After attending many table tennis tournaments, you will learn to properly interpret what is said after matches.  For example,
 
If someone says… “I lost in the fifth”  
He means…  “I lost badly in the fifth.” (If it was close, he would have told you the score)
 
If someone says…  “I just couldn’t win the close games.”
He means…  “I lost 3-0.”
 
If someone says…  “I just couldn’t return his serves.”
He means… “I lost 3-0 and wasn’t close in any of the games.”
 
If someone says…  “I’m just working on things this tournament.”
He means…  “I’m having a terrible tournament and I need an excuse.”
 
If someone says…  “The umpire was too controlling and messed me up.”
He means…  “I was serving illegally and the umpire was doing his job.”
 
If someone says…  “It was so hard to play because Bob was yelling too loudly on the next table.”
He means…  “I wasn’t able to keep my focus, lost the match, and I’m blaming my loss on Bob.
 
If someone says…  “I’m glad that there are more important things in life than winning table tennis matches.”
He means…  “I just had a huge loss, however, I’m keeping my perspective and I’m not going to let it bother me.”
 
If someone says…  “I’m holding my own.”
He means… “I haven’t had any good wins worth mentioning.”
 
If someone says…  “I had a good start, now I just can’t mess this up.”
He means…  “I had some good wins.  Now, I’m so worried about my precious rating that I will be nervous on the next matches.”