Roger Federer: I'm still the man to beat

Jun 23 2008 Phil Casey

ROGER FEDERER feels he remains a big favourite to win a sixth straight Wimbledon title and warned his critics that reports of his demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Federer has endured a poor season by his own incredibly high standards, winning just two low-key titles – one on grass, one on clay – and losing in the semi-finals of the Australian Open after three titles in Melbourne in the previous four years.

The world number one has lost eight times already in 2008 – last year he lost just nine matches in total and from 2004-06 amazingly suffered just 15 defeats. Most significantly, the Swiss star was thrashed in the French Open final by Rafael Nadal, winning just four games in a 6-1 6-3 6-0 humiliation at Roland Garros.

That has led to talk that the 26-year- old’s Wimbledon crown might be up for grabs, but Federer said: "What other people and players say I cannot control. But you’ll always hear good and bad things throughout your career. It’s maybe a time where some people talk a little bit too much sometimes.

"I feel like I’m the big favourite obviously for Wimbledon. It’s a huge year for me, going for my sixth. Getting the fifth one was a dream come true already.

"It’s something that’s going to be very hard to match, I think, in the years to come. It’s taken I don’t know how many years for me to be able to match Bjorn Borg’s record. I hope I can also match Pete Sampras’ record of seven Wimbledons here. That’s what my focus is.

"I haven’t lost in such a long time on grass. Obviously my confidence is really, really high. Then again, other players are around to really challenge me. That only motivates me. So it should be an interesting Wimbledon this year."

Federer also insists he has quickly forgotten about that defeat to Nadal, adding: "It’s almost easier to forget a loss like that than, let’s say, the Rome finals I lost against Rafa with two match points. They took me much longer to sort of digest.

"The French was over in such a hurry. The French Open, the whole clay court season was over at the same time, so it’s easy just to look forward and concentrate on grass. I won’t be on clay again for 10 months, so it really hasn’t been a problem.

"I’m happy I haven’t been affected by it. I wish I could have done better against Rafa. But a loss is a loss, no matter whether you lose in three or in five.

"I’m still pretty proud about achieving my third French Open final, but for some I guess that’s still not good enough. But I think this is now the important time for me to see what I can do; Wimbledon, US Open, and the Olympics. This is what it’s going to come down to for me anyway."

Borg watched from the stands last year when Federer beat Nadal in five sets to equal his record of five straight titles in the modern era.

But the Swedish star has been tipping Nadal to reverse that result this year to anyone willing to listen, something with has surprised Federer.

"That’s how quickly things change," Federer said with a wry smile. "It’s his opinion. I don’t mind what he says.

"Obviously at the moment he has a microphone under his face and people ask him many, many things. Once he’ll sound more critical, once he’ll sound more positive.

"But it doesn’t change much for me. I like when it’s praise. When it’s something else, when it’s more critical, you tend to just forget about it and move on.

"It’s not disappointing, but it’s just different. I’m surprised. Let’s put it that way."

Another player to have been impressed by Nadal is Andy Roddick, beaten by the Spaniard on his way to victory at Queens recently.

Roddick, a two-time Wimbledon finalist who missed the French Open with a shoulder injury, declared: "He’s playing well, there’s no doubt about that. I think grass helps his serve a lot, probably more so than a hard court.

"I didn’t feel sharp. I felt like I was hanging on from the beginning of that match. I hadn’t really played much. I went into that one probably knowing it was going to be an uphill battle with how match-sharp he was.

"He feels comfortable on the surface. He’s able to create big shots from odd angles, which you get a lot on this surface as well. Everyone acts surprised he’s playing well on grass but he made the Wimbledon final the last two years, so I’m not really that surprised."

Meanwhile Novak Djokovic has taken enormous confidence from his Australian Open victory in January and believes Federer is finally feeling the pressure from himself and Nadal.

"You know, quite some things have changed this year," Djokovic said. "It’s becoming more interesting to see some new names, new faces winning the major titles, and believing more that they can win against the top players, which makes the game more interesting, of course. Roger is still the number one player of the world. He had good results this year but not as good as in the past four or five years when he was really dominant in the sport. And mentally he was filled up from such a dominance. It’s normal to have ups and downs and he’s feeling the pressure a little bit. I think for him it’s a big challenge to defend the first place in the world."

However Tim Henman believes Andy Murray can defy the odds and win Wimbledon this year.

Murray, who has succeeded Henman as the only realistic home challenger in either the men’s or women’s singles, begins his title bid against mercurial Frenchman Fabrice Santoro.

Henman came agonisingly close to ending Britain’s long wait for a men’s singles champion during his own playing career and reckons 12th seed Murray has what it takes to succeed where he failed.

Asked if the 21-year-old could lift the title this year, Henman said: "He could. Yes, he could. It’s all about what happens on the day."

But Henman is less optimistic about the prospects of the other home competitors at SW19.

"It’s not good is it?" he said of the quality behind Murray.

"In Britain, we’ve got Andy, then a huge void. Our juniors are good – we’ve always had good juniors but they’ve been lacking mentally when they take the step up. They’re not strong enough or tough enough mentally, and not aware of what the task is. The good thing now is that we have some great coaches who are there to help them make the transition. I think we also need to work harder to get kids to compete. It’s crucial that we get them into regular competition. Not just hitting balls."

Henman believes defending champion Federer, who is in the opposite half of the draw to Murray, is still the man to beat at the All England Club. However, he would not be surprised were Nadal or Djokovic to end the Swiss’ dominance on grass.

Of Nadal, he said: "You can’t dismiss him. His whole attitude and body language, tenacity, the way he can compete and deal with adversity."

"Then there’s Novak Djokovic, who stepped up and won the Australian Open. You’ve still got Andy Roddick and Andy Murray - I would describe them as dangerous floaters."

This year’s Wimbledon will be Henman’s first since his September retirement and will see him swap his racquet for the commentators’ microphone.

The 33 years-old insists he has "no regrets" about quitting, adding: "I should have retired years ago."