A ailing Roger Federer crashes out after 7-6, 6-4 third round defeat to Austrian Dominic
Roger Federer reacts during his third-round defeat to Austrian Dominic Thiem at the Rome Masters in Rome yesterday
Rome: Swiss third seed Roger Federer's Rome Masters bid ended with a 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 third round defeat to Austrian 13th seed Dominic Thiem yesterday.
Roger Federer reacts during his third-round defeat to Austrian Dominic Thiem at the Rome Masters in Rome yesterday. Pic/AFP
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Federer, who withdrew last week from Madrid with back pain, admitted on Wednesday he had been surprised to get past second round opponent Alexander Zverev in straight sets.
Federer decided to face Thiem at the last minute on Central Court, and the Austrian capitalised to finish off an obviously ailing Federer in one hour 18 minutes. In the quarter-finals.
Federer admitted he was happy to exit the tournament, which he has never won, because it will give him time to consider his options as he tries to regain full fitness ahead of next month's French Open at Roland Garros.
Dominic Thiem
But as for competing in Rome, Federer said: "My body's just not ready... I'm not going to go into specifics, because I'm not in the mood. Ten days before (the) Monaco (tournament), I trained really well on clay and I thought it would give me a good chance in Paris.
"The way I'm playing right now is not going to be good enough for a good run in Paris. It really depends now on the next seven to nine days, how I can really play in Paris. I'm going to have a meeting with my team, talk about options we have, stay in Rome, Paris or go back to Switzerland.
"Should I rest, train, do some more physio? All that stuff needs to be discussed but I'm so happy I didn't get hurt this week."
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