Federer staying positive after Indian Wells defeat

Roger Federer remains upbeat and is confident of achieving further success despite losing to Dominic Thiem in the final of the Indian Wells Masters (Federer 4/1 Wimbledon Outright).

Having picked up his 100th ATP title in Dubai, the 37-year-old was looking to go back-to-back in the Californian desert but came up short against the Austrian.

Thiem won 3-6 6-3 7-5 and has now moved up to fourth in the latest world rankings, with Federer one spot below.

The Swiss ace, who looks set to play the clay-court season this year after sidestepping it in recent seasons, continues to defy his age and preferred to take the positives from Sunday’s reverse (Federer 28/1 French Open Outright).

“I’m not too disappointed. I feel like he had to come up with the goods, and it did feel like to some extent it was on my racket,” he said.

“I just came up against somebody who was, on the day, a bit better when it really mattered. That’s how it goes.”

Federer has won an incredible 20 Grand Slam titles in an illustrious career and shows no signs of slowing down despite being five months from his 38th birthday.

Much has been made of his incredible fitness levels and the eight-time Wimbledon champion was quick to point out that he still feels great physically despite a heavy work load in recent weeks.

“The body is perfectly fine. That also always keeps me upbeat, and I feel it’s a privilege when I feel this way leaving a tournament,” he added. “I have been playing every single day for the past three weeks. I can be very happy and proud of that fact.

“I feel really good, so why shouldn’t I go into the tournament and to the event confident?”

Odds subject to change