Federer: "Don't Feel Too Sorry For Me"

© AFP/Getty ImagesRoger Federer had been bidding to win his 233rd Grand Slam match to equal Jimmy Connors' record for the most major match wins since 1968.

Despite losing to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open semi-finals on Thursday, Roger Federer says, "Don't feel too sorry for me. You look at that I haven't lost in five months or something - it's not that bad.

"Obviously I would have loved to have come through and gotten a crack, a chance, at winning the title here again. It's been one of the most successful tournaments in my life here. It's the ninth [straight] time I am in the semi-finals. 

"Clearly I'm disappointed. But then again, [what's] important is the reaction from now... 'Where do I go from here?' I need to have a good reaction like I showed after the US Open."

The fact that Nadal is now 18-9 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series and 2-8 in Grand Slam championship matches, is not lost on Federer. But it doesn't concern him. Titles matter.

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"I respect it," admitted the 16-time major champion. "I think he's doing great against me. It is what it is. At the end I care about my titles, if I'm happy or not as a person. Head to heads for me are not the most important. If I beat Andre [Agassi] 10 times in a row or Lleyton [Hewitt] many times in a row, at the end of the day I don't care.

Asked whether Nadal saved his best tennis for Federer, the Swiss said, "I don't know if it's true, [but] it's my assumption.

"I feel he plays really good against me... I always think he plays a bit better against me than against other players, but that's good for him.

"I was slightly disappointed, obviously, leaving centre court, because I felt like my game was good and I could have done something in the final potentially. But I don't have to worry about that now anymore. It's fine. I feel okay now. It's in the past already."

The former World No. 1 is next scheduled to compete at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, an ATP World Tour 500 indoor hard-court event in Rotterdam, from 13 February.

Federer drops to a 63-9 record at the Australian Open, where he is a four-time former champion. He was bidding to win his 500th tour-level hard-court match. In the Open Era (since 1968), only Andre Agassi has more wins on hard courts (596 wins).