Sunday, January 18, 2009
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Roger Federer isn’t going to give Andy Murray too much street credit until the young Scot has earned it.
Federer had trouble containing an incredulous laugh this week when he heard that British bookmakers had made 21-year-old Murray the favorite, or at least equal favorite, to win the Australian Open.
As if it weren’t bad enough that Rafael Nadal had ended the Swiss star’s five-year Wimbledon reign last season and his record 237-week stretch at No. 1. Or that Novak Djokovic had beaten him in the last Australian Open — the only one of the last 15 Grand Slam tournaments not won by either Federer or Nadal.
Murray “has never won a Slam. Novak is the defending champion here. Rafa [Nadal] had an incredible season last year,” said Federer, who is one title shy of equaling Pete Sampras’ record of 14 Grand Slam singles championships. “I won the last Slam of last season. It’s surprising to hear.”
Murray has only twice been beyond the fourth round at a major, his best run being a runner-up finish to Federer at the last U.S. Open.
But British hopes of a first men’s Grand Slam title since 1936 rose sharply when Murray beat Federer in an exhibition match at Abu Dhabi and in the semifinals of the Qatar Open at Doha last week.
For Federer, the two losses this month to Murray were a whole lot easier to take than his confidence-denting preparation for the last Australian Open.
“I didn’t quite know where my game was,” Federer said during the Kooyong exhibition tournament this week, thinking back 12 months to when he had a bout with mononucleosis before the first Grand Slam event of the season. “ ... that is kind of what shook me up a bit.”
Federer entered 2008 as a strong contender to win all four majors and ended with just one, increasing his career haul to 13.
The mononucleosis forced him to withdraw from all tournaments before the last Australian Open, where he was defending champion, and he went in cold. He said he genuinely feared a first-round exit.
He lost to Djokovic in the semifinals and his aura of invincibility seemed to be gone. Suddenly the sublime backhand winners weren’t routinely kissing the lines. The almost ethereal court movement started to appear, ever-so-slightly, labored.
Federer and Djokovic are again on course for a semifinal meeting at Melbourne Park after the draw was released Friday. It presents a tough road for Federer, who could face former No. 1 Carlos Moya in the second round, 2005 Australian Open champion Marat Safin in the third and Swiss Davis Cup teammate Stanislas Wawrinka in the fourth.
Federer lost the French Open and Wimbledon titles and No. 1 ranking to Nadal, who also won the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.
But the Swiss thinks he regained momentum by winning the U.S. Open.
“It is a good feeling to enter a Grand Slam if you have won the last one,” he said.