Federers career far from over

World No. 1 Roger Federer, the newly-crowned Wimbledon champion, is clearly pleased with his record of being the only tennis player with 15 grand slam titles. But he revealed that he struggled to clinch the 2009 Wimbledon title on Sunday, as it took him five sets to beat Andy Roddick of the United States, 5-7, 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 16-14. “You know, I mean, it's frustrating at times because I couldn't break Andy till the very, very end,” Federer said in an interview posted on Wimbledon.org. “So satisfaction is maybe bigger this time around to come through, because I couldn't control the match at all.” The 27-year-old sports star from Switzerland also said, “I really thought I had to play my very, very best to come through.” He added that his second set win was crucial to his sixth Wimbledon final victory. He then praised his opponent, saying that Roddick played well. “He's not going to let his head hang down. I think he's gonna come back strong and play great in the States.” “I think it's one of the best matches we played against each other,” remarked the Swiss. “It's hard. Sports or tennis is cruel sometimes.” Full circle Federer also commented about the legend tag other people have placed on him. “I don't know if you're a legend as long as you're still playing the sport. So let's wait and see,” he said. “I mean, it's staggering, you know, that I've been able to play so well for, you know, so many years now and stay injury-free. Happy what I'm doing,” he went on. “I'm happy I broke the record here in some ways, you know, because this is always the tournament that's meant the most to me.” Federer’s win last Sunday exceeded the 14 grand slam titles record held by American Pete Sampras. “I know how much the record meant to him and he knows how much the record means to me. In a way, I still feel like we share it, you know, just because he was such a wonderful champion,” he added. “He still has one up against me here at Wimbledon,” added Federer, who is one championship short of matching Sampras’ seven Wimbledon titles. The Swiss Maestro captured his first grand slam in Wimbledon in 2003. “It definitely feels like it's come full circle for me, you know, starting it here and ending it here.” He, however, was quick to point out, “Of course, my career is far from over.” “It's crazy that I've been able to win so many in such a short period of time, I think,” he mentioned. Top spot Federer also commented on talks that he achieved his recent success without getting past former World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, who pulled out of Wimbledon due to a knee injury. “You never know how he would have played, but it's sad he couldn't even give it a fair chance, Rafa. He had the injury. Tennis moves very quickly, you know.” He continued, “I'm happy at least that I became No. 1 in the world by winning the tournament, not just by him not playing at all, or me playing decent or someone else playing decent and getting to No. 1.” “It's supposed to be that you win big matches, big tournaments. That's how you get back to it,” he proclaimed.