Bernard Tomic admitted he received a masterclass at the hands of four-time champion Roger Federer on Sunday night.
Tomic's progress has whipped the Aussie media into a frenzy over the past fortnight and after three classy wins, it didn't seem all that impossible that he could take out the 30 year old Federer.
However Federer was determined not to be unseated by some teenage upstart and he put Tomic's first week feats into stark perspective with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win. For those with longer memories, it was reminiscent of the beating he handed out to a young Novak Djokovic at this stage five years ago.
Tomic knows his time will eventually come and he paid tribute to Federer's brilliance.
"For me, it's a great pleasure and honor to play him. I think you learn a lot over the period when you play these top guys, top three or four guys. You can just only get better if you lose against him," he enthused.
"I don't think there will ever be as good of a player as him. I think you can only learn what he does and take in what you learned. Last time I learned a lot of things when I played him, and this time I learned even more. It's tough to play your best against someone like that. He's not going to let you play good. I can't use my shots I way I need them against him. I can get over with a few, but it's tough to use it against him because he's a little bit smarter and he understands where I'm going to go."
"On grass I have more chance against him, you know, my slices I can use a little bit more and the ball stays lower. Hard courts he's always balanced. The harder I hit it, you know, the ball comes back in a different corner and ends up always being a winner."
