Federer not green on grass

14 April 2012

Famously rewarded with a cow following his Wimbledon triumph last year, Roger Federer is determined to milk every moment of his return to SW19. The Swiss right-hander's emotional victory over Mark Philippoussis was not only the fulfilment of a childhood dream, but also proved the catalyst for a dominant season on the men's tennis tour.

Federer has claimed six titles since his "breakthrough" last summer, including the Tennis Masters Cup and the Australian Open, in a sequence of results which has taken him to both No1 in the world and top seed for this week's event.

The 22-year-old is full of confidence ahead of the defence of his crown, which starts against Britain's Alex Bogdanovic on Centre Court this afternoon.

He said: "It will be a very special moment, I've been waiting for it all year. I am back, I am fit and ready to defend my title. It is another milestone in my career to have this opportunity. At the beginning of 2003 my goal was to start winning more titles so I got to feel what it was like to play in very important matches like finals and semi-finals. Before I won Wimbledon, I had already won four tournaments that year, but it was important for me to make a statement and show people how good I was.

"When I made that breakthrough here it was important to keep going and not to say, 'Okay I have achieved my dream and now I can relax for a year before coming back'."

Federer went on to reach the final of the Swiss Open in Gstaad the week after lifting the Wimbledon trophy. It was there where organisers presented him with "Juliette", the milk cow, in honour of his first Grand Slam.

After Gstaad, the fine form continued with a title in Austria and he triumphed at the endofseason Tennis Masters Cup in Houston.

For Federer, this result was particularly satisfying because he defeated four of the world's top players in Andre Agassi, David Nalbandian, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Andy Roddick.

He said: "The next important step was the Masters. It showed Wimbledon was not a stroke of luck and that I really deserved it.

"From then on suddenly everything went forward. I felt I was dominant or at least in control of nearly every match. It gave me respect. Now if you ask me who I fear the most? I have to say I don't fear anybody as much as before because I beat them all."

That is not to say he has been overlooking the pretenders to his crown this week. Roddick, Tim Henman and Lleyton Hewitt are the biggest dangers with Philippoussis the other to be wary of.

As for British No8 Bogdanovic, he added: "I could not put the face to the name, but I will have to prepare as well as I can against a player I don't know."

Despite not having played on grass for 11 months, Federer won the Halle Open last week without dropping a set.

His 6-0, 6-3 demolition of Mardy Fish in last Sunday's final was his 17th straight success on grass which is the seventh-longest winning streak in history on the surface.

He arrives at the tournament as the shortestpriced favourite since Pete Sampras in his pomp, but given the expectancy levels, will he be able to handle the pressure?

"The pressure comes from myself," he says. "It is more mental. Physically I played well at Halle so things are looking okay."

Federer not green on grass

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