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Friday June 17, 2005
Confident Fed shows cool hand
By AFP
Roger Federer has promised to take a more aggressive approach to the defence of his
Wimbledon title -- but don't expect any McEnroe-style tantrums from the world number one.
Having stood head and shoulders above the rest of the field in the last
two All England Championships, the laid-back Swiss star is a short-odds
favourite to complete a hat-trick of titles here on July 3.
And that is just the way he likes it.
"Nothing inspires me more than walking out at Wimbledon but this year
after winning the title twice, the pressure is not on me as much," he
insisted as he fine-tuned his peerless groundstrokes ahead of Monday's
first round clash with French youngster Paul-Henri Mathieu.
Far from feeling burdened by expectation, Federer believes the
confidence he has gained over the last two years will be liberating in
terms of how he approaches matches this year.
"As champion, I am always looking to improve. I know I can attack more,
I just go out on the court now and make it very apparent that the
opponent has to beat me," he warned.
The objective of beating Federer would appear to be beyond Mathieu and
the champion's path to the semi-finals, where he could come up against
2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt, looks free of potential pitfalls.
And if Federer does find himself in an early battle for survival, he is
confident that he can keep the self-destructive temper that once
hindered the realisation of his talent firmly under lock and key.
Recalling an incident back in 2001 when he smashed a racket on court
during a tournament in Hamburg, Federer insists that, at 24, he has got
such youthful petulance out of his system.
"It was something I needed to do to get it out of my system, but it didn't feel right so I stopped immediately," he recalled.
"I have calmed down, I had to - my family and coaches did not like what I did.
"There is no chance I will ever do it again. But I also knew I needed
to get the fire back somehow, and that is why now all you will see is
me pumping my fist to get myself psyched up."
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