Roger Federer happy with form in buildup to US Open

Johannesburg: 17 Grand Slam titles holder Roger Federer has kept to a steady pace in his buildup for the US Open starting in a fortnight and said that his weekend title loss in Canada helped him gather more information on improving his game.

Federer said that his 7-5, 7-6 (7/2) weekend finals loss in Toronto to France`s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was a disappointment but also a huge chance to gather more information on the current state of his improving game, which is bolstered by a fearsome new racquet. While Federer missed out on his third title of the season after playing in seven finals, he did start putting the pieces in place as he begins as second seed at this week`s final pre-grand slam tune-up, the Cincinnati Masters, Sport24 reported. Federer said that he is overall pretty happy that he made the finals in his first tournament back on hard courts, adding that he had a few tough matches, which clearly gave him a lot of information. The Swiss said that he knows what he needs to work on the next few days and next few weeks, which is good to know what he needs to do other than feeling lost. Federer said that he wishes he could have played a bit better in the final, but the facts were that it was tough for him. But he added that it was a positive week overall. He said that he goes away from Canada feeling good about his chances and also at the US Open and for the rest of the season. Federer will be bidding to win his sixth trophy in Cincinnati, where the women are also competing. After a first-round bye he starts in the second round with the winner from Canadian Vasek Pospisil and Czech veteran Radek Stepanek, the report added.