mtenis.com.pl

Roger Federer said Thursday he was fired up after an intense off-season and ready for another "crazy good" year, starting with his Australian Open title defence next month.
Ranked third in the world, the Swiss great is aiming for his third straight singles title in Melbourne, having enjoyed a late-career renaissance to win the year's opening Grand Slam in both 2017 and 2018.

Each of those victories came off the back of his appearance at the mixed teams Hopman Cup in Perth, where he again starts his preparation for the new season by representing Switzerland this week.

Federer's win in Melbourne in 2017 was his first Grand Slam title since 2012 and came when many had written him off as a contender.

At the age of 37 and with 20 Grand Slam wins in his back pocket, he can reflect on a "crazy good" couple of years, including an eighth Wimbledon title.

Federer will again be the crowd favourite in Melbourne, but he won't be going into the event expecting another unlikely title, admitting logic suggested he faced a tough task.

"I think with my age people know that if I did something extraordinary that would be amazing," he said in Perth Thursday.

"If that didn't happen, maybe it's logical you can't produce that tennis every year. You also maybe need a bit of luck, and the draw to fall your way.

"A lot of things need to happen to win any slam. I hope that again it will be the start of a great season for me because the last two seasons have been crazy good for me."

Federer said his body was continuing to hold up well and that he had been building his training towards the Australian Open over the last month.

"I've been very happy with how the off-season went," he said. "The last three or four weeks have been very intense. I'm very excited and motivated for this next season."

Federer opens his Hopman Cup account on December 30 with the tie against Britain.

On New Year's Day he will partner Belinda Bencic as the defending champions face the United States represented by Frances Tiafoe and Federer's fellow great Serena Williams.

The mixed doubles match will see an unprecedented battle between two of the greatest players the game has ever seen, with 43 Grand Slam singles titles between Federer and Williams.

Federer conceded it was a once-in-a-lifetime match-up and one that he was quietly looking forward to.

"We'll probably play it down a little bit and say it's not that big of a deal for us, it's just another tennis match, but it really isn't because it's probably going to happen once and never again," he said.

"That's why I hope we're both going to be injury free when that day comes around."

Author
Bede Briscomb

Speaking on the first edition of the new ‘The AO Show’ podcast launched this week, defending AO champion Roger Federer said he would be surprised if the next AO champion came from outside the top 10.

Federer, representing Switzerland at the Hopman Cup in Perth, discussed his main competitors for the Australian Open as he prepares for a record seventh major title in Melbourne.

Federer, who is also looking to 'three-peat' at Australian Open 2019, said he would do all he could top stop the Next Gen pool of talent breaking through.

“You have to go with [Djokovic, Nadal, Zverev]. They are definitely the favourites. There are guys who can do breakthrough performances like [Stefanos] Tsitsipas or [Denis] Shapovalov or Nick [Kyrgios] but if you’re talking about who is going to win, it’s probably going to be one of the top 10 guys,” Federer said.

“The Next Gen is definitely pushing through. Is it a time where they are going to win a Slam? That would be nice, but I hope I’m in the mix and will not allow that to happen at this year’s Australian Open.”

Former world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt also joined the show to talk about the storylines he is most looking forward to in January, and rising Aussie star Alex de Minaur was at the top of the list.

“We have a new No.1 on the men’s side in Alex de Minaur who gets the opportunity to go out there and most likely be seeded for the first time at a major. To think that he was outside 200 a year ago and now he’s going to be pushing top 30 in the world is quite extraordinary,” Hewitt said.

“He’s going to come in with a lot of pressure and expectation on his shoulders, but at the age of 19 and as hungry as he is…he’s going to go out and really deal with that pressure and embrace it as much as possible.”

‘The AO Show’ is the official podcast of the Australian Open and will follow the biggest storylines of the tournament in January, with player interviews, expert commentary and insights.

The first episodes also features Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley, who spoke about the exciting new player pods at Melbourne Park, what it takes to run a Grand Slam and how Game Insights Group (GIG) -- the data and analytics arm of the tournament – is transforming the way we analyse and understand tennis.

Listen to ‘The AO Show’ now for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast app: http://bit.ly/TheAOShow
Is it a time where they are going to win a Slam? That would be nice, but I hope I’m in the mix and will not allow that to happen at this year’s Australian Open.