Fantastic Federer has sights set on completing ‘slam’

AUSTRALIAN Open champion Roger Federer had hardly wiped away the tears after winning his second Melbourne crown before he turned his attention to Paris.

Federer was an emotional wreck when he received the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup from Rod Laver in the stadium named after the great Australian following a 5-7 7-5 6-0 6-2 win over unseeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in yesterday’s final.

Laver was the last man to hold all four grand slams simultaneously and now Federer has the chance to emulate him.

The Swiss master has won the last three grand slams after his victories at Wimbledon and the US Open and only needs to win this year’s French Open to complete his own version of the ‘slam’.

Federer has won seven of his last 11 grand slam events although victory on the red clay of Roland Garros has always eluded him.

“Now I’ve won them twice each at least it puts the pressure on the French,” Federer said. “I enjoy playing well at slams. Obviously, I know the importance of winning the French, what it would do to my career.

“But, again, Wimbledon is the one for me and if I keep on winning Wimbledon and not the French, I’m very happy about that, too. So that’s no problem.”

Federer would need to win all four majors in the same year to complete the coveted ‘grand slam’, which Laver did in 1962 and 1969.

However, the topic has been open to debate since Serena Williams completed a non-calendar year slam and Tiger Woods did the same in golf.

“Winning three or four or two in-a-row is a fantastic effort, so I’m going for four. That would be fantastic,” Federer said.

“The French obviously is the one that’s not been possible for me so far, but I believe I’ve also only given myself one chance to win and that was last year and that was pretty good.

“I didn’t play great but made it to the semis. We’re still a few months away - I hope I stay healthy so I get a chance to do it.”

Federer is also trying to spice up his image and get a bigger slice of sports sponsorships. He has acquired a taste for Prada jackets and slacks and hired International Management Group, the agency that represents Tiger Woods, to lure endorsements.

Federer had relied on a four-person team that included his mother to handle contracts that helped produce about $14 million a year.

Agreements, mostly with Swiss companies such as watchmaker Maurice Lacroix have left him with endorsements worth about half of other top athletes in his sport. Federer topped the men’s tour with $6.1m in prize money last season.

Three years ago, he went at it alone. Signed by IMG as a junior player in 1998, he quit the agency in early 2003 and handed his business matters to Roger Federer Management: an attorney, a financial adviser and his mother Lynette Federer. His girlfriend Miroslava Vavrinec was put in charge of media relations and travel.

“He wants to be a role model, and enjoys dressing up,” Lynette Federer said. “It’s nice if you present yourself properly, and sponsors also appreciate your smart appearance.”