Severin Luthi, Roger Federer’s co-coach along with Stefan Edberg, says the 17-time Grand Slam champion should have little trouble bouncing back from his loss to Novak Djokovic in the U.S. Open final.
“I saw how motivated he was following the defeat in the final of Wimbledon, and began to train again,” Luthi told Berner Zeitung.
Luthi, also the Swiss Davis Cup captain, said that Federer was hampered by a poor start in the final and did not have much time to get back into the match once he dropped the third set, in which he had appeared to have an edge. Federer earned break points throughout the latter stages of the third set but failed to convert any, and eventually lost in four sets.
“One thing was that conditions changed. It became much cooler and the court played slower than before,” Luthi said of Federer's error-filled start, which followed a lengthy rain delay.
But Djokovic had to deal with tough conditions of his own, notably the crowd, which was almost entirely against him. “Such backing I've never seen anywhere but Davis Cup,” Luthi said. “For Djokovic is was definitely hard.”
Despite the loss, Luthi was positive about Federer's increasingly assertive game. “We are on the right way,” he said. “It is particularly important in what moments you do what...I am confident Roger can get even better at net. We will keep evolving Roger's game.”
Federer played the week after the U.S. Open for Switzerland’s Davis Cup tie against the Netherlands, losing in doubles but winning both his singles matches in straight sets.