rogerfederer.com - Roger loses final to Roddick

Roger loses final to Roddick

Roger had to experience a defeat against Andy Roddick. The defending champion Roddick picked up a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win Saturday over Roger in the final of the invitational Kooyong Classic. However, the result of the exhibition match doesn't count on their official records.

Roger remains 12-1 officially in his career against Roddick and looked good in patches in the second set on the weekend before he begins his Australian Open title defense.

"It was hard conditions, and against Andy I knew that if the wind was going to be blowing, that it's going to be really hard from the baseline, so I decided, instead of breaking my rhythm, I would rather come to the net and try something else and try to play a little bit this way. Because already it's hard to return his serve. But in this wind, on my own serves, to battle along, it's not just great fun, so I decided to change it up a bit. It worked pretty well, gave me the idea that I have that option as well." Roger said.

Roddick was happy to win his first match against Roger, of course,  but didn’t want to overrate it, either.

"I think it needs to be done on a big stage before you put too much emphasis on it." Roddick stated.

Despite the loss, Roger said he was happy with his preparation for the first Grand Slam of the year.

"I'm feeling good - I feel like I'm ready," he said. "It's a shame I couldn't win ... but it was good preparation." Roger said.

His focus now is on defending his title at the Autralian Open to reach for the 10th Grand Slam title in his carreer. The task is not too easy though as he was drawn in a difficult half.

"I think it's a fair draw. I have good players in my sections. I think Youzhny is an excellent player, Djokovic is an excellent player, and the guy I play first round, I lost to him in '99, I've never beaten him. We'll see what happens. I feel good about my chances, obviously. But Grand Slam is a long story so I have to attack it in a good way and hopefully play a good opening match."