Federer confident of winning more
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AFP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 07, 2009 00:00
PARIS - For most athletes, being the second best can be an achievement, but it is almost as good as the worst for Federer. One of the best players in the tennis history, the Swiss plans to get to the number one spot again this year
Roger Federer says he still expects to dominate the world of tennis in 2009 despite having lost two of his Grand Slam titles and the world number one ranking last year.
Federer also reckons 2009 will be a special year for him, both because he is within one of Pete Sampras' all-time record of 14 Grand Slam titles and because he believes the pressure will this time be more on other players, who have to defend more of the big titles.
Appearing at the Qatar Open, where he will be trying to win the title for a third time, Federer was asked if he could dominate the game like he did before.
"Well obviously yes," he answered. "I've been doing it for many years. It wasn't really a big problem. It came pretty easily, with a lot of hard work, but pretty naturally."
"I was still very successful at the Grand Slam stages," he said, referring to his US Open title and runners-up places at Wimbledon and the French Open. "I just have to try to pick up some more titles on the way. Last year four titles was not so bad so hopefully I can keep that up and hopefully win some more titles."
Federer also said: "Maybe I didn't win as many titles as last year, but there were certain reasons for those. I was maybe not as successful in Masters Series play like I was in the past, but other than that it still has been a very good year."
No pressure
The Swiss believes that he will not have to cope with excessive pressure this time.
"That's why I expect the same from myself this year, but just with less pressure because I don't have as much to defend this time," he said. "The pressure will be more on other players which might not be a bad thing for a change."
Federer also downplayed the rise of the two 21-year-olds, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic. Instead he reckoned that Rafa Nadal, who won Wimbledon, the French Open and the Olympic gold medal was still his major rival.
"Of course Andy and Novak had a great season but I still consider Rafa my mean rival you know. It's logic after all that we have been through the last four years," he said. "You don't just put Rafa away and (say) that he's just like all the other guys. Rankings change very quickly."
"Definitely the four of us have been able to get away from the rest of the other top ten guys. Even though Nikolay (Davydenko) has been hanging in there and some other players have been coming up," he said. "It will be an interesting start to season because Novak has the win to defend and Murray has got the first round to defend. So there's a lot of possibilities for change in the rankings."
Is Was he concerned about that?
"Not really, no. Number one is what matters to me, so....," Federer said, his sentence drifting off as though the idea was not for contemplation.
Federer also reckons 2009 will be a special year for him, both because he is within one of Pete Sampras' all-time record of 14 Grand Slam titles and because he believes the pressure will this time be more on other players, who have to defend more of the big titles.
Appearing at the Qatar Open, where he will be trying to win the title for a third time, Federer was asked if he could dominate the game like he did before.
"Well obviously yes," he answered. "I've been doing it for many years. It wasn't really a big problem. It came pretty easily, with a lot of hard work, but pretty naturally."
"I was still very successful at the Grand Slam stages," he said, referring to his US Open title and runners-up places at Wimbledon and the French Open. "I just have to try to pick up some more titles on the way. Last year four titles was not so bad so hopefully I can keep that up and hopefully win some more titles."
Federer also said: "Maybe I didn't win as many titles as last year, but there were certain reasons for those. I was maybe not as successful in Masters Series play like I was in the past, but other than that it still has been a very good year."
No pressure
The Swiss believes that he will not have to cope with excessive pressure this time.
"That's why I expect the same from myself this year, but just with less pressure because I don't have as much to defend this time," he said. "The pressure will be more on other players which might not be a bad thing for a change."
Federer also downplayed the rise of the two 21-year-olds, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic. Instead he reckoned that Rafa Nadal, who won Wimbledon, the French Open and the Olympic gold medal was still his major rival.
"Of course Andy and Novak had a great season but I still consider Rafa my mean rival you know. It's logic after all that we have been through the last four years," he said. "You don't just put Rafa away and (say) that he's just like all the other guys. Rankings change very quickly."
"Definitely the four of us have been able to get away from the rest of the other top ten guys. Even though Nikolay (Davydenko) has been hanging in there and some other players have been coming up," he said. "It will be an interesting start to season because Novak has the win to defend and Murray has got the first round to defend. So there's a lot of possibilities for change in the rankings."
Is Was he concerned about that?
"Not really, no. Number one is what matters to me, so....," Federer said, his sentence drifting off as though the idea was not for contemplation.