Federer in prime form for Wimbledon

Wimbledon champion Roger Federer will take a “good but uneasy feeling” to SW19 after completing an impressive defence of his Gerry Weber Open title in Halle, Germany.

The 22-year-old cruised past America’s Mardy Fish 6-0 6-3 to extend his winning streak on grass to 17 matches.

“This was definitely the best preparation for Wimbledon. If I play at this level, things are looking very good for the tournament,” the Swiss said.

“My game could hardly be better at this stage.”

But Federer, who dropped just two service games – and no sets – at Halle, is wary of the high expectations ahead of the All England Championships.

“I know there will be a lot of pressure on me as the defending champion - also from my side,” he said.

“I will play with confidence. But sometimes it can go totally in the wrong way. I can win five matches rather easily this week and suddenly I’m down a set in my Wimbledon opener. This is when you need the coolness to come back.”

He conceded, though, that a first-round exit, as suffered by reigning champion Lleyton Hewitt 12 months ago, would be a “major disappointment”.

“I hope I don’t meet Hewitt’s fate from last year. You always have to live with the fear of losing in the first round.

“It would take me some time to get over it. I really want to do well at Wimbledon.”

Federer regards Tim Henman, in front of his home crowd, as one of the major threats to his hopes of retaining his crown.

“I think Henman is one of my biggest rivals,” he predicted.

“Maybe Hewitt, (Andy) Roddick and a lot of other guys. And (Andre) Agassi, you never know how well he is going to play.”

Asked about his record of having won only two out of eight meetings with Henman, he replied with a smile: “Last time I beat him, but the last time he played me at Wimbledon he beat me. It’s going to be tough to beat him.

“But we have to win our matches first and won’t meet in the first rounds. I will wait until the draw and focus on my opponents then.”

Fish, the first American to reach the final at Gerry Weber, rates Federer as the favourite for Wimbledon but believes “it is possible to beat him on grass”.

Fish said: “He is only human. You saw (Jim) Courier lose at the French Open when you thought that wasn’t possible. Say Roger is on grass like Courier is on clay.

“The thing about Roger is that his returns are just on par with his serve. He just has got no weaknesses at all.”