'Encouraged' Federer 'on track' despite missing out on 'all-Swiss' Oz Open final

Swiss ace Roger Federer has said that he is encouraged by his start to the new season although he regretted missing out an 'all-Swiss' Australian Open final with compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka after world number one Rafael Nadal sent him crashing in the semifinals on Friday.

Federer, mentored by Stefan Edberg and wielding a bigger racquet, showed vintage form in the tournament although Nadal, who won 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 6-3, robbed the 17-time Major champion of a rare chance to play in a Grand Slam final, where he would have had a great chance of expanding his record tally of 17 major titles.

According to Sport24, however, Federer said that he was satisfied with his work at Melbourne and insisted his best tennis was still to come, although he added that he would regret missing out on an all-Swiss final at the Open for a long time.

Stating that he had a very good overall start to the season, Federer also said that he is looking forward to the next couple of months and is hoping to be 100 percent again by April, adding that although he tried to implement a few suggestions from Edberg in the semi-final, they were neutralised by the fast and powerful Nadal.

It was Federer's fourth straight defeat in semi-finals at the Australian Open and his 11th consecutive appearance in the Melbourne last four, while his sixth straight Grand Slam loss to Nadal also pushes him below Wawrinka in the world rankings, putting an end to his 13-year reign as Switzerland's number one, the report added.