Federer: Tough to maintain form
World-beater Roger Federer today offered a glimmer of hope to his rivals hoping to bridge the yawning gap between them and the Wimbledon champion.
The Swiss ace earned the right to line up alongside modern legends Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras when he beat Andy Roddick to complete a hat-trick of triumphs at the All England Club and has been tipped to dominate Wimbledon for years to come.
The 23-year-old world number one believes there is yet more improvement to come in his game but revealed he may find it difficult to sustain his performance at the current levels.
“I’m not quite there yet,” he warned. “I’ll take it match by match, day by day, year by year basically for the next few years.
“So far I’ve been lucky not to have any injuries. But playing at the level I am is very draining and it’s hard to keep that up all the time.
“Wimbledon and the grass has definitely been very good to me over the last few years and, of course, I’ll try to carry that even longer the next year.”
Federer’s straight-sets win over Roddick extended his unbeaten run on grass to 36 matches going back to the first round of Wimbledon in 2002 and he is on course to break the record of 41 set by Borg from 1976-81 in next year’s semi-finals.
But Federer, who has lost just eight of the last 101 sets he has played on grass, believes he is still vulnerable, especially on clay and hardcourt, pointing to his defeats in the semi-finals of the opening two Grand Slams this year in Melbourne and Paris.
“I feel the others push me,” he insisted. “I think all of them are trying as hard as they can and it has worked.
“Look at the Australian Open, look at the French Open. It worked to beat me there.”
Meanwhile, Federer paid tribute to veteran coach Tony Roche, who won five doubles titles with John Newcombe at Wimbledon from 1968-74 but whose only men’s singles final appearance ended in defeat to Rod Laver.
Federer travelled the whole of last year without a coach but linked up with the Australian on a part-time basis before the Australian Open in January and celebrated his fifth Grand Slam title with him at last night’s champions dinner.
“It’s definitely special for him,” said Federer. “Of course, I’m so happy for myself but I’m really happy that our partnership has worked out.
“He’s not a guy who shows too much emotion but he was very carried away, too.”
Federer, who was coached by former Swedish ATP pro Peter Lundgren when he won Wimbledon for the first time in 2003, believes Roche has played an integral part in the improvement in his game this year.
“I knew from the start that he would be a big help,” he said. “I’m starting to understand what he’s trying to teach me. Even though he’s not travelling with me for 30 or 40 weeks of the year, I still feel he gives me enough time.
“We’ve just been together about eight or nine weeks, which is a lot. You start to really know each other and start to understand each other in that time. We actually know what we want to do.
“But, if he wants to walk away tomorrow, I have no problem. He’s very easy in the relationship we have.
“I just want him to know that. I’m very thankful for every day and every week he gives me because I know how old he is and what he’s been through, as a player and as a coach. He doesn’t need it any more. So I’m very thankful to him.”
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