Melbourne: The seemingly ageless Roger Federer said Sunday he was in a ‘confident mood’ and warned his rivals he was ‘playing good tennis’ as he aims for a third successive Australian Open title when the tournament starts Monday.
“I’m playing good tennis. I’m confident that I think it needs a good performance by my opponent probably to beat me,” said the third seed, who opens his defence against Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin in Monday’s night match on Rod Laver Arena.
A buoyant Federer revealed he had enjoyed a successful break coming into the 2019 season. “Throughout my career, I’ve been very lucky that in the off-seasons I never had any setbacks,” he told reporters at Melbourne Park. “What I can say is the off-season was great for me. I think maybe it showed a little bit at the Hopman Cup already. Again, look, I’m playing tomorrow (Monday). We’ll see how it’s going to be here in Melbourne,” added the Swiss legend.
Federer’s first-round opponent Istomin caused a massive upset here two years ago when he knocked out defending champion Novak Djokovic in the second round, outlasting the Serb over five sets.
“I think the focus really is on those early rounds, especially Monday,” said Federer. “I know what Denis did to Novak. I watched basically the entire game a couple years ago when he beat Novak here. I’ve had some tough ones against him in the past. He can play well on fast courts, and that’s what it’s going to be a little bit here as well,” added the World No.3, who has won all six previous encounters against Istomin.
Federer also said he wasn’t sure why he had not suffered major injuries like Rafael Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Murray. “I think you also need a little bit of luck. Maybe also the way I play tennis, maybe it’s smoother than the other guys,” pointed out the legendary Swiss.
Federer stated that he was shocked that tennis was set to lose ‘legend’ Murray this year and the Scot should be ‘incredibly proud’ of all he had achieved.
“I was disappointed and sad, a little bit shocked, to know now that we’re going to lose him at some point,”” Federer said.
“But we’re going to lose everybody at some point. It’s just now that it’s definite,” he added, acknowledging that the era of the ‘Big Four’ – himself, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Murray was drawing inexorably to a close.
“He’s (Murray) a good guy, Hall of Famer, legend. He won everything he wanted to win. Anybody would substitute their career with his. He’s a great guy, he should be proud of what he has achieved.”
Years of Australian Open success
2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2017, 2018
AFP
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