Rattled Roger rounds on the doubters who claim he’s no longer the greatest on grass

Six appeal: Federer hopes to go one better than Borg

‘I had brief contact with Tiger before the French Open Final and he told me his knee was doing OK, so I was quite surprised to see him struggling,’ said Federer of his pal. ‘It’s just sad to see him injured but I’m sure he’ll bounce back. I was so happy for him to win the U.S. Open, it’s one of the biggest of his career, the way he won it.’

Aside from doing shaving commercials together and being at the top of their sports, the two have much in common, including being fawned over in the lead-up to major championships.

But yesterday Federer was forced to play down the niggling suggestions which have come from such figures as Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras that he is vulnerable, despite his extraordinary grasscourt record.

‘People say different things, I feel like I’m the big favourite, obviously, for Wimbledon,’ asserted the world No 1. ‘The same players are right up there. There hasn’t been that much of a change, actually.’

Federer has a clear line that his mauling by Rafael Nadal in the French Open Final two weeks ago is of little relevance and that, after a modest early season by his own standards, the business part of the year starts now.

He said: ‘I’m still pretty proud about making my third French Open Final, but for some I guess it’s not good enough. Anyway, I think this is now the important time to see what I can do: Wimbledon, the Olympics and U.S. Open. This is what it’s going to come down to for me.’

He insisted, slightly unconvincingly, that he has not spent the last fortnight reflecting on the pounding he took at Roland Garros from his Spanish rival Nadal.

‘Not a whole lot, to be honest,’ he said. ‘It’s almost easier to forget a loss like that than, say, the two Italian Open finals I lost against Rafa when I had two match points. That took me longer to digest.

‘The French was over in such a hurry. I mean the whole claycourt season was over at the same time, so it’s easy just to look forward and concentrate on the grass. I won’t be on clay for another 10 months so I’m happy I haven’t been affected by it.’

The genial Swiss, usually a media-friendly figure, has kept a low profile since arriving in England to practise and did not make much of an attempt to explain why. ‘I just did a little bit less press than usual,’ he said.

‘I just don’t want to spend too much time doing those things any more. Sometimes you need a little bit of time off.

‘I don’t have much of a vacation after Wimbledon. Maybe it’s a way to protect myself and save my energy for the rest of the
season.’

He has clearly been irritated by Borg’s suggestion that he is only third favourite behind Nadal and Novak Djokovic but just about managed to keep a lid on his true feelings.

‘It’s not disappointing. I’m surprised, let’s put it that way,’ said Federer. ‘I don’t mind what he says. At the moment he has a microphone under his face and people ask him many things. One time he’ll sound more critical, one time he’ll sound more positive.’

It is probably what Federer did not need, going into another tournament in which history beckons.

‘It’s a huge year for me, going for my sixth title. Getting the fifth one was a dream come true already and it’s going to be
something very hard to match in the future. It has taken me I don’t know how long to match Borg’s record and I hope I can also match Pete’s record of seven Wimbledons, that’s what my focus is.’

Away from the court, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have agreed to make a rare united stand and on Saturday were elected as player representatives on the ATP Tour council.

While it does not directly affect Wimbledon, all three are very unhappy at the continuing pattern of Americans making decisions in favour of American interests when it comes to scheduling the calendar.

The trio feel this is the best way of getting something done but agreements will be forgotten for the next two weeks as Federer seeks to assert himself on his favourite surface.

‘The grass favours me because of the way I move, the way I defend and use my shot selection and because I haven’t lost for
such a long time my confidence is high,’ said Federer.

‘But other players are around to really challenge and that motivates me, so it should certainly be a very interesting Wimbledon.’