season around, the confidence around, the flow of things. But, you know, I’m happy how I played this season, and I’m extremely excited for next season.”

Federer was also gutted at his 26 unforced errors compared to Tsitsipas’ 21.

“I don’t know exactly why it went the way it did, you know,” he added.

“I think getting broken with missing two smashes in one game, that hasn’t in a long, long time or ever. So that was tough.

“That’s not something you can train or practice for. That’s tough, just feet were not quite there yet, still not quite getting used to the high one and all that stuff.

“But, God, you know, I accepted it and moved on and actually got into the match well. Had some good spells, but the spells where things were not working well, they were pretty bad, you know.

“At this level, you just can’t have it happen, so that was pretty disappointing today.”