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Roger Federer has revealed the mental torment he overcame in securing a record-equaling 14th grand slam title by beating Robin Soderling to win the French Open.
The world No2 dominated yesterday's final at Roland Garros to record a 6-1, 7-6, 6-4 victory in one hour and 55 minutes. Federer now matches Pete Sampras's record haul and becomes only the sixth player in history to win all four majors.
The 27-year-old admits the weight of history bore heavy on his shoulders as he attempted to join the game's all-time greats but revealed the belief he would win once Rafael Nadal was eliminated ultimately saw him through.
He said: “I played one of greatest tie-breakers in my career by serving the four aces. But it was very hard mentally for me to stay within the match during the match, because my mind was always wondering, what if? What if I win this tournament? What does that mean? What will I possibly say? I don't know.
“You can't help it but to tell yourself, you know, once you win you'll get all the time to think about all these things, but they keep on coming back.
“But I knew the day Rafa won't be in the finals, I will be there and I will win. I always knew and that I believed in it.”
Federer heads to Wimbledon in a fortnight restored by bookmakers as the favourite to win at SW19 and he insists his thirst for success remains strong. He added: “I think I still have many more tournaments to go and many more Grand Slams. I'll give it my best shot to have the best possible career.”
Meanwhile, the grass-court season begins in earnest this afternoon as the AEGON Championships start at Queen's Club in west London.
British wildcards Josh Goodall and James Ward are in action today while Andy Murray has a
first-round bye.
Goodall faces Luxembourg's Gilles Muller and said: “I don't think he plays that great on grass.”
