Swiss not deterred by tough Wimbledon draw.
After a relatively barren year, Federer arrives at the grass-court Grand Slam in the unusual position of being seen by many pundits as the least likely of the big four to leave with the title.
To make matters worse, the Swiss legend faces a gruelling draw that will leave him needing to beat Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic if he is to pass Pete Sampras as the most decorated All England Club champion.
With French Open champion Nadal seeded fifth due to his long injury absence, Federer has the unpalatable prospect of taking on the Spaniard in the last-eight before a potential semi-final meeting with US Open champion Murray and a final showdown with world number one Djokovic.
Federer’s victory on grass at Halle last week was his first ATP Tour title of 2013 and last year’s Wimbledon final win over Murray remains his only Grand Slam crown in his last 13 major appearances.
The 31-year-old father of two is clearly entering the twilight of his magnificent career, yet he is convinced he can prove the critics wrong with another triumph at the tournament he regards as a home from home.
“It was never supposed to be easy winning Grand Slams. I’m ready for the challenge,” said Federer.
“I like tough draws. I don’t shy away from them. There’s no control over it anyway. That’s up to the draw to decide.
“I have a very difficult draw with Rafa being in my quarter. But my focus is on the first round. If you want to win the tournament here, you anyway have to beat the best. That’s what I’m here for.”
Serena apologises to Sharapova
Serena Williams launched a charm offensive as she sought to broker a truce with Maria Sharapova and calm the storm surrounding comments she made about a rape victim.
On the eve of Wimbledon, where she is defending champion, the pre-tournament focus has been on an interview she gave to Rolling Stone magazine that touched on a high-profile teenage rape case in Ohio and brought her into conflict with her Russian rival Sharapova.
The piece included an account of a private conversation between Serena and her sister Venus that the reporter interpreted as an attack on Sharapova’s relationship with Bulgarian player Grigor Dimitrov.
Sharapova, soundly beaten by Serena in the French Open final earlier this month, hit back on Saturday telling the world number one to keep her nose out of other people’s business, adding an edge to the women’s competition at the grasscourt slam.
“I made it a point to reach out to Maria because she was inadvertently brought into the situation by assumptions made by the reporter,” Serena told reporters. “I personally talked to Maria at the player party, incidentally. I said, look, I want to personally apologise to you if you are offended by being brought into my situation. “I want to take this moment to just pour myself, be open, say I’m very sorry for this whole situation.”
Serena will play her opening-round match against Luxembourg’s Mandy Minella tomorrow.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 24th, 2013.
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