Roger Federer once candidly expressed his frustration at his inability to lick his wounds in private following a loss to arch-rival Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open.

Federer had a prime opportunity to equal Pete Sampras’ longstanding record of 14 Grand Slam titles at the 2009 Australian Open, squaring off against Nadal in the final. The Swiss had already secured three titles at the Melbourne Slam, whereas the Spaniard had not yet tasted glory at the Major.

After an intense four-hour and nine-minute long battle, it was Nadal who ultimately achieved a historic milestone in his career by clinching his maiden Australian Open title, defeating the Swiss 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-3.

In his post-match press conference, a dismayed Federer revealed that although the defeat wasn’t harder to take because he had failed to secure his historic 14th Major title, it was difficult to cope once the overwhelming emotions of shock, sadness and disappointment hit.

He emphasized the challenge of being required to stay on the court and go through the motions rather than retreating to the locker room to deal with the loss in private.

“Not really. I mean, honestly, no. I mean, it’s more like, you know, in the first moment you’re disappointed, you’re shocked, you’re sad, you know, then all of a sudden it overwhelms you,” he said.

“The problem is you can’t go in the locker room and just take it easy and take a cold shower. You can’t. You know, you’re stuck out there. It’s the worst feeling, you know. So, I don’t know, it’s rough,” he added.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have met at the Australian Open on four occasions

Over the course of their storied rivalry, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal locked horns in 40 tour-level encounters, with the Spaniard enjoying a 24-16 lead in their head-to-head record.

Nadal also secured a dominant 10-4 winning record in their matches at Grand Slam tournaments. Four of their 14 meetings at the Majors took place at the Australian Open.

The Spaniard triumphed in their first-ever encounter at the Melbourne Slam, defeating Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-3 in the 2009 final. Subsequently, he claimed a hard-fought 6-7(5), 6-2, 7-6(5), 6-4 victory in the semifinals of the 2012 edition of the event. The Mallorcan continued his winning streak against the Swiss legend in the 2014 semifinals, booking a place in the final with a 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-3 win.

Federer, meanwhile, emerged victorious against the Spaniard in the 2017 Australian Open final, winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to clinch the fifth of his six titles at the prestigious event.