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June 15, 2005
FEDERER: HENMAN A THREAT
By Sporting Life
Wimbledon champion Roger Federer admitted on Wednesday that he is hoping to stay away
from Tim Henman in this year's competition.
Just five days before starting his defence of his title at SW19, Federer said:
"Tim is definitely a threat and I really hope he's not too close to me in the
draw.
"I really respect his game, which is excellent for grass and the home crowd
really get behind him which is a bonus.
"He's definitely got the tools to win Wimbledon for sure."
The Swiss continued: "Obviously Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt
and Marat Safin will all be the big contenders.
"Hewitt and Roddick with their big hitting games definitely have the best
chance to do well on grass - but I'd be quite surprised if Nadal won Wimbledon
this time round.
"There's nothing wrong with his game. He beat me in the French of course but
I saw his game in Halle where he lost to a tough opponent who kept coming into
the net and he struggled a bit.
"Here at Wimbledon where it's slightly slower he could certainly be a threat,
though I'd rather give Tim the edge to do much better than Nadal."
But Federer was bullish about his own prospects of winnings his third
Wimbledon crown in a row.
He added: "I am very confident I feel good and I was slightly surprised that
in spite of quite a short preparation on grass that I came though and won the
singles and the doubles in Halle, so I've had a lot of play on grass already,
which gave me great self belief.
"It's important for me to get going early and not have too many scares in the
early round.
"Playing at Wimbledon is really going back to the roots of tennis - the whole
set-up is still basically a club and I love being a member.
"Winning the junior singles and doubles in 1998 and all the emotions I've had
in seven years on centre court - you don't forget those moments."
Federer was speaking at Hampton Court Palace, where he was trying his hand at
Real Tennis - the royal and ancient forerunner of his own, more glitzy and
celebrated sport.
Although it was a promotional appearance for his Swiss watch sponsor Maurice
Lacroix, Federer was happy to swap his state-of-the-art lawn tennis racquet for
a heavy, asymmetric wooden version.
He impressed the crowd with his performance and added: "It was good fun - it
goes back such a long way but for me it felt great on the court."
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