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In his first match on clay in nearly two years, Roger Federer lost to Pablo Andujar 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the second round of the Geneva Open on Tuesday. The match was also his comeback after two months away from tour.
Federer, who is coming off of two knee surgeries over the last 15 months, was accepting, but frustrated with his defeat against his Spanish opponent.
“It (losing) never feels great,” Federer said after the match, according to the Associated Press. “Looking at the long road that I have been on from the comeback, sure it’s rewarding to be back on a tennis court but you know I expect better from myself. I was a bit limited today, I felt, on the court. It is what it is. You just have to accept it and move on.”
The silver lining for the tennis legend is that the clay court is not where he’s known to dominate.
He even said as much in his post-match press conference where he noted, “The goal is the grass so I still have time.”
The last time Federer competed on clay, the stakes were a bit higher and the opponent was significantly tougher. He took on Rafael Nadal, the king of the clay court, in the semifinal of the 2019 French Open. Federer went on to lose that match as well.
For Andujar, meanwhile, the victory was enormous. He said after the win that it is something he’d tell his grandchildren about.