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'Big Regret': Roger Federer Names The U.S. Open Loss That Haunts Him

HuffPost · Ben Blanchet · 2026-08-26T20:19:32+00:00 · nguồn gốc

Tennis great Roger Federer has revealed that he’s haunted by his shock defeat in the 2009 U.S. Open men’s final. Federer — in an interview clip shared by ESPN’s Spanish-language tennis page on Tuesday — reflected on Argentina’s Juan Martín del Potro beating him in a match that lasted over four hours. “It haunts me more,” said the Swiss Maestro while comparing the 2009 loss to falling in the nearly five-hour-long 2019 Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic. He noted that the defeat ended his “incredible” run of five-straight men’s titles at the U.S. Open. “I knew I was never going to get that back, and I felt that I missed out on so many chances throughout the match that that one is a big regret that I have,” Federer said. With a win in that year’s final, Federer would have stood alone as the only man in the Open era to win six titles, a feat that was last accomplished by Bill Tilden in 1925 during the amateur era (a time when the tournament did not include professional tennis players). Federer said another loss that haunts him is falling to Rafael Nadal in the 2008 Wimbledon final, a match tennis fans often list among the best — if not the greatest — in the sport’s history. Like the lead-up to his U.S. Open loss, Federer was a five-time defending champ coming into that final. “So actually, funny enough, I have more regrets against Rafa and DelPo than I have with the Novak match,” said Federer, who joked that he’s the “king of missing match points.” Federer earned a highly anticipated send-off at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday in an exhibition against his friend — and longtime foe on the court — Andy Roddick. Fans packed the stands for the event celebrating his iconic career and were treated to a doubles exhibition that saw Federer teaming up with great John McEnroe to take on Roddick and fellow tennis icon Andre Agassi.