Shanghai - Roger Federer said he remains convinced he was flirting with a tennis miracle in a fighting defeat against Andy Murray at the Masters Cup, which ended his season. Failing to reach the semi-finals for the first time in seven appearances at the year-end tournament meant the Swiss player had to swallow a bitter defeat as he saved seven match points before losing to Murray for the third time in four 2008 meetings.
"Of course I'm disappointed," Federer said after Friday's loss. "I wish I could have played the matches I played here this week under better circumstances, but I almost made a miracle happen. I can't believe how close I got, to be honest, so I'm actually very happy."
"I'm pretty happy I don't have a match tomorrow, to be honest," admitted the Swiss, who was repeatedly treated for back trouble that had bothered him for a fortnight.
"It wouldn't have been a whole lot of fun to go out there," he said. "I would have played [Nikolay] Davydenko. That wouldn't have been a whole lot of fun. Against him, you have to defend and run."
Friday's three-hour struggle might have taken something from Murray for his match Saturday, but Federer, the master planner, is already plotting his post-holiday strategy.
"It was a good season," he said, looking back on 2008. "I was happy I could win the US Open for the fifth-straight time."
"I'm looking forward to next year, to go for six," said Federer, whose 15 losses in the 2008 season were his most since the 17 of 2003. "It was an incredible match at Wimbledon [against Rafael Nadal]. To be part of that was good as well."
Federer also cited "very emotional victories again in Basle, my hometown."
"And winning the Olympic gold for Switzerland was a big moment for me," he added. "It's been a good year, you know, but tough to end [like this]. I have mixed feelings, but I think it gives me the opportunity to start over all new again next year."
Federer will not miss a payday on Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur in a lightweight exhibition with James Blake, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe. Then he can go on holiday for rest and intense training sessions over the Christmas break in Dubai before he starts 2009 in the Middle East.
Federer said the past week in Shanghai was a test for his body after pulling out of Paris this month with back pain.
"Here, I play for two hours, and I can hardly wake up [feeling well]," he said. "On top of that, I got sick [with a stomach virus]. All those things just made it really difficult this week.
"I never felt comfortable on serve all week. It's not easy to all of a sudden say, 'OK, I guess the back's fine; let's just go full on.' You are always a little bit worried.
"But still I'm happy the season is over. Hope I can recover from all of what happened this week because it was tough, so we'll see how I'll feel next year again."
