The Swiss 29-year-old has guzzled more than his fair share from the victory cups of a record 16 Grand Slams, frustrating the thirstiest of title contenders.
Federer returned this week to Melbourne Park, where he notched his fourth Australian Open win in 2010 and savoured his first grand slam title with his wife Mirka and twin baby daughters.
While his performances at the year’s other three majors may have suggested a hangover, the Swiss maestro’s recent form has shown efforts to usher him out the door may again be set to backfire when the year’s first major starts on Monday.
Federer’s triumph in the season-ending ATP World Tour finals gave a timely reminder to fierce Rafa Nadal not to get too comfortable in the world number one position.
The Swiss’s belligerent form at the season-opening Qatar Open, where he did not concede a set and trounced Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko in the final, suggests he is refreshed and keen to pick up where he left off.
Dislodging Nadal, the form player with the French, Wimbledon and US Open crowns, remains the tallest of orders, as Federer freely admitted.
“Obviously Rafa has a lot (of ranking points) to defend, but at the same time, he’s very confident and he’s the one who is world number one and has all the confidence, really,” Federer said after winning in Doha.
“But I have to keep it up, and you need to do something special to get to world number one. It’s not enough to win a Grand Slam and the World Tour Finals anymore.
“You need to do more than that, and I’m prepared for that, so we’ll see how it goes.”
Federer himself has good reason to feel confident for the year’s first slam, where he shares the record with Andre Agassi for the most wins in the open era.
Last year, Federer arrived in Australia with 15 Grand Slams to his name and a raft of pundits questioning his motivation amid his new commitments as a family man. — Reuters
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