That’s the verdict of tennis expert Daniela Hantuchova.
Roger Federer sustained his heaviest Grand Slam defeat in 11 years as Rafael Nadal defeated him 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 on Court Philippe-Chatrier yesterday.
The 37-year-old struggled with swirling gusty winds in Paris that rendered the court near unplayable and kicked up red dirt which affected both players at times throughout the match.
Federer’s trip to the final four, however, was in just his first appearance at the French Open since 2015.
The Swiss icon defeated Lorenzo Sonego, Oscar Otte, Casper Ruud, Leonardo Mayer and Stan Wawrinka – dropping just one set across all five games – before coming up against 11-time champion Nadal.
And while Nadal served up a crushing defeat for his long-time rival, former women’s world No 5 Hantuchova thinks Federer can walk away from the clay-court season with his head still held high.
On Federer’s defeated demeanour in the third set, Hantuchova told Roland Garros’ official YouTube channel: “It was understandable, in these kind of conditions and being two sets to love down against Rafa, where do you go from there?
“It was normal for Roger to get a little bit frustrated.
“But at the same time the way Roger has played here throughout the whole tournament, it’s better than I’ve ever seen him.
“His footwork, I don’t know how he does it but it seems like he’s getting faster and faster.
“Hitting his back and topspin better than ever so all the great things to take from this tournament.”
And Federer insists he enjoyed his return to the second slam of the annual ATP Tour calendar overall.
“I thought it was a great tournament. I really enjoyed it,” the 20-time Grand Slam champion said.
“Crowd support couldn’t have been better. Maybe one of the best ever in my entire 20-year career that I have been on tour at a slam.
“Them always being there for me, supporting me in practice, at the matches, on the grounds whenever I came and showed up, they were always happy to see me. So that was nice.”
Having taken the clay season off completely and enjoyed a break instead in the last two years, Federer also added that he was pleased to go into the grass-court season in full health.
”I managed to get through this clay season without an injury,” Federer added. “That’s a small victory for me.”
He will return at the Gerry weber Open in Halle which gets underway on June 15th.