Roger Federer
Reuters

Defeat is hard to take for Federer

Updated 11.26 Mon Jul 07 2008

Roger Federer admitted his Wimbledon final defeat by Rafael Nadal was hard to take but could not judge if it was the greatest match ever played.

Former champion John McEnroe described the epic five-set match as the best match he had ever seen.

"It was probably my hardest loss by far" - Roger Federer

Nadal's 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-7 9-7 victory brought Federer's five-year Wimbledon winning streak to an abrupt halt and defeat hurt Federer deeply.

He said: "It's up to the fans to judge whether it was the best ever. I'm happy we put in a great effort.

"It was a fair battle, which was tough with the rain delays. There were some great points and I think we both stayed tough until the very end.

"In tennis unfortunately there have to be winners and losers, there are no draws. But it was probably my hardest loss by far. It doesn't get much harder than this."

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