"it wasn't to be"

31 January, 2010 | 13:01

Andy has been reacting to his defeat to Roger Federer in the Australian Open final.

It was an emotional end to proceedings on Rod Laver as the Swiss toughed out the third set breaker 13-11 to wrap up the win.

Holding back the tears as he spoke to the crowd afterward, Andy delivered the line of the fortnight: "I can cry like Roger, it's a shame I can't play like him."

"I don't feel great," said Andy as he explained his emotions in his news conference.

"If it was a complete blow‑out - if I lost 3, 4, and 2 - it probably wouldn't have happened. But I had my chance to get back into the match. That was probably why I was upset."

There were he conceded, opportunities missed that he would reflect on; a chance for a break in the first set, and others in the third: "I thought I deserved to take it into a fourth, but it didn't happen," he conceded. 

But there was a pledge to continue the hard work, even if losing a second slam final against Fed isn't easy.

"I'm hungry to win one," stressed Andy. "I worked really, really hard to try to do it and give myself the opportunity. So far it's not been good enough. But I'm sure one day it will be. When it comes, maybe because of the two losses, it will be even better."

And there was an awareness too that these are moments to be appreciated, even in defeat. 

"To have the opportunity to play in these tournaments, in these matches, is pretty incredible in the grand scheme of things," he said.

"I'm not going to be too disappointed. I've got a pretty good life. I've got a long career ahead of me, and I'm going to have more opportunities to win them. I hope that I will.

"But if I don't, there's a lot more important things to worry about than tennis."