Roger Federer remains confident that he can achieve big things at Wimbledon 2013 regardless of his quarter-final exit at Roland Garros.
When Roger Federer reflects on his 2013 French Open campaign he’ll surely feel a sense of regret that he was unable to make the most of his opportunity to reach another final. The Swiss legend managed to avoid Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal’s half of the draw, yet Jo-Wilfried Tsonga arrived to put an end to his hopes in the last eight.
Federer’s performance against Tsonga was a far cry from his best form at Roland Garros and inevitably there are several critics who now think that Fedex’s days of winning slam titles are finally behind him. Heading into Wimbledon, where Federer appears to have his best shot at clinching a major, there are many who don’t even have him down as one of the top three favourites for the title.
That said, Roger appears to be confident about achieving another incredible triumph at the All-England Club. “I have no choice but to move on,” said the world No. 3 after his French Open exit. “But now I look forward to other things. I love the grass court season. I don’t know if it’s my favorite, but I like it a lot.” He added, “Especially it’s been 10 years since my first Wimbledon victory. So I’m looking forward to coming back to Halle and Wimbledon where I did the double ten years ago, so I’m sure it’s going to be a nice swing. Always with some pressure because I expect a lot from myself, but nobody can really prepare well on the grass because the season is so short.”
Federer’s positive attitude is hardly surprising. He’s won the Wimbledon title seven times and proved to be more than equal to Djokovic and Andy Murray in last year’s draw. He’s not failed to reach the quarter-finals once since his initial 2003 success and his 66-7 record on the SW19 lawns speaks for itself.
There’s no doubt that Federer has a huge challenge ahead of him if he’s to defend his title but his attitude ahead of the tournament appears to be a healthy one. After his achievements last season there’s a case for saying that he’s the man to beat on grass. Even so, with Rafa and Novak playing as well as they are, and with Murray showing his mettle on grass last season, this could be wishful thinking.
Written by Ian Horne – Ian is an experienced journalist covering the ATP and WTA tours at Live-Tennis.com since 2010. He has interviewed many top 100 players and enjoys nothing more than the buzz in the press rooms at major tennis tournaments including Wimbledon and the French Open. For regular score and news updates regarding the tennis world, you can follow Live-Tennis on Twitter at @livetennis.
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