Roger Federer lamented his missed break-point chances after a four-set loss to Novak Djokovic in the U.S. Open final on Sunday.
The Swiss star suffered a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 loss to world No. 1 Djokovic after converting just four of 23 break points at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Federer felt he deserved to be closer than he was at stages in New York, with four break points wasted in the third set and five in the fourth.
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"Yeah, surely I am very disappointed," he told a news conference after the match. "Like you said, I had my chances on my racquet. I should never been down in the score the way I was," he said.
"But Novak did a great job of fending them off, and, you know, all of that. It was a tough night, but still, I don't know, thrilling at the same time."
The loss means Federer remains without a grand slam title since Wimbledon 2012, which marked his 17th. He has now lost seven of his past nine matches against Djokovic in majors.
Asked if Djokovic simply found "another gear" when facing break points, Federer said the missed chances were mostly his own doing.
"I didn't feel that way, to be quite honest," he said. "I had too many break chances. Of course some of them I could have done better, should have done better, you know, all these things. Surely he didn't give me much, you know, and all that, that's for sure, but still I should have done better."
Federer felt his aggressive game plan, which led to 56 winners and 54 unforced errors, was the right one against the Serbian.
"I'm feeling confident doing it, you know. I think it was the right game plan. Just execution sometimes was missing in some crucial moments. But other than that, I think I played a good match," he said. "Maybe I haven't played this offensive for a very long time, and that's maybe the reasons, as well, why maybe I was slightly shaky when it came to the crunch on the break points. Who knows?"