Roger Federer admits Rafael Nadal was ‘hungrier’ as he reflects on stinging 2008 Wimbledon loss – Eurosport

The clash is one of tennis’ great showdowns and was the third instalment of their trilogy of finals at the Championship, with the Swiss player beating the Spaniard in 2006 and 2007.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner won Wimbledon six times between 2003 and 2009, with the 2008 final being the only loss in that time and Nadal spoiling a potential seven wins in a row.

The Swiss swapped the shorts he had worn “almost every day for the last 35 years” for a robe that was “hard to move in” as he spoke when receiving a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the New Hampshire institution.

“Looking back, I feel like I lost at the very first point of the match,” the 42-year-old said.

“I looked across the net and I saw a guy who just a few weeks earlier had crushed me in straight sets at the French Open and I thought this guy is maybe hungrier than I am and he’s finally got my number. 

“It took me until the third set before I finally remembered: ‘Hey buddy, you’re the five-time defending champion and you’re on grass by the way. You know how to do this’. But it came too late and Rafa won and it was well deserved.”

At the time of their meeting, the Swiss was the king on the grass while the Spaniard dominated the clay court. That was reflected in Federer beating Nadal in the previous two finals, while Nadal had bested Federer three years in a row in the French Open final.

The third of those defeats had come a few weeks before their Wimbledon clash, with Nadal dominating Federer 6-1 6-3 6-0 at Roland-Garros.

“Some defeats hurt more than others,” Federer admitted. “I knew I would never get a shot at six in a row, I lost Wimbledon, I lost my number one ranking and suddenly people said: ‘He had a great run, is this the changing of the guard?’ But I knew what I had to do – keep working and keep competing. In tennis, perfection is impossible.”

But 16 years on from that final, and two years on from his retirement from the sport, Federer is comfortable in life off the court. While some athletes struggle with the transition to a non-playing life, he is admittedly loving it. With that, he empathises with Nadal and the constant media speculation surrounding his impending retirement.

“I know what it’s like when people keep asking what your plan is for the rest of your life. They ask me ‘Now that you’re not a professional tennis player, what do you do?’ I don’t know and it’s ok not to know.”

In true collegiate style, Federer prefers to think of his retirement in terms of graduating from tennis.

“So what do I do with my time? I’m a dad first so I guess I drive my kids to school, I play chess online against strangers, I vacuum the house. No, in truth I’m loving the life of a tennis graduate.”

One of the lessons that he delivered to the graduates was that “effortless is a myth”

“Effortless. People would say my play was effortless and most of the time they meant it as a compliment,” he told the crowd.

“But it used to frustrate me when they would say ‘he barely broke a sweat’. Or is he even trying? The truth is that I had to work very hard to make it look easy. I’d spend years whining, swearing – sorry – throwing my racket before I learned to keep my cool.”