Federer: I have years left in tennis

Roger Federer has ridiculed the suggestion he might be looking for a final shot of glory before retirement and insists he has “many more years left” in tennis.

The manner of Federer’s 6-3 6-2 defeat to Rafael Nadal in Miami’s Sony Ericsson Open semi-finals demonstrated the shifting balance of power in the men’s game.

Former world number one Federer is down to number three, behind Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the players who will contest Sunday’s final.

It was suggested to 29-year-old Federer that he might think about making a “final statement” in the game, similar to Pete Sampras who ended a two-year trophy drought by landing the 2002 US Open and then retiring.

But the man whose 16 grand slam titles make him the most successful men’s player of all-time shot down the theory.

“I know that I can do many more things in the game,” said the Swiss. “Sure, it’s disappointing losing a game like tonight, but those are the matches I work extremely hard for in the off-season. I’m very excited by what’s to come still.

“I don’t feel like I’m 35, like you guys make me sound I am. I’m still only 29, and I have many more years left. It’s not only just the slams for me. I like any tournament, that’s why I play them.”

He has an Olympic gold medal in his sights, particularly so given the 2012 tournament will be played on grass at Wimbledon, where he has won six of his grand slams.

“I would love to win the Olympic gold. Who wouldn’t? And who wouldn’t want to win them at Wimbledon?” Federer said.

“It’s clearly a big goal and I’m thinking about, but it’s not my number one goal in my career right now. It’s one after another. There are a lot of highlights in tennis, which is great. Thank God we have those.

“I don’t know how I would handle having a highlight every four years, to be honest. I think we’re very lucky in tennis. I think that’s why it’s very easy to go from one tournament to the next, because the next one is as big as the other.

“We have so many wonderful events around the world, and the tour is on such a high right now, such a great buzz around it.

“So I wouldn’t want to miss that, playing with all those guys at the moment and facing off and seeing how I can do against them.”

With Djokovic rising to number two, there is the prospect of Federer and Nadal meeting more frequently in semi-finals, rather than finals, at least in the short term.

Whether that means the start of a new era, Federer is not so sure.

“You tell me,” he said. “Let’s see in five years. It’s not like Novak hasn’t been around. Guys all talk about it like the guy can’t play tennis. It’s disappointing.”