Roger Federer wins praise after clarifying retirement rumours post Australian Open loss

Roger Federer's bid for his seventh Australian Open title was halted in the semi-final after losing to World No 2 Novak Djokovic in three sets on Thursday. The Swiss ace was not even near 100% fit when he took the court for the epic semi-final clash. Federer battled with a painful groin muscle in the entire match which restricted his movement at the Rod Laver Arena. Despite injury issues, the 20-time Grand Slam champion thinks he has enough ammunition left in the tank to win ‘a major or two’.

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Australian Open: Roger Federer retirement 

In his post-match interview after the semi-final loss, Roger Federer said that he had no plans to retire and insisted that he was still in good enough shape to win Grand Slams. Speaking about the same, he said looking at his age, he has no idea what the future holds for him. He further said that he is confident and happy how he is feeling currently. Speaking about playing the semi-final match despite nursing an injury, he said that he didn't think he would have gone on the court if he felt like he had no chance to win. He also said that everyone saw that he was still able to make a match out of it.

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Australian Open: Fans react after Roger Federer plays down retirement plans

Australian Open: Roger Federer retiring in Grand Slam tournaments  

Roger Federer has never skipped a Grand Slam match or never left it midway. He has played 1513 tour-level matches and not retired midway even once. He has played 421 matches at major tournaments since 1999 and not given his opponent a walkover.

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Australian Open: Novak Djokovic heaps praise on Roger Federer

Novak Djokovic paid "huge respect" to old rival Roger Federer Thursday after he swept past the ailing star and into a record eighth Australian Open final to move closer to his 17th Grand Slam crown. Speaking about his greatest rival, Novak Djokovic said that it's never easy to play against him. He said that he has respect to him for trying his best despite being hurt, which could be seen in his movement. 

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