Wounded Federer ready for break

 

Originally published on: 18/09/12 00:00

The Swiss won his 17th Grand Slam at Wimbledon this summer but was beaten by Andy Murray in the Olympic final and Tomas Berdych in the last eight at the US Open, and believes he is paying the price for his efforts in racking up 61 wins in 69 matches so far in 2012.

"I need a holiday badly," Federer said after leading Switzerland to a 3-2 Davis Cup play-off win over the Netherlands with straight sets singles wins over Thiemo De Bakker and Robin Haase.

"I'm wounded, tired, and exhausted and need some time off right now and see where I go from here,” he added.

If he is to defend his recently reclaimed No.1 spot, the 31-year-old has plenty of points to protect over the final two months of the season after winning three straight tournaments in Basel, Paris and at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals last year.

"Nothing has been decided for the rest of year, even though there is a plan in place, that plan might change,” Federer said. “I need to go back to drawing board to see what's important."

The Swiss later risked the wrath of ardent supporters of the Davis Cup by admitting he is not overly concerned by the competition despite playing in 21 ties and compiling a singles record of 32-7 for his nation.

Asked how much he valued the event, Federer replied: "Not really a whole lot to be quite honest. For me it’s more about taking part with my team-mates, I enjoy being with them, and that's about it really.

"I have a good time and my team-mates are all my best friends – I don't see them [on a] regular basis on tour and we have a great friendship and it’s always a lot of fun."

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