Roger Federer cools talk of retirement after Wimbledon defeat

Beaten semi-finalist Roger Federer has played down talk that he is planning on calling time on his tennis career after his Wimbledon exit.

The 34-year-old came unstuck against Milos Raonic on Friday afternoon - his first final-four defeat at SW19 in 11 appearances.

Federer remained on Centre Court after the 6-3 6-7(3) 4-6 7-5 6-3 loss to salute the crowd, which led to suggestions that he was bidding farewell to the famous venue.

Speaking after the match, however, the 17-time Grand Slam winner is quoted by BBC Sport as saying: "To be very clear for you, I hope to be back on Centre Court. It was a thank you for the crowd. That's what I was going through, not thinking that this might be my last Wimbledon."

Federer is currently going through his longest title drought since 2000, having failed to add to his haul of 88 trophies so far this year.