Fed Express aiming to get back on track at SW19
The Swiss star was at his imperious best when winning the Australian Open in January but, hampered by illness immediately after that Melbourne success, he has failed to win a title since.
His incredible run of consecutive grand slam semi-finals ended at 23 with defeat by Robin Soderling at the French Open but final appearances in Madrid and Halle have hinted at a return to something like his best.
The 28-year-old admitted his slump came as something of a surprise, saying: “The year started great with playing so well in Australia. I really played some of the best tennis of my life. I’ve been disappointed I wasn’t able to carry on.
“I know my game, my body and everything so well that I really expected to take off and just go on a tear after that. Maybe the lung infection did throw me back a bit, not having played so much through March and April.
“It hurt. It was disappointing. But I think I found my game again in Madrid. I played well there and in Paris. In Halle I think the performances were good. That’s why I’m confident for Wimbledon.”
Federer goes into his first round match against Alejandro Falla today as the top seed but only as world number two, with Rafael Nadal having overtaken him after regaining his French Open crown.
With the Spaniard having missed Wimbledon last year through injury, he is guaranteed to hold onto top spot irrespective of results at the All England Club. Federer, though, insists it is not a major blow.
“It doesn’t change a whole lot,” he added. “It’s about winning Wimbledon again. Mentally I didn’t go crazy after my loss at the French. It was all digested very quickly.”
Much has been made of the apparent generational shift in tennis, with Federer, the Williams sisters and Francesca Schiavone all winning grand slam titles in their late 20s and fewer teenagers making their mark.
The man Federer beat in the Wimbledon final last year, Andy Roddick, begins his bid to go one better against Rajeev Ram today, and he believes it is all about the individual players.
The 27-year-old said: “It’s cyclical. Three years from now it could be different. I remember two, three years ago when obviously Rafa was still being Rafa, Murray was establishing himself and Djokovic was establishing himself, all the talk was of the young guys coming through. Now it’s pushing back.
“The bottom line is, regardless of what year you were born in, if you can play, you have a place in the game. That’s the way I view it.”
Meanwhile, defending women’s champion Serena Williams spent Saturday evening taking in the American rock band Green Day leading to one reporter putting it to her that the decibel levels at the Wembley gig must have prepared her for the clash with 17-year-old Larcher De Brito, who is far better known for her loud on-court grunting than her tennis.
But Williams is determined just to focus on her own game, rather than what happens on the other side of the net.
“I do the best I can, play the best I can. There’s nothing else I can do,” she said.
Since beating her sister, Venus, in last year’s final, Williams has regained the world number one ranking, which for a while was in the possession of Russian Dinara Safina, who has pulled out of Wimbledon due to injury this year.
Williams has reasserted herself as the player to beat and starts her Wimbledon campaign as the title favourite, ahead of her five-time champion sister.
Although the famous siblings enjoy the pomp and ceremony and the traditions of Wimbledon, ultimately they are in London on business, as a focused Serena underlined.
“We’re here to work and we’re here to do our best. Hopefully that’s taking home a title,” she said.
