Federer feels no pressure as he goes in search of history
RED-HOT favourite Roger Federer insists he has shelved any thoughts of creating tennis history at Wimbledon this next fortnight.
The Swiss ace is looking to surpass Pete Sampras’ record of 14 major titles by landing a sixth success at the All England Club.
His chances increased dramatically after defending champion and world No1 Rafael Nadal was forced to withdraw from the championships on Friday through injury. But even without the threat of Nadal, who beat him in an epic Wimbledon final last year, Federer says he will be taking nothing for granted. “I knew if things fell into place that I was going to win more majors,” he explained. “Same thing here. I don’t feel any pressure having to beat Pete’s record right now this week, but I know that things are looking good for me.”
Federer opens proceedings on Centre Court against Taipei’s Yen-Hsun Lu today, and is now seeded to face British No1 Andy Murray in the final. Murray opens his account against Robert Kendrick tomorrow and Federer admits he is wary of the world No3 at his home event.
“He definitely has a good chance at Wimbledon,” he added. “He handles pressure well and will be a great grass champion for the future.”
WIMBLEDON 2009 ORDER OF PLAY
CENTRE COURT (1pm start)
Y Lu (Tpe) v R Federer (Swi) (2)
N Silva (Por) v S Williams (USA) (2)
J Benneteau (Fra) v N Djokovic (Ser) (4)
M Sharapova (Rus) (24) v V Kutuzova (Ukr)
R Soderling (Swe) (13) v G Muller (Lux)
F Verdasco ((Spa) (7) v J Ward (GBR)
COURT No2
D Hantuchova (Svk) v L Robson (GBR)
A Golubev (Kaz) v J-W Tsonga (Fra) (9)
A Kudryavtseva (Rus) v E Dementieva (Rus) (4)
M Llodra (Fra) v J Goodall (GBR