Federer thanks lucky stars for Nadal fightback

Federer thanks lucky stars for Nadal fightback Federer thanks lucky stars for Nadal fightback Roger Federer has admitted his year would have been "very different" had he not battled back from a 1-3 fifth-set deficit in his Australian Open triumph against Rafael Nadal. Without a Grand Slam title since 2012, Federer fought back to beat Nadal in January's decider in Melbourne, setting himself up for a stunning return to form. He followed it up with back-to-back Masters victories at Indian Wells and Miami before winning his 19th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon and has risen to number two in the ATP ranking. "I don't think I would have won both Indian Wells and Miami," said Federer, 36, in an interview published in Saturday's edition of The Times newspaper. "Maybe I would have won one. I would have played on the clay maybe. The season would have been very different. "My plan was to play maybe the quarters at best at the Aussie and then take it from there.